Imperial Wireless Chain
Encyclopedia
Wireless telegraphy
Wireless telegraphy is a historical term used today to apply to early radio telegraph communications techniques and practices, particularly those used during the first three decades of radio before the term radio came into use....
communications network, created to link the countries of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
. Although the idea was conceived prior to World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Britain was the last of the world's Great Powers to implement an operational system. The first link in the chain, between Leafield
Leafield
Leafield is a village and civil parish about northwest of Witney in West Oxfordshire. The parish includes the hamlet of Langley, west of Leafield village....
in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
and Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, eventually opened on 24 April 1922, with the final link, between Australia and Canada, opening on 16 June 1928.
Initial scheme
Marconi Company
The Marconi Company Ltd. was founded by Guglielmo Marconi in 1897 as The Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company...
to the Colonial Office
Colonial Office
Colonial Office is the government agency which serves to oversee and supervise their colony* Colonial Office - The British Government department* Office of Insular Affairs - the American government agency* Reichskolonialamt - the German Colonial Office...
in 1910, offering to complete the chain within 3 years of being given permission, a proposal that created serious interest in the principle.
Having ruled out the creation of a private monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
to provide the service, concluded that no Government department was in a position to do so, and that the Treasury were very reluctant to fund the creation of a new department, it was decided that contracting the construction to a commercial 'wireless company' was the favoured option, and a contract was signed with Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Company in March 1912. The Government then found itself facing severe criticism and appointed a Select Committee to examine the topic. After hearing evidence from the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
, War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
, India Office
India Office
The India Office was a British government department created in 1858 to oversee the colonial administration of India, i.e. the modern-day nations of Bangladesh, Burma, India, and Pakistan, as well as territories in South-east and Central Asia, the Middle East, and parts of the east coast of Africa...
, and representatives from South Africa
Union of South Africa
The Union of South Africa is the historic predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into being on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the previously separate colonies of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and the Orange Free State...
, the Committee unanimously concluded that a 'chain of Imperial wireless stations' should be established as a matter of urgency. An Expert Committee also advised that Marconi were the only company with technology that was proven to operate reliably over the distances required (in excess of 2,000 miles) 'if rapid installation and immediate and trustworthy communication be desired'.
After further negotiations prompted by Treasury pressure, a modified contract was ratified
Ratification
Ratification is a principal's approval of an act of its agent where the agent lacked authority to legally bind the principal. The term applies to private contract law, international treaties, and constitutionals in federations such as the United States and Canada.- Private law :In contract law, the...
by Parliament on 8 August 1913, with 221 Members of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
voting in favour, 140 against. The course of these events were disrupted somewhat by the breaking of the Marconi scandal
Marconi scandal
The Marconi scandal was a British political scandal that broke in the summer of 1912. It centred on allegations that highly-placed members of the Liberal government, under H. H...
, when it was alleged that highly placed members of the governing Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
party had used their knowledge of the negotiations to indulge in insider trading
Insider trading
Insider trading is the trading of a corporation's stock or other securities by individuals with potential access to non-public information about the company...
in Marconi's shares. Of rather more consequence was the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, which lead to the suspension of the contract by the Government. Meanwhile Germany, in contrast, successfully constructed its own wireless chain before the war, for the cost equivalent to two million pounds sterling
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
, and was able to use it to its advantage during the conflict.
Post World War I
With the end of the war and the DominionDominion
A dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of autonomous polities that were nominally under British sovereignty, constituting the British Empire and British Commonwealth, beginning in the latter part of the 19th century. They have included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland,...
s continuing to to apply pressure on the Government to provide an 'Imperial wireless system', the House of Commons agreed in 1919 that £170,000 should be spent constructing the first two radio stations in the chain, in Oxfordshire (at Leafield
Leafield
Leafield is a village and civil parish about northwest of Witney in West Oxfordshire. The parish includes the hamlet of Langley, west of Leafield village....
) and Egypt (in Cairo), to be completed in early 1920 - although the link actually opened on 24 April 1922, two months after the UK declared Egypt independent
Unilateral Declaration of Egyptian Independence
The Unilateral Declaration of Egyptian Independence was issued by the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on 28 February 1922...
.
Parliament's decision came shortly after legal action initiated by Marconi in June 1919, claiming £7,182,000 in damages from the British Government for breach
Breach of contract
Breach of contract is a legal cause of action in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other party's performance....
of their July 1912 contract, and in which they were awarded £590,000 by the court. The Government also commissioned the 'Imperial Wireless Telegraphy Committee' chaired by Sir Henry Norman (the Norman Committee), which reported in 1920. The Norman Report recommended that transmitters should have a range of 2,000 miles, so requiring the use of relay stations, and that England should be connected to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Egypt, India
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
, East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, however the report was not acted upon. While the British politicians continued to procrastinate, Marconi continued to construct stations for other nations, linking north and south America, as well as China and Japan, in 1922. In January 1922 the Association of British Chambers of Commerce
British Chambers of Commerce
The British Chambers of Commerce is the national body for a powerful and influential network of 52 accredited Chambers of Commerce across the UK, representing 92,000 businesses that together employ 4,800,000 employees...
added its voice to the demands for action, adopting a resolution urging the Government to urgently resolve the matter, as did other organisations such as the Empire Press Union, which claimed that the Empire was suffering 'incalculable loss' in its absence.
