The Welsh radio museum
The Gwefr Heb Wifrau - Wireless in Wales, a charitable trust, is a small radio museum with a difference. With its emphasis on the history of Broadcasting in Wales, the influence of broadcasting on our national identity and the contribution of the Welsh to the development of wireless technology it is unique. We have an interesting collection of old radio equipment and books as well as educational and informative displays. The Museum is based around the collection of the late David Evan Jones and was opened just a few weeks after his death in 2008. In 2013 we were officially Accredited by CyMAL a Welsh Government Agency.
The museum is open on most Mondays, 11.00 - 15.00 and closed on bank holidays. Group and private visits at any other time by appointment are welcome throughout the year.
Wireless in Wales provides a safe and secure environment for volunteers and visitors, including wheelchair access throughout the building, a hearing loop and exhibits for safe handling. Our staff are trained and experienced in looking after visitors with disabilities.
Monthly update, April 2018
"Broadcasting in the 80's on Radio Havana Cuba" was Lila Haines's subject when she came to talk to us at the Museum in February. She worked on the island as a correspondent and journalist on the English Language broadcasts from 1988 until 1992, a period of major political changes around the world. There were six national radio stations in Cuba at the time, and Radio Havana was the official government station, broadcasting in nine languages. Lila had an opportunity to present and edit the news on the radio, attend international conferences and meet celebrities like Castro himself. She talked about the 29,000 children transported to Cuba to be cared for after the Chernobyl explosion, and the food parcels sent to Eastern Europe after the Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. In the same year, some of Cuba's leading people were punished and executed, including General Arnaldo Ochoa, for being involved in drug cartels. Lila was presenting the News live on the radio when she received an announcement from Washington, announcing the beginning of the First Gulf War. In 1991 Nelson Mandela visited Cuba and Lila has a photograph of him which she took on that occasion.
Since leaving the island, Lila has worked for the Assembly in Cardiff and Oxfam. She is currently Chair of Fairtrade for Wales, (go to fairtradewales.com) and she works freelance. Here's a picture of Lila, with Suna who was in Berlin when the Wall fell!
During the period 20/04/18 - 30/06/18 one of our radios will be displayed at
Wrexham Museum as part of the North East Wales Heritage Forum Exhibition, "100 Objects". It is a Foulkes regenerative receiver, made and sold at the Foulkes Shop in Rhyl, c. 1926. It has 4 valves and is powered by batteries. Here's
a picture of the radio and the shop:
Everyone is welcome to the next lectures in our series, which will take place at the Museum at 7.00 p.m.:
April 20th, "The Sea Tragedies of the 'Ocean Monarch'and the 'Lelia'", by Tony Griffiths and Keith Mountain.
April 27th, in Welsh, "T.H. Parry-Williams and the Subconscious ", by Ioan Talfryn.
May 18th, "Mining in North East Wales", by Alan Jones.
June 15th, "Broadcasting in Wales", by Ifor ap Glyn.
June 22nd, in Welsh, "The Effectiveness and Safety of Medication", by Dyfrig Hughes.
Our Coffee Morning and Plant Stalls this year will be on June 2nd at Eirianfa, 10.00-12.00, along with Vale of Clwyd Mind and Denbigh Museum.
I wonder how many of you heard Geraint Lloyd, Radio Cymru, chatting about Wireless in Wales with Ioan Talfryn at 11.30 p.m. on Monday, 19/02/18? The clip is still on Radio Cymru's website. It is evident that people in the media browse the local papers regularly.
Thanks to the Bigwn for the publicity!
Monthly Update, March 2018
We had a very interesting lecture on January 19th when John Clark visited the Museum for the second time to talk about his hobby, Making Jewels. He gave us an outline of the historical background of metals, with particular reference to the Ancient Egyptians and their amazing skills smelting and working on gold to make jewellery and tools 2330 b.c. Evidence of this is found in pictures and hieroglyphics on tomb walls of the period. In the picture from Mereruka's tomb below, there are six men blowing gold.
