The Essex 2020 podcast
In this series, we go behind the scenes of the UK’s biggest celebration of science and creativity. In each episode, Essex 2020 project director Richard Freeman meets some of the brilliant people and organisations who are working to create, inspire and discover Essex’s past, present and future.
In this episode: Chris Neale and Alan Pamphilon from Chelmsford Civic Society | Chelmsford Science & Engineering Society
When Guglielmo Marconi founded his telecommunications and engineering company in Chelmsford, he changed the local landscape forever.
Marconi’s Wireless Telegraph and Signal Company was formed in 1897. It opened the world’s first radio factory on Hall Street in 1898 and was responsible for some of the most important advances in naval communications, wireless technology radio and television - with Marconi winning the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1909.
Richard talks to retired engineers Chris Neale and Alan Pamphilon - both who owe their careers to the Marconi Company - about Marconi’s legacy, what made him choose Chelmsford and why Essex 2020 is honouring a very specific event that happened 100 years ago.
Useful links
Chris Neale https://www.chelmsfordses.org.uk/about/council/7-chris-neale?highlight=WyJjaHJpcyJd
Alan Pamphilon https://aru.ac.uk/graduation-and-alumni/alumni-network/alumni-stories/alumni-of-the-month/alan-pamphilon
Alan’s walks for Chelmsford Civic Society (Facebook) https://www.facebook.com/pg/ChelmsfordCivicSociety/posts/?ref=page_internal
Chelmsford Science & Engineering Society https://www.chelmsfordses.org.uk/
Chelmsford Civic Society http://www.chelmsfordcivicsociety.co.uk/
Guglielmo Marconi on Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guglielmo_Marconi
Marconi historian Tim Wander https://marconibooks.co.uk/about.php
The Titanic and Marconi’s wireless telegraph – Science Museum https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/titanic-marconi-and-wireless-telegraph
Godfrey Isaacs, Marconi’s business brain, on Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godfrey_Isaacs
Winifred Sayer, world’s first woman broadcaster http://www.bluefence.co.uk/emergenceofbroadcastinginbritain/index_illustrations.html
Dame Nellie Melba’s microphone http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/objects/p0lN-tReTl2P_QyzRwKFEA
Dame Nellie Melba on Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nellie_Melba
Captain Peter Eckersley https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Eckersley_(engineer)
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Essex 2020 is an Essex Partners initiative.
This is an always possible podcast.
The interviewer was Richard Freeman for always possible and the producer was Chris Thorpe-Tracey for Lo Fi Arts.