VE3KK recollections

This summary by the late VE3KK, Marshall Killen, recounts the story of early amateur radio in England and of Dr. Cecil Goyder. 

Radio History in the Making

As we approach the centenary of the first trans-global two-way radio communication, this summary by the late VE3KK, Marshall Killen, recounts the story of early amateur radio in England and of Cecil Goyder BSc(Eng) ACGI, Senior member IEE, CBE,  and the part he played by making two-way contact with Z4AA in New Zealand.

Cecil Goyder had been living with his family in the USA and had only returned to England early in 1920. He brought with him a crystal detector receiver which he hooked up to the bedsprings of his bed so that he could listen to the ships in the Thames estuary, GNF and GNI the coast stations at North Foreland and the Isle of Wight all on 600 metres and best of all FL the Eiffel Tower in Paris on 2600 metres sending weather and time signals.

When the headmaster Mr. Brown and the science master at his school found out that Cecil was interested in wireless they encouraged him to pursue his hobby and helped him with it in many ways. In 1921 he built a 250 Watt transmitter -  Hartley oscillator and power amplifier. This was at the school, which was granted the call sign (G)2SZ. Cecil's own station at home was (G)2HM. The school receiver was two tubes, detector and audio amplifier. Such high power as quarter of a kilowatt was practically unknown in the United Kingdom at that time when, except for a few much favoured or brilliant amateurs, the maximum authorised power by the British GPO was 10 watts DC input. However, thanks to the importance of the school, permission was granted Cecil to conduct DX experiments in the school laboratories using this higher power. Soon G2SZ was in contact with amateurs all over Great Britain and Europe and looking forward to taking part in the forthcoming transatlantic tests.

The transatlantic tests

The first transatlantic tests organised by the ARRL in February 1921 had just failed when not a single US station either spark or CW had been heard by any of the British listening stations. These tests were on 200 metres and the US amateurs blamed the failure on the poor equipment and inexperience of the British amateurs. They suggested that if a US amateur was allowed to come to England with his own equipment future tests would have different results. Accordingly, the ARRL sent Paul Godley 2ZE to England, supplied with a Paragon regenerative receiver and an Armstrong superhet. Godley found reception very poor in the London area so went up to Ardrossan near Glasgow in Scotland. With the assistance of the chief engineer of the British Marconi company, the very first beverage antenna to appear in the UK was erected on the windswept Scottish coast. It was 1300 feet long mounted on 10 poles 12 feet above ground. The earth plates were several short lengths of iron piping buried 4 feet in the ground. The length was later reduced to 850 feet. The second series of tests was started in December 1921. Imagine being in a tent on the West Coast of Scotland at that time of year! At 0050Z December 9th 1921 Godley received signals from 1BCG located at Greenwich CT.

It was from 1BCG that, two days later, Godly received this message which happens to be the first complete one from the US to Europe on short waves:

No1 DE 1BCG words 12 New York, December 11th 1921 to Paul Godley Ardrossan Scotland Hearty congratulations signed Burghardt Inram Griman Armstrong Amy Cronkite

The Radio Club of America erected a stone marker commemorating 1BCG near the original site of the station which was dedicated in 1950. Later it was learned that British 2KW, WR Byrne, had received the US signals at least 24 hours before Paul Godley. This went some way to prove the British amateurs were not as inexperienced as claimed by their US friends across the Atlantic.

With the success of the second series of tests proving that shortwave signals could be heard across the Atlantic, a third series were planned with US and Canadian stations transmitting 0001Z to 0600Z daily 12 through 21st December and British and French stations doing likewise 22nd to 31st December. A special British station was licenced as G5W S with an input power of 1 kilowatt. A loosely coupled Hartley circuit with two tubes in parallel was used, the antenna was a bird cage affair attached to the chimney stack of the County of London Electric Supply Company’s generating plant. A few high- power licences were reluctantly granted to prominent members of the RSGB, much to the dissatisfaction of the younger generation of amateurs, who had to be content with 100 watts. G5WS was the only British station heard across the Atlantic during the tests although F8AB Delor was heard by US 8FQ of Pittsburgh, PA. At least 19 British stations logged signals from the USA and Canada during the tests and Cecil G2SZ was one of them.

The first ever wireless exhibition was held by the RSGB in the Horticultural Hall in Westminster London September 1922. One of the events was a Morse sending and receiving contest. One of the instructors from the Western Union school was there so when he spied one of his students there, he challenged him to enter. The student did enter and much to his surprise won both sections. No great achievement as most British amateurs were keener on experimenting than increasing their speed as Morse operators.

During 1922 there do not seem to have been any great efforts made to produce a first two way contact across the Atlantic. I think it was Sir Oliver Lodge FRS who, giving a lecture at one of the RSGB meetings sometime in 1922, forecast it would not be long before real shortwave DX contacts would become common place. His prophecy was more than fulfilled during the years 1923 and 1924.