Under pressure from such quarters, the following the 1922 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 1922
The United Kingdom general election of 1922 was held on 15 November 1922. It was the first election held after most of the Irish counties left the United Kingdom to form the Irish Free State, and was won by Andrew Bonar Law's Conservatives, who gained an overall majority over Labour, led by John...
, the Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
government commissioned a further committee - the Empire Wireless Committee, chaired by Sir Robert Donald
Robert Donald
Sir Robert Donald was a British newspaper editor.Working as a clerk, Donald submitted free articles to a local journal, then gained employment at the Edinburgh Evening News. He also worked on The Courant and the Northampton Echo before becoming a freelancer. In 1888, he joined The Star, a new...
, to urgently 'consider and advise upon the policy to be adopted as regards an Imperial wireless service so as to protect and facilitate public interest.' It's report was presented to the Postmaster-General on 23 February 1924 The committee made recommendations that were similar to those of the Norman Committee - that any stations in Great Britain used to communicate with the Empire should be in the hands of the State, that the they should be operated by the Post Office, and that 8 high-power longwave
Longwave
In radio, longwave refers to parts of radio spectrum with relatively long wavelengths. The term is a historic one dating from the early 20th century, when the radio spectrum was considered to consist of long, medium and short wavelengths...
stations should be used, as well as land-lines. The scheme was estimated at £500,000. At the time the committee was unaware of Marconi's 1923 experiments into shortwave
Shortwave
Shortwave radio refers to the upper MF and all of the HF portion of the radio spectrum, between 1,800–30,000 kHz. Shortwave radio received its name because the wavelengths in this band are shorter than 200 m which marked the original upper limit of the medium frequency band first used...
radio transmissions, which offered a much cheaper alternative - although not a commercially proven one - to the high-power long-wave transmission systems.
Following the Donald Report and discussions with the Dominions, it was decided that the high-power Rugby longwave station (announced on 13 July 1922 by the previous Government) would be completed since it used proven technology, in addition to which a number of shortwave 'beam stations' would be built (so called because a directional antenna
Directional antenna
A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna which radiates greater power in one or more directions allowing for increased performance on transmit and receive and reduced interference from unwanted sources....
was used to concentrate the radio transmission into a narrow directional beam) to communicate with those dominions that chose to use the new shortwave technology. Parliament finally approved an agreement between the Post Office and Marconi to build beam stations to communicate with Canada, South Africa, India and Australia, on 1 August 1924.
Commercial impact
From when the Post Office began operating the 'Post Office Beam' services, through to March, 31st, 1929, they had earned gross receipts of £813,100 at a cost of £538,850, leaving a net surplus of £274,250.Even before the final link became operational between Australia and Canada, it was apparent that the commercial success of the Wireless Chain was threatening the viability of the cable telegraphy
Submarine communications cable
A submarine communications cable is a cable laid on the sea bed between land-based stations to carry telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean....
companies. An 'Imperial Wireless and Cable Conference' was therefore held in London in January 1928, with delegates from Great Britain, the self-governing Dominions, India, the Crown Colonies and Protectorates, to 'examine the situation which arose as a result of the competition of the Imperial Beam Wireless Services with the cable services of various parts of the empire, to report upon it and to make recommendations with a view to a common policy being adopted by the various governments concerned.' It concluded that the cable companies would not be able to compete in an unrestricted market, but that the cable links remained of both commercial and strategic value. It therefore recommended that the cable and wireless interests of the Eastern Telegraph Company, the Eastern Extension, Australasia and China Telegraph Company, Western Telegraph Company and Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Company should be merged to form a single organisation holding a monopolistic
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
position. The merged company would be overseen by an Imperial Advisory Committee, would purchase the Government owned cables in the Pacific, West Indies and Atlantic, and would also be given a lease on the beam stations for a period of 25 years, for the sum of £250,000 per year.
The Conference's recommendations were incorporated into the Imperial Telegraphs Act 1929, leading to the creation of two new companies on 8 April 1929; an operating company Imperial and International Communications, in turn owned by a holding company named Cable and Wireless Limited. In 1934 Imperial and International Communications was renamed as Cable and Wireless Limited, with Cable and Wireless Limited being renamed as Cable and Wireless (Holding) Limited. From the beginning of April 1928 the Beam services were operated by the Post Office as agent
Law of agency
The law of agency is an area of commercial law dealing with a contractual or quasi-contractual, or non-contractual set of relationships when a person, called the agent, is authorized to act on behalf of another to create a legal relationship with a third party...
for Imperial and International Communications Limited.
