Thursday 2nd June was a bright, clear and sunny day across north London, where almost 80 members of the Alexandra Palace Television Society gathered for their annual reunion in the Londesborough Room at Alexandra Palace.
Members both old and new celebrated the 75th anniversary of the BBC Television Service with a lunch and get-together where many conversations centred around working in the small and cramped 30ft x 70ft studios in the south-east wing.
Studio A was opened for the afternoon so that members could take a step back in time and see what the studio looked likes today. Sadly Studio B is now a hard-hat area and is not accessible to the general public. There is no power at the far end of the south-east wing, the studio has no ceiling (due to water ingress over many years) and there is a feeling of decay and neglect. By contrast Studio A is dry, secure, and has most of its ceiling still intact and sound. After many years of work, totalling hundres of volunteer hours the studio has numerious displays. Text boards tell the story of British television (and by default that of BBC Television), a display of vintage television set by Ferguson, their factory was close by in the Lea Valley. There is also a display in the "performance" area of the studio, comprising Emitron cameras (sadly only dummies, left behind after the filming of Fools On The Hill), microphone boom, lights, as well as "performers" and a "Studio Manager".
Yvonne Littlewood did a fantastic job in organising the event and much thanks was expressed by Sir Paul Fox for her work in keeping the annual reunions going. Speeches were also given by David Rose (former Z Cars producer) and Robert Seatter & John Escolme (BBC History Department) informed members of the plans the BBC has to celebrate the 75th anniversary of BBC Television and other history and archiving related events the department had been working on.
New members from the days of the Open University's occupation of Alexandra Palace came along to their first APTS Reunion as well as Zena Skinner, the television cook, who did the majority of her television broadcasts from the two small studios.
The Society's Archivist, Simon Vaughan, was responsible for several small displays; one centering on the Archive holdings of the late Richard Greenough (BBC Scenic Designer 1948 - 1955), while another illustrated the range and diversity of the material to view on the society's YouTube channel.
The British Heritage Television Group (
http://www.405-line.tv) also had a display at the reunion, illustrating to members the huge amount of work they have undertaken in obtaining a licence from Ofcom to instigate 405-line test transmission, with their long-term aim in radiating 405-line television once more from Alexandra Palace.
All-in-all a great day was had by all and a resounding "yes" was given to a reunion next year!
Photographs of the reunion can be found by following this link:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150198048925829.309035.574455828&l=6...