It was during 1922 that broadcasting got started in England. Under the guidance of PP Eckersley weekly broadcasts were started from 2MT Writtle near Chelmsford on 440 metres or thereabouts. These tests were started in February and inside a year led to the founding of the BBC with its first station being 2LO in the Strand, London.

It was not until late in 1923 that the first transatlantic contact was made. This was on 27th November on 100 metres between French F8AB and US 1MO-1X AM, Schnell and Reinartz. It was at first considered a fluke until British G2KF Jack Partridge of Merton on 8th December proved it to be otherwise by working U1MO operated by Ken Warner at West Hartford CT. Warner was one of the top operators in the US and was to become a leading figure in the history of the ARRL. On the morning of 11th December 23 Hiram Percy Maxim, President of the ARRL addressed the following message to Senator Marconi, London

American Radio Relay League presents its respects and this evidence of dawn of international amateur radio

Six days later Marconi replied by commercial radio:

Please accept my thanks and appreciation which I offer you and all concerned for your cordial message transmitted and received by amateur stations

For F8AB's contact with the USA two French type SIF tubes, 250 watts each in parallel, were used as oscillators with the high voltage from 25 cycle mains being applied to their plates. Schell, Reinartz and Warner all spoke about Delor’s 25 cycle gurgle. On 12th December 1923 G2SH, Fred Hogg, had the second British-US contact when he worked U1MO. On 16th December G2OD Ernest Simmonds at Gerrards Cross near London made the first two-way contact between England and Canada when he worked C1BQ AW Greig of Halifax NS. The press reporting this success said this was the first time in the world's history that one of Britain’s subjects remote in the far-flung empire had spoken directly to another in the homeland. Out of that first amateur contact between Great Britain and Canada was to grow the British Empire Radio Union that continues to flourish and is so well known with its annual BERU contests.

The tests of 2nd December 1923 to 10th January 1924 were very successful with 19 British, 14 French and three Dutch stations being heard in the USA and Canada. Cecil's G2SZ was one of them. During February 1924 the RSGB conducted transmitting tests for 20 nights sending code words which later had to be verified by cable. G2SZ was logged in the USA on 19 out of the 20 nights and was judged the top scorer for the UK and 2nd overall for Europe. During these tests Cecil arrange tests for himself with F E Handy 1BDI at Maine University, later to be communications manager for many years at a ARRL HQ. A few weeks later G2SZ became one of the first European stations to work both the USA and Canada. As well as working handy 1BDI, he worked 1BQ in Halifax followed next by having a long QSO with 2BN JL Miller in Montreal. The Prince of Wales, later to become King Edward VIII came to Cecil's school to officially open the new science building in which G2SZ was located. He congratulated Cecil on his success and apparently went into the wireless room shutting the door on his retinue so that he could have a private chat for some minutes with Cecil. The British and US press gave considerable coverage to this event with pictures of the Prince talking to the youthful operator and examining the school’s amateur wireless station.

G2SZ went on to become the first European station to be in contact with the 6th district USA and the 4th province Canada, W6 and VE4. All these contacts were on wavelengths below 100 metres generally around 80 or 90. Scientists and other eggheads were still saying that there was no future for worldwide communication on wavelengths below 200 metres so with egg on their faces already they were shortly to receive a further jolt thanks to Cecil.

1924 saw Cecil in his last year at school. Most unusual at a private school where discipline is so strict, Cecil had permission to leave his dormitory during the night and go across to the science building to operate G2SZ. Even after he became a student at London University, he continued to operate G2SZ during the weekends and when his studies permitted him to do so.

Extending the range

In 1924 it was beyond the wildest dreams of anyone that wireless communication between Europe and the USA on the one hand and New Zealand and Australia on the other could ever take place. However, for some months past, amateurs in Europe and the USA had been logging signals on wavelengths below 100 metres from down-under and vice versa. Excitement amongst British amateurs was at fever pitch, so tests were started late in the year with a view to affecting a two-way contact. It seemed just a matter of time before someone was lucky. In those days one did not listen exactly on the wavelength of one's transmitter but after calling CQ had to sweep the band looking for replies. There were not too many stations on the air and for sure there was no such thing as zero beating which makes operating so easy these days. This was the problem - stations were logging each other but could never get together for a solid QSO.

The British stations during the tests sent code words which could be verified by cable if received. On 17th December 1924 Ernest Simmons G2OD received a cablegram from Z4AA in New Zealand confirming the reception of the code word ZINCO. A QSL card received later said “you are the first European amateur to hit out 12,000 miles your signals QSA everyday here can hear you every time you press your key”.

It looked as though G2OD was going to have the honour of being the station making the breakthrough, but it was not to be so. Cecil was just one of those trying hard to be the first but compared to some of the other top operators with more sophisticated and higher power transmitters he did not think much of his chances. He was now a freshman at London university and amateur radio had to take a back seat when it came to studies. Weekends were just about all the time he had for operating G2SZ.

