WDSWC

WDSWC 1937/39

THE WEYMOUTH AND DISTRICT SHORT WAVE CLUB

1937 - 1939

The picture below shows George Short (wearing cap) and Len Nash operating a home built OV1 receiver at Bowleaze Cove in 1938. They were listening to local stations on the 160 metre band. George, (callsign 2DGB) later to become G2DGB and Len, (callsign 2DRX) later to become G4DA were both members of the Weymouth Short Wave Club.

George who has provided most of the information and pictures for this page now lives in Dorchester and is still an active Radio Amateur. Unfortunately Len was lost in action on Crete during WW2.

The Weymouth Short Wave Club met in a disused blacksmiths shop behind a house that overlooked the harbour - at the Hope Street end of Nothe Parade. George says that he removed the old forge and replaced it with a normal fire place and that a supply of coal was needed to keep the club members warm in the winter! Access to the club room was down a passage beside the house.

The Club's Call-sign was G8WQ (Weymouth Quay). The mains supply was 230 volts DC with a positive earth. This limited the transmit power as it was not easy to step up DC of course. A supply of 460 volts was available in the passageway but the Electric Company would not connect this as the Club's use did not warrant it! In view of the leaky roof and positive earth perhaps it was just as well!

The club transmitter was built by members including George and used valves with 4 volt heaters which were supplied from a tapped down car battery. The battery was charged from the DC mains with a lamp in series - simple but effective! The aerial was a 40m Zepp with tuned open wire feeders and was used on the 160, 80, 40 and 20m bands. A valve Morse practise oscillator was available and the HT supply to it from the mains was directly keyed. Clods of earth were thrown onto the shack roof by angry neighbours before a key click filter was fitted and the presumed BCI cured!

George joined the club in about April of 1938 and obtained his 'AA' Call-sign in the October. At that time the club secretary was Bill Bartlett, 2BBF who was manager of the Co-Op butchers shop in Franchise Street. This shop was bombed early in the war and Bill moved to South Wales, (George thinks for health reasons). In the 1950's Bill wrote to George and others about reforming the Weymouth club but as Bill was living in Wales it was difficult to see why he was interested and no further action was taken. However, George's 1963 Call Book lists Bill as 'GW8WQ, Whitland, Carmarthenshire, Wales', so by then he had obtained the old club call-sign!

Other members of the club included Harry Marshall G5XR, Frank Marshall G2XQ (still active), Eddie Kestin G3ZL, Charles Biggs G2TZ, Fred Record (now G4JVQ), Tom Petty, Jules Hubbard and Bert Stainer. The picture below, shows Eddie, G3ZL in his own shack in 1938.

In the spring of 1939 with war looming, members of the club who were in the Volunteer Reserve were called up and George joined the first lot of Militia Boys on July 15. In about August the club equipment was collected by GPO officials and at the start of the war the club folded. (During the war all Amateur Radio equipment was confiscated and not returned until after the end of hostilities, George thinks about December 1945).

In 1939 there were about 2300 'AA' and 'G' Radio Amateur Stations licensed. Most were only allowed to use 10 watts although there were a few 'High Power' 25 watt licencees including Harry Marshall G5XR! Power was measured as the current taken by the transmitter output stage multiplied by the supply voltage and called the 'input' power. Actual RF output would have been less than half the resultant figure! The 'AA' (artificial aerial) licence specifically forbid the radiation of signals outside of the building in which the transmitter was installed! Scans of all the pages of George's 'AA' licence issued in March 1939 are available as attachments at the bottom of this page.

The licence was in fact issued to his father as his agent as George being under 21 was a 'minor' and therefore not legally responsible! The cost of 10 shillings (50p) would have been a considerable sum in 1939. Much more expensive in real terms than the current Amateur Radio Licence.

POSTSCRIPT

During my research for the preparation of this page a number of people mentioned Len Nash, G4DA who was lost in action on Crete during WW2. It is believed that Len stayed behind after the evacuation of the main body of British troops to destroy Radar equipment, in order to prevent it falling into enemy hands.

The Marshall brothers, Harry and Frank will be remembered by many local people for their Radio and Television shop in Easton on Portland. Frank G2XQ operated for many years from his home in Reap Lane on Portland. His station operating from "Portland on the rock" as he called it was very well known on the bands and he now lives in Wyke Regis.

Eddie (Ted) Kestin went into the Photographic business after the war and had a shop in St Mary Street. Now retired he still expresses an interest in Amateur Radio but has never reactivated his call-sign.

Geoff G0EVW August 1999

UPDATE (February 2002)

An original G8WQ QSL card has been made available by Frank Marshall, G2XQ confirming his 1.7 MHz QSO with the club station on the 12/12/37. This shows that the official title of the club was in fact 'The Weymouth and District Short Wave Club' and that it was located at 15A Hope Street. The operator of the club station during the QSO was Frank's brother Harry, G5XR.

With thanks to Mike, G7HNY who digitally restored the card.

FINAL

G8WQ BACK ON THE AIR!

On Sunday, the 19th of August 2012, 75 years after it was first granted to the Weymouth and District Short Wave Club, G8WQ took to the airwaves once again. Operated by George Short (G2DGB), an original member of the WDSWC, operating from his home QTH in Dorchester, G8WQ worked the SDRS club stations G3SDS and GO3SDS.

G8WQ is once again a club station and is held on behalf of the SDRS/WDSWC by Geoff, G0EVW.

Full details of how this historic callsign came back to life can be found here: G8WQ