Frank Henry Austen MBE
While the pioneers of wired broadcasting in the UK, and the founders of the Rediffusion Group, J W C Robinson and J F Powell were building up their business from Ramsgate and Hull, a young man of 24 acquired a Post Office licence and started up his own relay service in St Peters. The young man was Frank Austen, general manager and director of Rediffusion (South East) Ltd. The year was 1929. Bit it was not when Mr Austen first became involved with radios and electronics, To quote his brother's words: "It would appear that Frank was born with radio and electronics in his blood, as right from an early age while at school he showed an interest in radio and obtained much of his knowledge from "The Wireless World" which he eagerly awaited each month." After leaving school, it was a few years before Mr Austen"s main interest became radio again. Not long after he went into business on his own making receivers which at the time could pick up 2LO. One of his wireless sets was sold to a neighbour, Councillor Noble, but by being a forerunner the set was constantly breaking down. As his own equipment functioned satisfactorily, Mr Austen decided to stretch a pair of wires from his receiver to the one in Mr Noble's home. Thus started Mr Austen's impressive career in wired broadcasting. When Robinson and Powell learnt of Mr Austen's "Broadstairs and St Peters Radio Relay Service" they immediately made an offer for the Company which had 118 subscribers. At the same time they asked Mr Austen to become engineer-in-chief of their Ramsgate Service. In 1932, Mr Austen accepted the offers and joined Broadcast Relay Service Ltd. Part of Mr Austen's work for the BRS was to extend the service to other pasrts of the Thanet area. He recalls vividly the amusing incident which took place when he approached Broadstairs Council for permission to wire-up some houses in the town. The Borough Engineer couls not see how we would undertake the work, so he agreed to let us wire a row of 30 Council houses as an experiment. We went to great pains to make a good job of it and ran all the wires carefully along the gutters of each house. When the Borough Engineer inspected the work, the wires had been so carefully concealed that he turned on us and angrily demanded why we had wasted his time by showing him work that had not been started. Needless to say, after we had shown him where the wires were, we had his permanent co-operation. Ignorance was our biggest setback in those days. Even today, Councils do not appreciate what it is all about." By 1934, the service to Broadstairs, Ramsgate and Margate had grown so rapidly that it was necessary to build a headquarters that could house the main radio equipment to supply the whole of the district. A site was chosen at Westwood because of its central and elevated locality and freedom from interference. The building was named Relay House and was not only the workplace of Mr Austen but his home also, since it was considered desirable to have the chief engineer "on the spot" at all times. During the war, the Thanet relay service ploayed an important and vital role by not only giving comfort to its subscribers but also by providing them with early warnings of enemy attacks. The service was even extending into all ARP centres, Ambulance Stations, and gun emplacements. So important was its role that, when the Thanet area was declared a protected area and evacuation took place, the Regional Commissioner nominated the service as "one of those which it is considered essential should remain in the district after compulsory evacuation". On completion of a heavy day's work, Mr Austen by that time manager and engineer of the Thanet area, had to carry out his duties in the Home Guard as well as those of a highly secretative nature involving the monitoring of enemy transmissions. One of the momentous occasions for the service during the war was a microphone appeal to the local inhabitants asking them to take any bread and clothes that they could spare down to Ramsgate Harbour or deposit them at street corners. At the time the Thanet staff did not know for what purpose they making the calls, but they later learnt that they had played a major part in preparing to meet the thousands of troops evacuated from Dunkirk. Being little more than 30 miles from the guns and airfields of the Germans, Thanet was subjected to many perils. Mr Austen remembered how he used to have to dodge enemy fire on his regular trips to Maidstone to take the staff their wages. With the commencement of the transmissions of