APTS Archive

By doing my usual shopping the online retailers have already donated £15 to the W. W. Winter Heritage Trust. By doing the same you could help preserve the World’s oldest continually operating photography studio with its restoration and digitisation of its photographic archive.

I’m excited to be part of #BBCTV90 at #AllyPally, marking 90 years since BBC TV began at Alexandra Palace. Join me on 2nd Nov for "Desmond Campbell – Behind the Scenes of Early TV". Pleased to say it’s sold out! Find out more: buff.ly/CanCP9d @yourallypally

🎶 #SongSheetSaturday 🎶 “Whispering Grass (I Don’t Tell the Trees)” featuring the fabulous Ivy Benson and her Band. Discover Ivy's story at our next In the Limelight talk: ✨ Ivy Benson, Original GIRL POWER 📅 Tues 22 Sept 2026 🎟️ Tickets: buff.ly/ynyNY4X #IvyBenson #WomenInMusic

#OTD - 1 Sep 1939. Ahead of the impending declaration of #WWII on 3 Sep 1939, the #BBCTelevisionService closed down. No closing announcement was made. Contrary to claims, the #MickeyMouse cartoon was shown in full, with the transmitters not being powered down for another 20+ minutes.

#OTD 26 July 1937 BBC #TelevisionDemonstrationFilm aired for the first time — it was shown another 1,277 times between 26 July 1937 and 21 October 1939. Viewers wrote to the #RadioTimes asking for something other than the dreaded Demonstration Film they'd learned by heart.

#OTD 26 July 1937. The #BBCTelevisionService at #AlexandraPalace closed for three weeks for equipment overhaul. Meanwhile views of Alexandra Palace, the #DemonstrationFilm and #Newreels were transmitted. #OutsideBroadcasts of the #DavisCup from #Wimbledon were transmitted 26–27 July.

#OTD 24 July 1949 The first #BBC #TuningSignal to incorporate a clock was introduced.

Join us a week today at #DerbyMarketHall to celebrate photography with the #PhotographyShow, in conjunction with Snap & Chat Connect & London Camera Exchange. Make a pinhole camera, see cameras from across the decades, and hear from our Trustees about the Winter Heritage Trust.

#OTD - 18th July 1953 The first episode of The #QuatermassExperiment took to the screens. Broadcast live from studio A at @Yourallypally, written by #NigelKneale, & directed by #RudolphCartier the series changed TV Science Fiction forever.

#OTD 14th July 1930 First play to be shown on British experimental broadcast television - "The Man with the Flower in his Mouth" by #LuigiPirandello. First production to have any details published in the #RadioTimes. #TheManWithTheFlowerInHisMouth #THWTFIHM #FirstTelevisionPlay

#OTD 11 July 1962 The first live transatlantic tv transmissions via the Telstar satellite are received at Goonhilly Earth station in Cornwall and broadcast live on BBC tv. buff.ly/yTVXQKL #Telstar #TransatlanticTransmission #Goonhilly #BBCTelevision #BBCTV

#OTD - 11 July 1950 Andy Pandy began on BBC Television as part of the For the Children strand. Created by Freda Lingstrom and Maria Bird. Andy never spoke; Audrey Atterbury operated him with visible strings, and Janet Ferber provided the songs. Each episode ended with "Time to go home".

#OTD - 8 July 1952 The BBC transmitted the first live television programmes from Paris to the UK, called "Paris Week". Because France and Britain used incompatible broadcasting standards, engineers relied on an early BBC standards converter to bridge the gap. #ParisWeek #Eurovision

#OTD - 5 July 1954 BBC launched its first daily television news bulletin, News and Newsreel, replacing Television Newsreel. Read by Richard Baker from Alexandra Palace, it combined live news with filmed reports, marking the birth of modern BBC TV news. #BBCTelevision #BBCTVNews

#OTD - 1 July 1958 BBC Test Card C modified with BBC identification and extra centre arrows #BBC #BBCTestCard #BBCTestCards #TestCard #TestCardHistory #TestCardC

#OTD 29 June 1960 BBC Television Centre officially opened, becoming the world’s first purpose-built television production complex. It became the heart of BBC television, housing studios, news, drama, entertainment & technical innovation for over 50 years. #BBCTelevision #TelevisionCentre #TVHistory

#OTD 25 June 1967 "Our World" was the first live international satellite TV broadcast. Seen by an estimated 400–700 million people in 24 countries, it featured global cultural segments, including All You Need Is Love performed live by The Beatles. #OurWorld #InternationalTelevision buff.ly/E80B0FN

#OTD 24 June 1946. The BBC released "Television Is Here Again", a pictorial record of pre-war television productions, and also a look to what the future might contain. This was used as a test film for engineers installing new television receivers, and for retailers to demonstrate new receivers.

#OTD 24 June 1946 #LesBalletsNègres, Europe and Britain's first Black dance company, made their BBC Television debut. Founded that year by Jamaicans #BertoPasuka and Richie Riley, the multiracial troupe broadcast two dance-dramas: "They Came" and "Market Day". #TVHistory

#OTD 20 June 1960: Nan Winton (1925–2019) became BBC TV's first female newsreader, breaking gender barriers and paving the way for others despite resistance. (The first on British TV was Barbara Mandell on ITV in 1955).

RIP #TeddieBeverley Last surviving member of the Beverley Sisters, has died aged 99. The close-harmony trio rose from wartime radio to become Britain’s most beloved 1950s girl group, earning chart success, TV fame and an MBE. Her death marks the end of a landmark era in British entertainment.