Saturday morning 18th October 1924 was one Cecil never forgot. He got up very early that morning and was over at the school before 4:00 AM. He fired up G2SZ and was soon working US stations.  At around 6:00 AM he heard Z4AA calling him so he went back to him as near as he could to Z4AA’s frequency. Immediately much to his delight back came Z4AA, reporting Cecil’s signals FB and that his name was Frank Bell. The QSO was solid and Cecil learned that Z4AA was located at Waihemo near Dunedin and that Frank was a sheep farmer. For some reason and much to Frank’s puzzlement, Cecil would only say that his initials were CW but would not give his name. Before closing out, Cecil said “if you are really in New Zealand send me a cablegram”. A confirmation cablegram was received next day by Mr. Brown headmaster of the school. 50 years later a cairn was erected at Waihemo commemorating the event. Z4AA told Cecil during the QSO that several New Zealand stations could easily have worked G2OD the previous evening but the G2OD was so busy sending that he did not seem to be taking much time out to listen.

Cecil's success did not go down well with the other more experienced operators and the press reported there can be little doubt but Cecil Goyder’s youthful success was bitterly resented by some of the leading amateur operators of the day who had organised the transoceanic tests including EJ Simmonds G2OD whose signals had been heard in New Zealand previous day. Cecil's victory certainly bore heavily on G2OD for without a doubt he was head and shoulders above most of his contemporaries in the zeal and assiduity with which he pursued his hobby. G2OD was also the first European station to contact a station on 23 metres when he worked Charles Maclucan 2CM at Streatfield NSW on May 2nd 1925.

Cecil went home that Saturday morning and joining his family at the breakfast table remarked “if someone has not been pulling my leg I've just talked to a man in New Zealand”.

Cecil's first QSO with New Zealand was hailed by the press throughout the world as a great breakthrough in the world of wireless communication, having confounded the experts including some of the top engineers of the day who said it could not be done especially on short wavelengths. Cecil and his fellow amateurs on both sides of the Atlantic led the way with further experiments that eventually led to shortwave broadcasting worldwide, beams and radio telephone services, and to the inauguration of the BBC's Empire service.

Following G2SZ’s QSO with Z4AA, congratulations poured in from all over the world both to Cecil and to Frank, Z4AA.  Wireless World which was the Bible for the British amateur reported the event under the headline “Amateurs girdle the world - American papers please copy”. The President of the RSGB, Professor WH Eccles DSC, FRS, congratulated Cecil in a letter which wished him even greater success.

Later on, the greatest compliment of all came from Sir Edward Appleton who wrote in the BBC publication “Calling all Nations” the following: “Then a remarkable thing happened. In October 1924 the greatest distance of all was spanned when communication was established between Mr F Bell of New Zealand and CW Goyder. Thus began what I have often called the shortwave revolution. This is probably the most dramatic moment in the history of the development of the short waves when the greatest distance possible on this earth was bridged for the first time.

In 1925 Cecil with G2SZ went on to achieve more fame by acting as relay station between the McMillan Arctic expedition and the National Geographic society in Washington DC.

What happened afterwards

So ended one phase of Cecil Goyder’s claim to fame although being famous was one of the things he wanted to avoid. He was a shy and retiring sort of boy and remained so throughout his life. He kept up a correspondence with Z4AA and the latter even came to visit Cecil in London.

While his studies curtailed his amateur radio hobby, Cecil still managed to carry out quite a lot of experimenting. While at London University he developed a new circuit that became well known to amateurs on both sides of the Atlantic. This was the Goyder lock system which was a special circuit for operating crystal control with existing type amateur transmitters giving control of large powers simply and inexpensively. He brought his Morse speed up to 30 words per minute which he considered quite an accomplishment. In 1925 the technical press reported that he had constructed and operated the first quartz crystal controlled amateur station in Europe cutting the quartz crystal by hand from a piece of quartz he purchased in London.

Cecil made radio his lifelong career.  On graduation from university, he worked for ITT in London and then in Paris before joining the BBC in 1934. He was with the BBC research department when in 1936 following an urgent appeal to the BBC from the Indian broadcasting system he was lent to the latter as chief engineer for All India Radio. He remained in India for 10 years during which he was responsible for the development of the Indian broadcasting system which included training over 300 Indian engineers and the establishment of broadcasting station transmitting installations and receiving centres in 8 Indian provinces. For his work, which left India with one of the finest broadcasting systems in the world, Cecil was appointed CBE by His Majesty King George VI in 1946.

On his return to England Cecil stayed with the BBC for just one year as, after being so long in India, he found the English climate hard to take. In 1947 he joined the University of Florida at Gainesville doing work in connection with electrical and seismic disturbances. In 1950 the emerging United Nations took him on as its first officer in charge of communications responsible for the design installation and systems testing of all electronic installations including the famous multi language interpreter network at the UN permanent headquarters in New York City. The Korean conflict saw him posted to Korea to establish the independent UN communication facilities.

On retiring from the UN Cecil was invited by the British Overseas Airways Corporation to design and supervise the installation of its passenger computer. This he did so successfully that the system was afterwards sold by BOAC to the Japanese airlines. Doctor Goyder retired in 1971 and resided at Princeton NJ until his death due to a motor accident near his home on 7th February 1980