television by Logie Baird, Mr Austen turned his ingenious mind to constructing a receiver for the pictures. This he did with the aid of a scanning disc made of metal with holes punched in it. A Heath Robinson type of operation was used with the speed of the scanning disc being adjusted by finger pressure. "And my fingers used to get jolly sore doing this", Mr Austen added. The pictures received were judged by Mr Baird to be the fartest received at that time. As a prize for his efforts, Mr Austen was presented with a baird-made scanning disc. Today, Mr Austen has an enviable record of achievement. He is the only general manager who has spent who has spent virtually all his working life to retirement age in the same Region. His Region has reached more than 110 000 subscribers, 2766 of which have colour sets. Every one of his branches is wired for colour. He introduced the first wired television sevice to the public, and produced one of the first pre- tuned radio receivers. To the best of knowledge, Mr Austen also built the first receiver in the south-east of Kent, receiving morse code and then radio telegraphy between the lightships and North Foreland radio station. In 1960 his fine record and inestimable service in the war was rewarded when the Queen appointed hi a Member of the Order of the British Empire. A fitting and deserving tribute to such an outstanding career. |
- Home
-
Austen families
-
Austen families from Thanet, Kent, UK
>
- John married Elizabeth in Ramsgate, c1780
- John Austen married Mary Philpot of Ramsgate in 1788
- Edward Austen b 1786 and Rebecca Lawson
- Abraham Austen, b c1776, of Stourmouth married Elizabeth Standen
- Benjamin Austen b1774, married Jane Laming in Margate
- James Austen b 1761 married Susannah Belsey in Ramsgate
- Nathaniel Austen b 1675, and Mary Tickner of Ramsgate
- Thomas Austen b 1785 of Sarre
- Thomas Austen b 1810, married Mary Ann Sergeant in Ramsgate
-
Austen families of East and South Kent
>
- John Austen of Northbourne, Kent. 1575 - 1624
- William Austen (b c1813) and Alice Jenner
- Richard Austen and Ann Longley at Lydd, 1797
- Robert Austen (b 1772) and Sarah of Dymchurch
- Robert Austen of Wickambreaux m Elizabeth, 1504
- John Austen, b 1767, m Sarah Baker of Rochester & Ashford
- James Austen, b 1727, and Elizabeth Pierce of Goodnestone
- Robert Austen m Elizabeth Ashby, Hythe 1763
- Thomas Austen (b 1806) and Winifred Wyles from Dover
- William and Richard Austen of Monks Horton, 1800
- John Austen b 1691, Chillenden, m Ann Naylor
-
Austen families from West Kent
>
- William and Elizabeth Austen of Heronden, Tenterden
- Edward Austen & Elizabeth Vane, m 1711
- Thomas Austen m Anne Button
- Thomas Austen of Yalding, b c 1730.
- Thomas Austen (b 1748) m Mary Randalls of West Farleigh
- Richard Austen b 1544, Tenterden and Elizabeth Kenworthy
- William Austen and Catherine Edwards of Cowden
- William and Sarah, Sevenoaks, c 1800
- John and Hannah Austen of Benenden, b c 1766
- Thomas Austen b 1815 in Tenterden and Sarah Wightwick
- Ambrose Austen of Marden Kent >
- Jonas Austen (b1598) and Constance Robinson of Staplehurst
- John Austen of Goudhurst m Joan Berry, 1584
- George Austen (b 1823) married Sarah Hammond
- David (b c1670) & Ann Austen of Hawkhurst
- John Austen of Staplehurst (1700s)
-
Austen families from Sussex
>
- James Austen and Sarah Clout of Frant, c 1659
- Richard Austen, 1750 and Elizabeth Forster of Walberton
- Henry Austen of Barcombe m Lucy Adams in 1806
- Thomas b 1770 and Mary Austen
- Edward and Anne Austen of Burwash, c 1700
- William Austen m Mary Payne of Ticehurst, 1778
- Richard & Margaret Austen of East Grinstead, 1694
- Austen families from Surrey >
- Austen families from Suffolk >
-
Austen families from Thanet, Kent, UK
>
-
Biographies
- Ernie Austen, 1924 Olympian
- Colin, Cecil and Geoff Austen, Australian Rules footballers
- Jane Austen's sailor brothers, Francis, Charles
- John Archibald Austen, illustrator
- Peter Townsend Austen
- Sir Robert Austen of Bexley
- Frank Henry Austen, radio relay pioneer of Thanet
- Edward Austen, painter
- Sir Robert Austen, 1697 - 1743
- Ralph Austen
- Alice Austen, photographer
-
Austin families
- Staffordshire >
- Kent >
- Herefordshire >
- Berkshire
- John and Elizabeth Austin of Grays Thurrock
- John and Ann Austin of Hartley, Kent and Thomas Austin and Rachell Sudell of Chatham
- Thomas and Elizabeth Austin of London
- John Austen m Elizabeth Purvy, c 1700
- John Austin & Eleanor Vine
- John, Ann and Barbara Austin of Pevensey and USA
- Obituaries
- Links
- Looking for:
- New Page