1932 in British radio explained

The following is a list of events from British radio in 1932.

Events

• 15 March
  • First BBC radio broadcast from the new Broadcasting House in London;^[1] all programmes transfer from 15 May.
  • The BBC Dance Orchestra first broadcasts under the direction of Henry Hall.^[2]
• May – Radio Luxembourg begins high-powered longwave test transmissions aimed directly at the British Isles (which prove, inadvertently, to be the first radio modification of the ionosphere).^[3]
• 15 October – First performance before an audience in The Concert Hall of Broadcasting House.^[4]
• 30 November – The BBC begins a series of radio broadcasts to mark the 75th birthday of composer Sir Edward Elgar.
• 19 December – The BBC Empire Service, later known as the BBC World Service, begins broadcasting^[5] using a shortwave radio facility at its Daventry transmitting station.^[6]
• 25 December – Inaugural Royal Christmas Message delivered by King George V from Sandringham House; scheduled for approximately 3.05pm;^{[7] [8]} the text has been written by Rudyard Kipling.

Births

• 19 January – George MacBeth, Scottish-born poet and radio poetry producer (died 1992)
• 28 January – Norman de Mesquita, sports commentator (died 2013)

Deaths

• 23 November – Percy Pitt, BBC Director of Music (born 1869)

Notes and References

1. Book: Palmer, Alan. Palmer . Veronica. 1992. The Chronology of British History. Century Ltd. London. 375–376. 0-7126-5616-2.
2. The Man Behind the New BBC Dance Band. Radio Times. 1932-03-11.
3. Web site: Operations News. Gakona HAARPoon. Alaska. 2017-02-19. 2022-11-16.
4. Web site: Beckwith. Roger. Lower Ground Floor. Broadcasting House in the 1930s. Old BBC Radio Broadcasting Equipment and Memories. 2013-09-11. 2022-11-18.
5. Book: Penguin Pocket On This Day. Penguin Reference Library. 0-14-102715-0. 2006.
6. Book: Tomalin, Norman. Daventry Calling the World. Whitby. Caedmon. 1998. 0-905355-46-6. 2015-05-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20131224203242/http://www.bbceng.info/Books/dx-world/dx-calling-the-world-2008a.pdf. 24 December 2013. dead.
7. Web site: Listings National Programme (Daventry) 25 December 1932. BBC Genome. BBC. 22 November 2020.
8. News: Daventry Christmas Day. Radio Times. 37. 482. 23 December 1932. 910.