ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF THE BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

19 October 1922. 

What a special day for the BBC who is  celebrating the centenary of the introduction of the wireless to the world. 

Our Society of Women Writers had been in existence for twenty-eight years when the first programmes were relayed from Savoy Hill, the address of the first London wireless station, not more than twenty-five miles from Chelmsford. Of course, Guglielmo Marconi, "Father of Radio, who built his factory at Chelmsford in Essex had been working for many years on his rather special project. So much as been written about Marconi (one of my favourite people) but I always want to know more.  

Within ten years, in spring 1932, the mighty Broadcasting House was erected - from Portland Stone on the specified site chosen in Westminster where it stands today.

Many of our SWWJ pioneering women writers were employed at the BBC in those early days, including the wonderful Elise Sprott (1885-1961) who arrived in 1926 at Savoy Hill and even then was championing broadcasting for women, becoming the publicity envoy for the BBC, travelling and lecturing on the new medium

LONDON — The British Broadcasting Corp. marked 100 years of broadcasting on Tuesday, a century after a group of wireless manufacturers founded the company and began filling the airwaves with its first daily radio service.

The BBC was founded on Oct. 18, 1922, in London and daily broadcasting began a month later. The broadcaster is marking its centenary with a series of special programs, including a guest appearance from King Charles III on The Repair Shop, a program featuring expert craftspeople restoring antiques.

Actress Jodie Whittaker will make her last appearance as the Time Lord on a special episode of Doctor Who on Sunday, before Ncuti Gatwa takes over the role. The BBC has had many milestones in its history. In 1932, King George V was the first British monarch to broadcast on radio, and his voice was heard for the first time by millions simultaneously. The broadcast inaugurated the start of the BBC Empire Service, the forerunner to the BBC World Service. The broadcaster launched the world's first regularly scheduled TV service in 1936. In 1953, the BBC's coverage of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation was the first time that most people at the time had watched an event on television.