Bygone radio traders

[telstar]

Hi. We have a good vintage site in Leeds called Leodis, illustrating local scenes from long ago in photos.I noticed one in East Leeds suburb of Cross Gates (where I once lived in the 1950's), showing a former radio shop called Cross Gates Radio & Auto. Apparently, they were KB dealers. I just thought viewers to this forum might like to see it?
Now it is a food take away, but the advert on the side of the wall is just visible still.
Does anyone on this forum have similar photos of bygone radio dealers shops in their areas?
Cheers
Mike

[Paul Adams]

A couple spring to mind, when I was at school (very many years ago) I used to spend most of my pocket money in Fenwicks and Waltons armed with a list of components for the projects, I used to make.

Both shops now sadly gone.

Paul.

[Paul Adams]

There was another that I remember, and that was 'Lings Radio' also long gone.

Further reading here regarding Waltons, and Lings.

Paul.

[phasedout]

Hi, another Radio Constructors heaven, was "Ted Bird's" in Barton Street, Gloucester. Up from there not far away opposite the Swimming Bath's was Richard's Electrics, run by Roy, a heaven for anything radio, both long gone now alas.

Alan.

[nutteronthebus]

I remember Mazel radio Manchester in my youth sadly now gone
(both my youth and the shop)
http://www.manchesterbeat.com/shops/...mazelradio.php

[G6Tanuki]

I used to frequent Fenwicks and Waltons too. The part of Fenwicks shown in that photo was the part that sold bikes airguns and fishing-tackle; the 'Radio' bit was to the left, and the front of the radio-shop had a sort of glass-sided 'island' display-area recessed into the front which you had to walk down the side of to get to the shop-door proper.

Just a bit further along Worcester Street from Waltons was also a 'militaria & collectors' shop that would occasionally have radio gear (stuff like 31-sets), usually horribly overpriced - however sometimes you could be in luck: I bought a MK128 transmitter/receiver from there for £5 because the guy in the shop hadn't the faintest idea what it was!

--G6Tanuki

[Andrew2]

Here in Manchester, New Cross Supplies and North West Electrics (G3MAX) were the places to go if you were interested in radio and electronics. G3MAX later relocated to Levenshulme and New Cross finally closed down in the late 80's I think. In the late 60's we bought loads of ex computer boards from New Cross and stripped them for parts, especially the ASZ21 transistors (pnp germanium, 300 MHz ft) which we built into VHF oscillators to cause mischief outside the local TV shops.
Around the corner were Globe Radio, Shudehill Supplies and Newmart. I recall we bought reels of recording tape from Shudehill at 12/6 per LP reel.
Gosh, and it cost us just a tanner (that's six old pence for you youngsters) to get there on the bus.

[Paul Adams]

It's all come flooding back now, I know the part where you mean, the only photo that I could find was this one, where it say's oddly enough 'This is it'

Paul.

[G6Tanuki]

Yes. the black bit in the middle of the front of the "this is it" building was the entrance - you could walk down either side of the 'island' display and then through the door into the real shop. From memory they also sold prams/pushchairs from that part of the building.

--G6Tanuki

[Nickthedentist]

Servio Radio of Wimbledon courtesy of John (HKS) here: https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...2&d=1343462709

[theoldtrout]

I used to buy surplus stuff from L F Hanneys in Bath, they packed up about 5 years ago. I used to love poking around in that place, always packed with interesting old equipment. Can't remember the chaps name - Reg?

[Nicklyons2]

Mazel's of Manchester was so famous we'd even heard of & had expeditions to from over here in (what was then) the West Riding. We did have our own great emporia too though; Mac o' Morley, Malvern TV and the great M and B radio. A friend who has been involved with 'the stage' for years bought 3 No19 sets from Mac's to use as props in a production of South Pacific for something like a tenner - I believe 2 were perfect workers and when the show's run was over he sold them on for a profit. Great days

[Radio Wrangler]

I once got taken to Mac O'Morley's by a fellow student but we got there as it was shutting. Never did get back. M&B's I visited regularly. I think they've moved.

Padgett's Liversedge Old Town Hall

Jim Fish on Chapel Hill/Milford St junction Huddersfield

Taylor's Macaulay St then King Street Huddersfield. Later run by the very elegant Miss Taylor.

John Birkett, of course in Lincoln

Anchor Surplus in the cattle market, Nottingham

Some are left.

David

[Mike Phelan]

As well as Hanneys on Lower Bristol Road in Bath, there was another good surplus shop in Claverton Street.

Mazel's on London Road in Manchester was an amazing place, like a long terrace of big wooden sheds!
Of course, there were a few other such places in Manchester, including the great New Cross Radio,

I remember Jim Fish when he moved to Cross Church Street and eventually to Honley.

Sadly Padgetts were gone when we moved to Liversedge.

Strange that most of my house moves followed these places, but of course there were lots of them about then.

[threeseven]

There's a shop in Newcastle upon Tyne that I used to buy components for projects, repairs etc when I first started messing with electronics, Aitkens, it's still going but I think it's moved into DJ equipment but I haven't been up there for years so I don't know for sure.
There was also a place in Leeds called M&B radio and that really was an Aladdins cave of components, surplus equipment etc. They closed down a few years ago.

[Nicklyons2]

On a national scale, I think most of us would have traded with GW Smith. Any visitors to London would have made straight for Tottemham Court Road & Edgware Rd which was just crammed with surplus and radio shops such as Smith's. The front page and battered rear cover of my remaining catalogue are attached.

[newlite4]

As well as Hanneys on the Lower Bristol Road in Bath, we also had J.Kiss components on the Upper Bristol Road. This shop was run by a rather grumpy Hungarian and his wife. Most of the stock was government surplus and was a good source of old knobs and radio bits. It closed in the late '70s or early '80s. Hanneys closed only about five years ago and Maplins came into town a few months later. In the mid '70s I used to trawl all of the radio and TV shops in Bath to pick up old sets and often entered the basement workshops for a good nose around. Happy Days!
Neil

[Herald1360]

My first emporium of choice was Jack Porter by the cathedral in Worcester. Long gone now, but an Aladdin's cave of surplus stuff in the '60s. Particularly useful for some lovely C-core mains transformers suitable for 50W valve amps once upon a time.....

The shop still has a radio connection of sorts- trading as Worcester Aerial Services.

[G6Tanuki]

Another one to mention - A.H. Thacker of Cheslyn Hay in Staffordshire.

A wonderful collection of rickety wooden sheds whose roofs seemed to be supported by piles of 19 Set MkIII power-supplies and ex-Admiralty HT transformers of a size which would have required a small forklift to move.

I bought a pile of 19-set power/antenna-cables and several of the old Larkspur "ATU number 8" and the wing-mounting boxes/antenna-bases/8-foot whips from there just before it stopped trading.

He also had a big bin of stripped-from-military-equipment waterproof toggle-switches priced at "a handful for 50p". I got quite adept at removing the spring-bias from those and selling them to model-railway-types for 50p each!

I wonder what happened to all the unsold stock?

--G6Tanuki

[Radio Wrangler]

Perhaps all this info should be collected into two reference lists. One for those existing and one for those sadly gone?

David