MT Writtle (Near Chelmsford, Essex)

Dame Nellie Melba made one of the first broadcasts from 2MT at 7.10 pm on 15th June 1920. Consisting of a concert of opera music to entertain the listeners, the broadcast opened with a recital of Home Sweet Home and finishing with the national anthem. Those early wireless listeners heard the broadcasts from Chelmsford to Paris, Madrid and Berlin.

Peter Eckersley on 2MT

By May 1922, seeing the commercial potential of radio broadcasting, Marconi's company was in talks with wireless set manufactures and other interested organizations to set up more broadcasting stations around the country under an umbrella organization called the British Broadcasting Company (BBC).

The main companies involved in the creation of the British Broadcasting Company and guaranteeing its finances for an initial period of two years were The Marconi Co; The General Electric Co; The Radio Communications Co; Metropolitan Vickers Co; Western Electric Co and The British Thompson-Houston Company. Their joint mission was, of course, to make money from the sale of radio sets - and people would only want to buy into this exciting new technology if there were wireless programmes to listen to.

Until now the government had done its best to thwart Marconi's efforts to establish public radio broadcasting for the masses, but would eventually capitulate and grant the BBC a licence to operate a public radio service.  Marconi's company would aim to provide quality programmes consisting of variety entertainment, concerts and plays and fund the transmission of these wireless programmes by a tax collected from the sale of wireless sets and from a licence fee administered by the Post Office.  Along with 2MT in Essex, two further experimental stations, 2LO in London and 2ZY in Manchester had been established on May 11th and 16th respectively.	Marconi Crystal Set
In October 18th 1922 the British Broadcasting Company was formed - with the government granting the BBC a licence to operate - and November 14th 1922 saw the official opening of the BBC London station 2LO, managed by Arthur Burrows, at Marconi House on The Strand. John Reith was appointed General Manager of the BBC on 14th December 1922, with Captain Peter Eckersley, the first engineer at 2MT, appointed as the BBC's first Chief Engineer. The BBC was formally registered as a limited company on 15th December 1922. On 15th November 1922 the BBC was registered and the BBC's Manchester station, 2ZY, was officially opened transmitting from the Metropolitan Vickers Electricity works in Old Trafford.  On November 16th BBC Birmingham opened with 5IT transmitting from the General Electric Company works at Witton.  BBC Newcastle, 5NO, was the last station to open in 1922 from a transmitter at Eldon Square.		2LO in The Strand, London
On December 23rd 1922 the BBC broadcast the first orchestral concert, the first programme of dance music, the first radio talks programme and commenced the first regular bulletin of general news from London, provided from the Reuters news source. On Christmas Day 1922 the BBC broadcast "The Truth About Father Christmas" - the first play for radio - and transmitted the first religious programme. Unlike today's listeners radio listeners in the 1920's often had to use crystal sets which had no power of amplification and were very insensitive to weak signals, therefore the area over which a 1.5 kilowatt station would have been quite limited. Modern radios are extremely sensitive and can receive even low powered radio stations over a very wide area. On January 17th 1923 the original station 2MT in Essex was closed, but more BBC stations were to be established around the country at Cardiff, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Bournemouth.