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form The Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company Ltd which soon became
Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Co。； and ultimately the Marconi Company。
William Preece of the Post Office detached one of his assistants；
George S。 Kemp； to help Marconi。 Kemp was destined to become his
right…hand man and served Marconi faithfully throughout his life。 By
today's standards； Marconi can be said to have been a highly successful
entrepreneur。 He had the great knack of selecting the right man for the job；
and inspired deep loyalty in his staff。 He regarded himself as an 'amateur'
and often paid tribute to the work of radio experimenters。
（Most of the above passages are quoted from 'A History of the
Marconi Company' by W。J。Baker； published by Methuen & Co Ltd。
reprinted in 1979。）
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The dawn of amateur radio in the U。K。 and Greece ： a personal view
CHAPTER THREE
THE RADIO AMATEUR MOVEMENT
From the turn of the century enthusiastic young men who built their
own items of electrical and wireless apparatus were known as 〃Wireless
Experimenters〃。 Many of them were later granted licences for the use of
〃Wireless Telegraphy for experimental purposes〃 （in the United Kingdom）
by the Postmaster General under the terms of the 1904 Wireless
Telegraphy Act。 In his report to Parliament for the years 1905…1906 the
P。M。G。 stated that it was his wish 〃to promote experimental investigations
in this promising field〃。
In a book published in 1908 by R。P。Howgrave…Graham entitled
〃Wireless Telegraphy for Amateurs〃 the word amateur seems to have been
used for the first time。
During the 1914…1918 war all wireless apparatus in the possession of
licensed amateurs was closed down under the Defence of the Realm Act of
1914。 Experimental transmission licences numbered 1；600。
After the end of the war an Inter…Departmental Committee was set up
and in its report to the Postmaster General dated April 1919 it stated： 〃We
are of the opinion that the number of stations existing in July 1914 was
excessive from the point of view of government control in case of
emergency and the necessity of preventing interference with government
and commercial working； further there was no justification for it from the
point of view of the encouragement of research or development of
industry〃。
But there was a magnanimous relaxation in the Defence Regulations
when the Post Office notified manufacturers of electrical apparatus that
restriction on the sale of buzzers had been removed。 Buzzers could now be
sold without enquiry as to the use to which the purchaser proposed to put
them！！！
During 1919 many issues of WIRELESS WORLD considered 〃the
amateur position〃； and a leading article in the March issue began with a
quotation attributed to Marconi：
〃I consider that the existence of a body of independent and often
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The dawn of amateur radio in the U。K。 and Greece ： a personal view
enthusiastic amateurs constitutes a valuable asset towards the further
development of wireless telegraphy。〃
In a subsequent letter to the Editor Marconi wrote：
〃In my opinion it would be a mistaken policy to introduce legislation
to prevent amateurs experimenting with wireless telegraphy （which the
authorities were contemplating）。 Had it not been for amateurs； wireless
telegraphy as a great world…fact might not have existed at all。 A great deal
of the development and progress of wireless telegraphy is due to the
efforts of amateurs。〃
John Ambrose Fleming； the inventor of the diode valve； also wrote to
the Editor of W。W。 as follows：
〃It is a matter of common knowledge that a large part of the
important inventions in connection with wireless telegraphy have been the
work of amateurs and private research and not the outcome of official
brains or the handiwork of military or naval organisations。 In fact we may
say that wireless telegraphy itself in its inception was an amateur product。
Numerous important inventions such as the crystal detector； the oscillating
valve； the triode valve have been due to private or amateur work。 If full
opportunities for such non…official research work are not restored； the
progress of the art of radio telegraphy and radio telephony will be greatly
hindered。〃
Professor W。H。Eccles wrote：
〃Improvements and invention must be stimulated to the utmost。 It is
not impossible to devise laws to impose restrictions upon the emission of
wireless waves as will preclude interference with the public radio service
of the future （R。F。I。 & T。V。I。？！！） and yet allow liberal opportunities for the
experimental study of wireless telegraphy。〃
NOTE。 The above passages are taken from WORLD AT THEIR
FINGERTIPS by John Clarricoats； O。B。E。；G6CL； published by the
R。S。G。B。 in 1968。
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The dawn of amateur radio in the U。K。 and Greece ： a personal view
CHAPTER FOUR
THE 1921 TRANSATLANTIC TESTS
Most commercial experimental transmissions in wireless telegraphy
before World War I were carried out on the 〃long〃 wavelengths； though
they were not called that at the time。 Transmissions by amateurs in the
United Kingdom and the U。S。A。 on the other hand were made around 200
metres （1。5MHz）。 In the U。S。A。 amateurs were permitted to use a
D。C。input of 1；000 watts to the anode of the final stage of their
transmitters。 In the U。K。 the maximum power allowed was 10 watts and
the combined height and length of the transmitting aerial was not to
exceed 100 feet。 So when the first attempt to span the Atlantic was made
in February of 1921 it was natural that the American stations should do the
transmitting and the Europeans the listening。
About 25 U。S。 amateur stations participated in the tests； which took
place early in the morning on the 2nd； 4th and 6th of February 1921。
Although about 200 European stations ha