#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 12 May 1937 - Coronation of #KingGeorgeVI & #QueenElizabethTheQueenMother. Film from BBC Film Unit & film recorded from TV screen by Mr J.E. Davies, an amateur film enthusiast & an employee of the Marconi Company. Documents from #DHMunro files held in APTS Archive.

#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 [email protected].

"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 - 30-31 January 1957. On this day, spanning 30-31 January 1957, a notable colour broadcast demonstration took place for a sizable gathering of both Houses of Parliament members, using six television sets positioned in a chamber within the House of Lords.

#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.

#OTD - The Open University television broadcasts begin at 1100 on BBC 2. After an introduction, the first programme is about mathematics. Planning commenced in 1965, under the Minister of Education Jennie Lee. The university was granted a royal charter by the Privy Council on 23 April 1969.

All best wishes for a healthy and happy 2026 from the Alexandra Palace Television Society

With best wishes for a Merry Christmas 2025 and for the year ahead. Thank you for your continued support of our social media channels during the past year. We hope 2026 will see the APTS website back online again, with access to our unique Desmond Campbell collection of photographs and cine films.

#OTD - 17 Dec 1949 - BBC Television expanded to The Midlands, with the Sutton Coldfield transmitter being the first to broadcast outside of London and the world's most powerful at the time. Sylvia Peter's in-vision continuity was superb for 1949!

A fantastic new experience at Alexandra Palace starting in February 2026!

A recent digital addition to the APTS Archive is a fascinating diary from the Lines Termination Room at Alexandra Palace - Oct 1937 to Oct 1938. Contains 40 pages of notes on equipment usage, operation times, & faults, also early mention of BBC engineer Mr. Harry Rantzen, father of @ERantzen.

A must-have for anyone interested in photographs of Derby through the years. Sales of these books provides the Winter Heritage Trust with funds to continue the digitisation of their extensive archive holdings.

#OTD - 2nd December 1953 The BBC Television Service introduced the Bat Wings ident, designed by Abraham Games, after two years of development. Games was paid 200 guineas for the design, 70 guineas for an on-screen clock, and a 15 guineas retainer.

A must-watch documentary for anyone interested in the history of children's television programmes, with 'Whirligig' being one of the first. Written and narrated by my friend Paul Hayes.

#OTD - 23 November 1938 - "How Divers are Trained" #OutsideBroadcast from the #SiebeGorman diving tank, Westminster Bridge Road, London. #JohnSnagge in a diving suit received instruction on descending into the diving tank. Commentary by #PhilipDorte Presentation by #HaroldCox

#OTD - 15th November 1969 #ColourTelevision on 625 line UHF is extended to both BBC1 and ITV.

#OTD - 11 November 1938 - #TheWhiteChateau was televised. Starring: #AntoinetteCellier, #MaryHinton, #ErikChitty, #AndrewOsborn, #JoanKempWelch. A location in Belgium that was known as the "White Chateau" by British soldiers and was the site of intense fighting.

#OTD - Experimental Band V, 405-line broadcasts from Crystal Palace begin. This film 'The Phoenix Tower' tells the story of the Crystal Palace and the building of the transmitting tower. buff.ly/wDNjaR0

#OTD - 11th November 1937 The first outside broadcast of the Service of Remembrance from the Cenotaph in Whitehall. Views of members of the Cabinet, #KingGeorge VI, #DukeofGloucester & #DukeofKent, the King laying a wreath on the #Cenotaph. The television coverage lasted from 10:30 until 11:10am.

OTD in early British television After yesterday’s post about Television Comes to London, let’s stay in the first week of the official high definition television from Alexandra Palace, and turn our attention to the afternoon of Friday 6 November 1936. www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/otd-in-early...

Today's post reverts to the 'On this day in early British television' format, and considers the film documentary 'Television Comes to London', shown on the afternoon of Thursday 5 November 1936. www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/otd-in-early...

#OTD - 2 Nov 1936 The BBC high definition television service from #AlexandraPalace officially began at 3pm. Baird (240-line) & Marconi-EMI (405-line) systems were employed (until Feb 1937), when it became a completely electronic system. The service closed down on 1st September 1939.

See our Archivist next Sunday (2nd Nov at 5pm) on the wonderful #talkingpicstv channel, when he joins #noelcronin & #mikereaduk on #thefootagedetectives talking all things television history, with reels of 1930's television & items from the #APTSArchive. Freeview82 Freesat306 Sky328 & Virgin445.

#OTD 16 October 1958 - First edition of #BluePeter was televised. The first two presenters were #ChristopherTrace, an actor, and #LeilaWilliams, winner of #MissGreatBritain in 1957. #BiddyBaxter became editor of the programme and until her final show in June 1988, after nearly 26 years.

#OTD 15 Oct 1951: The UK held its first party election broadcasts. Viscount Samuel spoke for the #LiberalParty, #AnthonyEden for the #ConservativeParty on 16 Oct, and #SirHartleyShawcross for the #LabourParty on 17 Oct. The #GeneralElection on 25 Oct saw #WinstonChurchill return to office.

#OTD - 11 October 1958 Grandstand is first broadcast from Lime Grove Studios with #PeterDimmock as the presenter. He presented the first two editions & three weeks later, he was replaced by sports commentator #DavidColeman. The last edition was tx'd 28 January 2007.

#OTD 10 October 1955 Start of colour television test transmissions (405 VHF NTSC) from #AlexandraPalace. #SylviaPeters took part in many of these experimental broadcasts. The first live studio scenes were tx'd from Studio A at Alexandra Palace on 3rd April 1956, as seen here.

#OTD 1 October 1958 - Ampex video recorder VR1000 used by BBC for first time. The first broadcast was a trailer for the opera "A Tale of Two Cities", it was not long before it was being used for complete programmes.

#OTD 30 September 1938 Neville Chamberlain returned to Heston airport following his meeting with Hitler in Munich. His speech was broadcast live on radio and seen on television. Seen in the photograph is a Super Emitron camera. World War 2 commenced 11 months later.

#OTD 28 September 1923 Radio Times was first publishd. At a cost of 2d, it listed programmess for six BBC stations (2LO, 5IT, 2ZY, 5NO, 5WA, and 5SC). Newspapers boycotted these listings, fearing a drop in sales. Radio Times also became the world's first TV listings magazine.

#OTD 26 Sep 1954 Television Goes to Sea On 26 Sep 1954, the BBC in arrangement with British Railways, made history by broadcasting from the SS Lord Warden ferry, marking the first TV programme transmitted from a moving ship at sea.

#OTD - 22 Sep 1955 The first ITA contractor to begin broadcasting was the London weekday contractor Associated-Rediffusion, on 22 September 1955 beginning at 7.15pm.