1934 in British radio

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

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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, 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

• 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)

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.