THE STORY of how Rugby went on the air will keep the region’s flying doctors in the air.
Local historian Malcolm Hancock has written The History of Rugby Radio Station to mark 90 years since the station at the former masts site sent the first voice transmission across the Atlantic.
All proceeds from the sale of the book will go to Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance.
Malcolm, the station’s former manager, wrote the book as a semi-autobiographical account of his 38 years working at the site.
The book also covers the groundbreaking transmission to Houlton, USA, stories about NASA, Concorde, and the life-saving work of the station during the Second World War and the Cold War – as well as the technological advancements that went on within the grade II listed C Station Building.
Malcolm visited Coventry Airport to meet the Air Ambulance team who will benefit from the book’s profits.
He said: “I am very pleased that the publishing of this book will not only preserve the history of Rugby Radio Station for present and future generations, but also provide support for the life saving work that the Air Ambulance response team carries out in our local community.”
Jo Payne, senior fundraising manager for Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance, said: “It costs £1,700 for us to fly every life-saving mission, so this support really will be a huge boost for our services.”
The book is available from Hunts bookshop, Rugby’s Tourist Information Centre, and the Visitors Centre and Tuning Fork eatery in Houlton – the new estate on the old mast site, named after the American town which received the historic transmission in 1927.
