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| A brief history of the Burton Radio Club.
Burton upon Trent has had a club for radio amateurs in the town since just after WW1. Although there were enthusiasts of wireless telegraphy in Burton well before the war.
One of the founder members of the club was Mr FVA Smith, call sign XSR, (X = experimental station). After the war, an official club was formed on 4th November 1919. It was known as “The Burton upon Trent Wireless Club”. The inaugural meeting was held at the Burton Daily Mail offices in High Street. The Burton Wireless Club flourished throughout the twenties and into the thirties.
In October 1932, the Club was affiliated to the RSGB. The Club was disbanded prior to WW11. After WW11, in 1946, the Burton & District Radio Society was formed and meetings were held at the Education offices in Guild street. Many of the members had previously been members of the former Burton Wireless Club, including a Mr Cyril Hartshorne, who was present at that very first meeting in 1919. He became President of the new club, remaining so until 1988.
The Burton Radio Society moved to the Stapenhill Institute around 1958 and remained there until it was disbanded in 2003. On the disbanding of the Radio Society, many artefacts were found amongst the dust in the old club room and were rescued for the future. Some date back to the early 20th Century, including a Perikon Detector dated 1911, which was supplied by “Gammages of London” and an assortment of very early valves. One interesting item is a Fultograph, dated 1928, this was a device used for receiving pictures which were transmitted by wireless from various stations including the Eiffel Tower in Paris. This device was driven by a clockwork motor which was synchronised by pulses from the transmitter. It seems it was an early version of the fax machine....
The revival of the club was proposed by Mr David Heathcote, G0AOD, in June 2006. A meeting took place at the Plough Inn, Horninglow, where it was agreed to form a new club and Mr Heathcote was elected Chairman. The Club is now known as “The Burton on Trent Amateur Radio Club”
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