A HERITAGE book telling the story of Rugby Radio Station has been relaunched – complete with an extra chapter – as part of 100-year commemorations for the historic Houlton site.
A raft of celebrations are taking place this year to mark what would have been the 100th anniversary of Rugby Radio Station.
The second edition of ‘The History of Rugby Station’ by local historian Malcolm Hancock is being released complete with a brand new chapter.
Rugby Radio Station, pictured in 1933.
The original book, published in 2017 by Malcolm Hancock and Houlton master developer Urban&Civic, contains a wealth of information about the radio station’s technicalities, the short wave revolution, the world’s telephone exchange and even how it played a part in the Second World War, with proceeds going to the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance.
The second edition of the book also contains a brand new chapter written by Community Development Lead for Houlton at Urban&Civic, Elly Hemus, who has captured how Houlton has developed in a physical and community sense since the book’s original release.
Elly said: “It’s been a huge privilege to contribute to what is a wonderful souvenir of this historic milestone for Houlton.
“Rugby Radio Station is a huge part of Houlton’s history, and also its present thanks to the array of reminders across the site, so to have been able to add on nearly a decade of its most recent history is a wonderful moment.”
The station was decommissioned in 2002 but would have been 100 years old in 2026. It was formerly home to 12 820ft masts which helped pioneer global communications in the 1920s.
In 1927, Rugby Radio Station made the first transatlantic broadcast to Houlton, Maine, USA – after which the new neighbourhood is named. The station building is now home to Houlton School.
Rugby International Radio Station’s historic Transmission Hall is now at the heart of the Houlton School campus.
To ensure the site’s role in history lives on, Urban&Civic is supporting a range of celebrations throughout this year and next.
The celebrations kicked off with a transmission by Rugby Amateur Transmitting Society (RATS) from the former radio station site across the world to mark exactly 100 years since Rugby Radio Station’s GBR transmitter opened for service in 1926.
January also saw the unveiling of a digital tapestry created by thousands of images relating to the radio station submitted by members of the community and combined into an image for display by community artist Allan Levy.
The book is available to purchase from Hunts Bookshop, Rugby Art Gallery Museum giftshop and The Tuning Fork restaurant in Houlton for £15. Copies are also available at Rugby, Wolston, and Nuneaton Libraries.
Visit https://rugbyradiostation.co.uk/ for more on Rugby Radio Station’s history, and updates on the 100-year celebrations.