#OTD 16 June 1956. The first TV pictures from inside a submerged submarine aired on "Saturday Night Out". The Royal Navy let the BBC join an English Channel exercise between H.M. Submarine Tapir and frigate H.M.S. Grenville; cameras relayed the submarine's signals via the frigate to shore.

#OTD 15 June 1953. BBC Television achieved a major milestone by broadcasting the first live television relay from a ship at sea. The BBC transmitted a stable signal from a moving vessel to land transmitters, letting millions watch the fleet review live.

#OTD 14 June 1946 - John Logie Baird died aged 57. Best known for pioneering television and demonstrating the world’s first working TV system, he spent his final years developing advanced colour and large-screen television technologies that were decades ahead of their time. #JohnLogieBaird #TV

#OTD - 9 June 1938 Trooping the Colour first was televised for the first time with cameras overlooking Horse Guards Parade, Whitehall. Commentators for the event were John Snagge & Major JBS Bourne May. Presentation by Philip Dortè

#OTD 8 June 1946 Victory parade televised. The first outside broadcast of the newly re-opened BBC Television Service. The OB unit was based in The Mall, opposite the saluting base. Frederick Grisewood and Richard Dimbleby were the commentators.

#OTD 7 June 1946 Just after 3pm, after tuning signals, a #AlexandraPalace mast shot accompanied by #EricCoates #TelevisionMarch, #JasmineBligh stepped from a car and asked, “Do you remember me, Jasmine Bligh?”. #BBCTelevision had returned after its wartime closure. #BBCTV80Anniversary.

#OTD 6th June 1954. The first Eurovision exchange of television programmes, linking eight countries. It marked the official launch of the Eurovision television network by the European Broadcasting Union (#EBU) in a month-long summer experiment. Image courtesy of Andrew Wiseman via x.com

A double anniversary today #OTD 1st June 1946 - Radio licence increased to £1, while a combined television and radio licence was introduced at £2. #OTD 1st June 1954 - The combined television and radio licence increased to £3, the radio only licence remained £1.

#OTD - 21 May 1950 BBC Newsreel reported on the BBC's first day at Lime Grove, the former Gainsborough film studios, which was the new home of Children's Hour #LimeGroveStudios #LimeGrove #BBCTelevision #ChildrensHour #VioletAttlee #BBCNewsreel

Music Hall and Variety Day is just one day away! We can't wait to join you all at the seaside. Don't forget to share your own Music Hall and Variety themed seaside memories and memorabilia. #MHVD2026 #musichallvarietyday

#OTD - 3rd March 1966 The Postmaster General authorised the introduction of a colour television service on BBC2 from late 1967. Colour was introduced on 1 July 1967 with coverage of Wimbledon tennis championship. Limited hours were colour before expanding to 80% of programming by December 1967.

Visit our Victorian photography studio for FREE during #nationallotteryopenweek2025. Entry requires a National Lottery ticket, scratch card, or Instant Win game. BOOKING ESSENTIAL - call 01332 345224 or email office@wwwinter.co.uk.

"The Television Follies," a 1933 film long thought lost, was aired on @TalkingPicsTV on 15th February '26. This significant piece in broadcasting history showcases a variety show on a Baird Televisor. Made available by the Cinema Museum, London. It is currently available to view on buff.ly/i1zRqZi.

A great opportunity to learn more about British television in the 1920s and 1930s by John Wyver. His book “Magic Rays of Light” was published in January 2026.

#OTD - 30 Jan 1937 The last transmission using the Baird system to be transmitted from Alexandra Palace. The final programme was "Cabaret". The programme ran from 9:38 to 10:03 and suffered several technical difficulties throughout the programme.

#OTD - 29 January 1939 - "Television Surveys No 2: The #InternationalTelephoneExchange". OB from #FaradayBuildings, London. The 25 min programme featured interviews by #LeslieMitchell, with Mr Thwaites (Chief Superintendent), Miss Pagel & Miss Spinks (Supervisors).

Centenary day on the blog, with a Magic Rays extract, recounting JLB's 26 Jan '26 public presentation of 'true television', plus links to Don McLean's article at The Conversation, and contemporary reports at Andre Lang's History of Television website. www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/centenary-day/

#OTD - 26 Jan #JohnLogieBaird successfully demonstrated his mechanical #television system able to show a human face, at 22 Frith Street, Soho. Today 100 years later an event will be held at the same location to commemorate the anniversary with JLB's grandson. [AI image from an original photograph]

Available for a month is "The Birth of Television," a 1976 documentary marking the 40th Anniversary of BBC Television. Leslie Mitchell explores television's origins, from the early 20th century to the first outside broadcast: the 1937 coronation of George VI. #AlexandraPalace

Available for the next month is "The Man Who Saw The Future". A profile of John Logie Baird, the man who invented television, concentrating on how his dedication & drive made his achievements possible, presented by Malcolm Baird. #JohnLogieBaird #TelevisionHistory #AlexandraPalace

More Magic Rays of Light, this time in the form of an article for BFI Online, which is a kind of introduction to the riches and variety of pre-war television. www.bfi.org.uk/features/tel...

The masterful work on pre-war television was published on 8th January. Written by my friend John Wyver, it is set to become the authority on early television. The book is thoroughly researched, well-written, and delighted that APTS contributed some images.