John talked about different metals, and the way to grade gold. He explained that pure gold is 24 carat, and that the 'white' gold which is popular currently, is a mix of gold, possibly 18 carat, with another metal, such as silver. He showed pictures of the rings, brooches and earrings he had created, and it was nice to see his wife, Sue, wearing examples.
As you can see, the Radio Museum has an iconic battery-powered Pop Art Radio from the 70's. The loudspeaker is mounted in the letter "O" and there is a telescopic antenna at the rear.
It can receive FM and MW stations and it was possible to buy the radio in red, blue or gold.
Ifor ap Glyn's lecture on "Broadcasting in Wales" has had to be postponed until June 15th. The David Edward Hughes annual lecture on March 16th will be delivered by David Crawford, the Museum Curator, and his subject will be
'The Development of the 78RPM Gramophone Record '.
The other lectures in the series are:
April 20th, "The Sea Tragedies of the 'Ocean Monarch'and the 'Lelia'", by Tony Griffiths and Keith Mountain.
April 27th, "T.H. Parry-Williams and the Subconscious ", by Ioan Talfryn.
May 18th, "Mining in North East Wales", by Alan Jones.
The lectures start at 7.00 p.m. and there are light refreshments to follow.
Our Coffee Morning this year will be on June 2nd at Eirianfa, 10.00-12.00, along with Vale of Clwyd Mind and Denbigh Museum.
A warm welcome is extended to everyone.
Monthly Update, February 2018
Wireless in Wales Museum has a single television receiver, the Bush TV12B which has a nine inch screen, 18 valves and a cathode ray tube. This is the television you usually see on television programmes depicting life in the early 1950's. It had a large number of controls to control focus, brightness, contrast etc., and these had to be adjusted as the night wore on and as the components became hotter.
This television receiver was released in September 1949, at the same time as the start of BBC Television from Sutton Coldfield in the Midlands, the first time television was extended outside London. It was designed to receive television signals from Sutton Coldfield on channel 4 VHF only, and it worked only in that region. By 1950, the BBC was beginning to establish a network of television stations across the country, and Bush produced the TV22 which was able to receive BBC TV from anywhere - on channel 5 VHF in Cardiff for example.
In 1955, independent broadcasting began on new channels, 6 to 13, which meant that the old BBC only television sets could not receive the new broadcasts. So a range of converters, set top boxes, were produced to plug into the televisions, so that they could receive ITV. Here is a picture of a 'set top box' for the Murphy television set.
A warm welcome to everyone to the next lectures in our series:
February 16th, "Broadcasting in the 1980's at Radio Havana Cuba", by Lila Haines.
March 16th, "Development of the 78RPM Gramophone Record, by David Crawford, Curator of the Museum. This will be the David Edward Hughes annual lecture.
April 20th, "The Sea Tragedies of the 'Ocean Monarch'and the 'Lelia'", by Tony Griffiths and Keith Mountain.
April 27th, a Welsh lecture on "Sir T. H. Parry-Williams and the Subconcious" by Ioan Talfryn.
May 18th, "Mining in North East Wales", by Alan Jones.
The lectures start at 7.00 p.m. and there are light refreshments to follow.
Events
The museum organises regular monthly talks in English or Bilingual. We also organise several talks in Welsh annually. The talks are usually on a Friday and start at 7pm. Upcoming Events are listed below with the talks emphasized.
April 27th, 19:00 "Yr Efe -T.H. Parry-Williams a'r isymwybod", darlith gan Ioan Talfryn. (This is a lecture in Welsh on a famous Welsh poet)
Latest news
HLF Project
The 2 year project to develop our learning provision came to an end in April 2013. It was funded by the Heritage Lotetry Fund and enabled us to have 3 part time members of staff to develop learning resources, improve learning displays, organise events, visits to the museum etc. Further details available by clicking on Projects in the main menu above or by clicking here.