Transfers of ownership
The 1930s saw the arrival of the Great DepressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, as well as competition from the International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation and affordable airmail
Airmail
Airmail is mail that is transported by aircraft. It typically arrives more quickly than surface mail, and usually costs more to send...
. Due to such factors Cable And Wireless were never able to earn the revenue which had been forecast, resulting in low dividends and an inability to reduce the rates charged to customers as much as had been expected. To ease the financial pressure, the British Government finally decided to transfer the beam stations to Cable and Wireless, in exchange for 2,600,000 of the 30,000,000 shares
Share (finance)
A joint stock company divides its capital into units of equal denomination. Each unit is called a share. These units are offered for sale to raise capital. This is termed as issuing shares. A person who buys share/shares of the company is called a shareholder, and by acquiring share or shares in...
in the company, under the provisions of the Imperial Telegraphs Act 1938. The ownership of the beam stations was reversed in 1947, when the Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
Government nationalised Cable and Wireless, integrating its UK assets with those of the Post Office. By this stage, however, three of the original stations had been closed, after the service was centralised during 1939-1940 at Dorchester and Somerton. The longwave Rugby radio station continued to remain under Post Office ownership throughout.
Beam stations
- TetneyTetneyTetney is a small village in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England, just west of the Prime Meridian.-Geography and amenities:The village is on the A1031 road, the Cleethorpes-Mablethorpe road, just south of Cleethorpes and Humberston...
and WinthorpeWinthorpe, LincolnshireWinthorpe is a small village about two miles north of Skegness, Lincolnshire. OS grid reference: TF562656.Winthorpe was both an ancient parish, and a civil parish, until 1926 when it was abolished...
(with BallanBallan, VictoriaBallan is a small town in the state of Victoria, Australia located on the Werribee River north west of Melbourne. At the 2006 census, Ballan had a population of 1,807.It is the main administrative centre for the Shire of Moorabool Local Government Area....
and RockbankRockbank, VictoriaRockbank is a township and rural locality in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 29 km west from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Melton. At the 2006 Census, Rockbank had a population of 1,337....
in Australia, and with KhadkiKhadkiThere is also an Andean instrument called the Kirki.Khadki is a city neighbourhood of Pune. It has an army base, two ordinance factories and several breweries....
and DaundDaundDaund is a city and a municipal council in Pune district in the state of Maharashtra, India. In ancient times a sage, 'Dhaumya Rishi' used to stay here, hence people started calling this place after him: 'Dhaum'. Gradually 'Dhaum' became 'Dhoand', then 'Dhaundh', and before it getting corrupted to...
in India) - OngarOngarOngar can refer toin England*High Ongar, Essex*Chipping Ongar, Essex **Ongar , an ancient administrative unit**Ongar railway stationin Ireland*Ongar, Dublinin Pakistan...
and BrentwoodBrentwood, EssexBrentwood is a town and the principal settlement of the Borough of Brentwood, in the county of Essex in the east of England. It is located in the London commuter belt, 20 miles east north-east of Charing Cross in London, and near the M25 motorway.... - Dorchester and SomertonSomertonSomerton is a small town and civil parish in the South Somerset district of the English county of Somerset. It gave its name to the county of Somerset, was briefly, around the start of the 14th century, the county town, and around 900 AD was possibly the capital of Wessex...
- BodminBodminBodmin is a civil parish and major town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated in the centre of the county southwest of Bodmin Moor.The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character...
and BridgwaterBridgwaterBridgwater is a market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is the administrative centre of the Sedgemoor district, and a major industrial centre. Bridgwater is located on the major communication routes through South West England...
- the latter actually nearer to North Petherton (with Drummondville and YamachicheYamachiche, QuebecYamachiche is a municipality in the Mauricie region of the province of Quebec in Canada.-Etymology:The name Yamachiche was first used to identify the Little Yamachiche River which runs through the town. It came from the Native American words iyamitaw and achichki...
in Canada, and with Kliphevel (now Klipheuwel) and Milnerton in South Africa)
At Bodmin and Bridgwater, each aerial stretched to nearly half a mile (0.78 km) long, and consisted of a row of five 277 feet (84.4m) high lattice masts
Lattice tower
A lattice tower or truss tower is a freestanding framework tower. They can be used as electricity pylons especially for voltages above 100 kilovolts, as a radio tower or as an observation tower....
, erected in a line at 640 foot (195m) intervals and at right angles to the overseas receiving station. These were topped by cross-arm measuring 10 feet high by 90 feet wide (3m x 27.4m), from which the vertical wires of the aerial were hung, forming a 'curtain antenna'. At Tetney the antenna for India was similar to those at Bodmin and Bridgwater, while the Australian aerial was carried on three 275 foot (83.8m) high masts.
Electronic components for the system were built at Marconi's New Street wireless factory in Chelmsford
Chelmsford
Chelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately northeast of Charing Cross, London, and approximately the same distance from the once provincial Roman capital at Colchester...
.
External links
- Tetney Beam Station - Tetney County Primary School
- Dorchester Radio Station - South Dorset Radio Society