Amateur Radio Licensing 1952

[Dave757]

Hi,

Came across the attached 1952 licensing requirements tucked in the back
of a wartime RSGB Handbook.

The most interesting part (to me!) is the List of Service Exemptions
for suitably qualified ex servicemen from taking the technical examination
and the morse test attached in Appendix 'A'.

I've never seen this before, and didn't know that certain personnel
were entitled to both exemptions. The Army seems to be the only
service which had only technical exemptions.

Kind regards
Dave G0ELJ

[G3VKM_Roger]

Hi Dave,

I obtained a file from the National Archive called "Amateur Radio Transmissions - Draft Army Council Instructions" which has, amongst other things, info on the deliberations on the form you have found.

It was a very complicated process with the GPO also involved as the then licensing body. I certainly knew at least one ex WW2 Royal Signals operator who qualified for a licence and held a G3B series callsign but I believe he let his licence lapse after just a year or two and was made to re-set the RAE and Morse when he took up the hobby again on retirement.

There's quite a few other gems in the file, like an assessment by the Army of the British Amateur c/w his American counterpart that was critical of the GPO and their restrictive licence conditions, especially the ban on third-party traffic which was opposite to the American way since the end of WW1 and which produced a pool of experienced operators when needed in wartime.

The Army were also worried about QSOs by serving hams with Warsaw Pact "amateur" stations and there are a number of "Box 88" QSL cards in the file. There are several documents referring to Allied military units abroad wanting to get on the amateur bands and reports of piracy by unauthorised units.

Hope that's of some small interest,

73

Roger/G3VKM

[dsergeant]

The latest issue of OT News from ROATA (https://www.raota.org/news.htm) has a fascinating article on the artificial antenna licences issued pre-war. Although it doesn't cover much after WW2 it does mention this strange system of allowing ex-servicemen to obtain amateur licences without having to take the exams.

[majoconz]

Perhaps I was exempt too! In 1982 here in NZ had a chat with the Post Office examiner about what I needed to do to get a ham licence. I had been a sea-going Radio Officer in the 60's and still had my PMG cert - he said all I had to swat up on was the regs and pass a morse test - a couple of weeks later - done and dusted!

[Dave757]

Hi Roger,

Many thanks, I find every aspect of early radio fascinating.

I was an SWL back in the 1950s, and never lost the interest. The G2+3 callsigns
mentioned by dsergeant have always intrigued me too, -I only found out
fairly recently that they went back into the early 20's. I still am not sure what
the transition was into full licences after the war either, what tests did they have to
take to retain the licence.

All told, a fascinating era.

Best 73
Dave G0ELJ

[G3VKM_Roger]

Hi Dave,

As regards the Artificial Aerial callsigns, they only got up to about 2FZZ before WW2 came along. After the war they were re-issued as full licences but with the G added, e.g. G2FZZ. I also read somewhere that the AA licences were issued from the late 1920s to 1939 but it's odd that they never carried on with the sequence.

I think if a person had held a pre-war 2XXX type callsign they didn't have to take the RAE and Morse to get a G2XXX call, but I may be wrong in that. Checking the RSGB Bulletins and Short Wave Magazines around 1946-50 might show up some answers. Try here too:-

https://ukspec.tripod.com/rf/ukcalls.html

Cheers

Roger

[Dave757]

Hi Roger,

Many thanks for the info and the link which shows the 2AAA series having
been issued from 1920. This is borne out by a callbook I have dated January
1925 with the latest shown being 2ATM.

Strangely, although 2AAA is shown in the book, there are really only a handful of
these calls, so I suppose most either dropped out or migrated to 2 letter callsigns!

Best 73
Dave G0ELJ