1934 in British radio

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This is a list of events from British radio in 1934.

Events

• 23 February
  • Edward Elgar dies, leaving unfinished his Symphony No. 3, commissioned by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, who will premiere its realised version in 1998.
  • Benjamin Britten's choral variations A Boy Was Born are premiered in a BBC radio concert of contemporary music with Leslie Woodgate conducting the Wireless Chorus and choirboys of St Mark's, North Audley Street, London.[1]
• 6 September – The BBC's most powerful long-wave transmitter, Droitwich Transmitting Station, starts transmitting regularly at 200 kilohertz, following test transmissions from 8 May.[2] From 7 October it takes over from Daventry 5XX as the main station radiating the BBC National Programme.
• 29 November – Marriage of Prince George, Duke of Kent, to Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark at Westminster Abbey, the first wedding to be broadcast live on radio.[3]
• 25 December – King George V Christmas Broadcast.

King George V at the microphone, Christmas 1934

• A former London roller skating rink reopens as the BBC's Maida Vale Studios[4] which becomes the home of the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
• The Northern Studio Orchestra is renamed the BBC Northern Orchestra.
• EKCO introduces its distinctive round bakelite radio cabinets in the United Kingdom.

Births

• 10 January – Sheila Tracy (née Lugg), broadcast presenter, previously swing trombonist (died 2014)
• 4 March – John Dunn, radio presenter (died 2004)
• 5 June – Bryon Butler, radio football correspondent (died 2001)
• 26 August – Gordon Clough, radio journalist (died 1996)
• 18 December – Michael Freedland, journalist, biographer and broadcaster in London (You Don't Have To Be Jewish) (died 2018)

Deaths

• 14 May – Norman Clapham, radio comedian as John Henry, suicide (born 1879)[5]

References

1. "A Boy was Born". Britten Thematic Catalogue. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
2. Phillips, John (December 2006). "Droitwich Calling". Retrieved 3 December 2015.
3. Penguin Pocket On This Day. Penguin Reference Library. 2006. ISBN 0-14-102715-0.
4. Bathgate, Gordon (2012). Voices from the Ether: The History of Radio. Lulu.com. ISBN 9781471628610. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
5. "Wireless Comedian's Suicide". The Times. No. 46756. London. 17 May 1934. p. 4.