Radio – Page 12 – What Was Pebble Mill?

Comms reunion Sept 2017

Some of the Pebble Mill Comms team met up for a reunion 28th Sept 2017.

Included in the photo are: Stewart Kelly, Chris Elliot, Graham Hewitt, Arif Mohammed, and Cliff Harvey.

Thanks to Jane Wolf Elledge for sharing the photo.

The following comment was added on the Pebble Mill Facebook page:

Andy Marriott: …and none of them look a day older than when I first set foot in the Comms Centre back in August 2000. Happy days and fond memories.

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Rod Fawcett for Radio WM at Brum Superprix

This photo shows Radio WM engineer, Rod Fawcett, during coverage of the Birmingham Superprix. Notice the backpack for transmitting the radio signal.

The Superprix was a motor race meeting, held on the streets of Birmingham, between 1986-1990.

The following comments were left on the Pebble Mill Facebook page:

Andy Shepherd: ‘I was working at Central Television then, although not on the Superprix itself, and would go to the top of Alpha Tower (26 storeys) and watch the race with the guy who manually maneuvered the microwave receiver throughout the race to pick up the signal from the one (and only one) car with an on-board camera.’

Andy Walters: ‘We’ve still got a backpack like that. Usually gets used for the Birmingham Marathon and things like that.’

Emma Taynton-Young: ‘I remember going to this with Dad (John Taynton) but I can’t remember if he was at the Beeb then or still at BRMB.’

Mike Taynton: ‘Pretty much everything I got to experience with, my late father, John Taynton was a joy but getting to go along with him to these races is up there in my all time highlights’

Richard Uridge: ‘Great snap. I remember that day well as a reporter at WM. Nice to see Rod. He was always always smiling.’

Anthony Guy Willcock: ‘Racing up the ring road towards the Mosque, so slow!’

Jim Knights: ‘ It rained!‘

Andy Frizzell: ‘I was involved with the Top Gear coverage (pre Clarkson) Chris Goffey was our presenter.’

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Yoga on the Radio

This is the front page of a free leaflet available to listeners, to accompany ‘Relax with Roundabout’ – yoga on the radio, an innovation by BBC Birmingham producer/presenter, Pete Simpkin, and featuring yoga teacher Pat Mellor. It was part of Pete’s ‘Roundabout’ show. The leaflet includes line drawings of the different yoga postures that Pat was going to explain to listeners on her live programmes with Pete. As far as Pete is aware, Radio Birmingham was the first, and only station to do proper yoga lessons on the radio!

The following comment was posted on the Pebble Mill Facebook page:

David Shute: ‘ “Roundabout” was originally on the Light Prog. produced by Peter Duncan. In the 60’s whilst I was a reporter based in Bristol I did lot of on-air work for him including making the first ever live broadcast flying through the Sound Barrier. Those were the days when broadcasting really was fun, lucky we who were at it then.’

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The day the Pebble Mill studio opened

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-birmingham-29109003/the-day-pebble-mill-studio-opened-in-1971

This link is to a clip from Nationwide on 15th June 1971. Midlands Today presenter, Tom Coyne gives a guided tour of the brand new Pebble Mill studios. Included in the tour are Studio B, the home of Midlands Today; Studio A, where many dramas were produced; and the Radio studios, home to The Archers, we also see Radio WM in action. There is no mention of Pebble Mill at One, because the programme had not yet been planned.

Thanks to Malcolm Hickman for sharing the link.

Still from Tom Coyne’s piece on Nationwide. Copyright BBC.

The following comments were left on the Pebble Mill Facebook page:

Keith Warrender:’The EMI cameras were still going in 1983 when they were replaced with Link 125s. Link are long gone but the old factory is still standing unused in Andover.’

Sue Astle: ‘Such an amazing exciting time for us then, we were privileged to have worked there. Susie Bancroft. Ex make up’

Sarah Tongue: ‘My mom ran the Library!’

Helen Smith: ‘Loved watching that, my Dad was the cameraman at the beginning of the clip.’

Michael Fisher: ‘Radio Birmingham as it was at the start!’

Andy Marriott: ‘What was the little mini cart system they were using for spot effects, called?’

Malcolm Hickman: ‘It was a device called a P.E.G. Programme effects generator. They used a spool of tape in a case with a metal loop fitted at one end. When you inserted the cartridge, the machine grabbed the tab and cued the effect. It had loads of slots so a sequence of effects could be built up. A BBC designs department product, IIRC.’

Sue Welch: ‘Actually remember Tom Coyne from Tyne Tees Television. A very long time ago.’

Malcolm Adcock: ‘Happy memories, joined Top Gear in 1988 and our production office was later in the old Pebble Mill at One studio area.’

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Memories of Alan Ward from Louise Willcox

Alan Ward in spring 2017. Photo by Louise Willcox, no reproduction without permission

Alan Ward, retired Senior Studio Manager specialising in serious music, passed away last Wednesday, 12^th July 2017. He died aged 85, peacefully, at his home.
Louise Willcox remained in touch with Alan after he retired and remembers his kindness well.

“I am a generation or so behind Alan in terms of my Audio Unit career and frankly, after Alan retired and moved to the New Forest, I thought that our paths might potentially never cross again.

Spool forward 20 years: Alan’s lovely wife Rita had died, leaving him bereft. Coincidentally, my daughter Heather was being employed by DSTL for a ‘year in industry’ before university. Towards the end of that year, a mutual friend pointed out that DSTL was not far from where Alan lived, and Roger and I got in touch. We and Heather took Alan out (or rather, he took us!) for the odd meal in one of the plethora of lovely eateries around the New Forest. We kept in touch by phone and email, and a year later, when Heather was invited to spend her summer vacation continuing her work-placement, Alan stunned us by offering her accommodation at his beautifully appointed home – point blank refusing to let us pay him for it, and he’d got in touch with someone who could give her a lift into work!

Heather was a shy 20-year-old but, to my astonishment, said yes. For four years she stayed with Alan during her summer placements – by year two she could drive and she would then share the driving (probably safer), going out for meals together – Alan making great play of having a 21-year-old on his arm! He openly admitted that he had been lonely after his wife had died and that just having someone in the house (even if she was in her room on her computer all the time!) just helped. They developed a firm friendship and Roger and I visited whenever we could.

Heather ultimately got a job at DSTL after university, and we have continued to visit Alan. The last occasion was about four months ago, when it was clear Alan was becoming more frail. He had lost none of his wicked sense of humour, though!

Towards the end, Alan had full-time care at home, and was becoming more confused due to his depleted oxygen levels. I mention this only because, at one point Alan asked the family if they’d got enough XLR cables! This will bring a smile to audio unit colleagues – the A. Ward Award – for emptying OB Stores of equipment – was apocryphal! Alan’s family thought it was apt that towards the end, he was planning an OB.”

Louise Willcox

Freelance Sound Supervisor

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