OTD in early British television: 12 December 1936
John Wyver writes: the afternoon and evening of Saturday 12 December 1936, just six weeks into the BBC Television service from Alexandra Palace, witnessed a spectacular demonstration on the terrace just outside the studio. Celebrated First World War pilot and now producer Cecil Lewis had been charged with organising ‘local’ outside broadcasts. With the enthusiasm of a true believer, he arranged with the Territorial Army for the Battalion 61st (11th London) Anti-Aircraft Brigade, R.A., and the 36th Middlesex Anti-Aircraft, R.E., to be put through their paces.
A ‘local’ outside broadcast involved Emitron cameras being wheeled out of the studio onto the adjacent surround or into the nearby grounds and sending images back to the control room along a thick cable. It would be another six months before this umbilical link could be broken with the arrival of the first outside broadcast unit of three vans capable creating pictures and sounds at a distant location. May 12 1937 would see the first remote OB from Marble Arch, with pictures of the Coronation procession.
Meanwhile, numerous stunts were organised around AP for connected cameras, including golf demonstrations, the flying of model aircraft, a parade of vintage cars, and show-jumping. The anti-aircraft defence display, however, was on a somewhat different scale.
Arrayed outside AP were two anti-aircraft guns complete with range finders and predictors, and three searchlights, plus listening apparatus, plotting table, a machine gun on a tripod, and a chair-bound spotter. Previewing the broadcast, the television correspondent of the Daily Telegraph (source of clipping above) could hardly contain their excitement:
What promises to be the most thrilling and spectacular television programme yet broadcast will be seen tonight. Territorial anti-aircraft units will repell a mimic bombing and gas attack from the air. An RAF night bomber from Uxbridge will swoop down to a height of 200 feet above the Alexandra Palace buildings. Caught in the searchlight beams it will begin, in theory, to machine-gun the defenders and discharge its bombs.
The defenders will be seen donning their gasmasks and meeting the attack with both anti-aircraft and machine guns. Studio lights with a power of 24 kilowatts are being moved out onto the terrace to illuminate the scene.
In retrospect, however, the January edition of Television and Short-wave World was rather more measured in its response:
The two transmissions showed what can be done technically with television, and great praise is due to the engineering staff responsible. From an entertainment point of view it was, however, hardly worthwhile.
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