Radio Rallies of the Past.

[dsergeant]

Longleat was probably my first rally. Never went to the Birmingham ones but well remember Ally Pally (which of course at one time also burnt down). Made one trip to Pickets Lock, don't think it was there for many years and later was redeveloped for the Olympics. As an aside Pickets Lock, the lock on the Lea canal, is now called Alfie's Lock in memory of the lock keeper.

The Newark rally is more recent and replaces the Leicester ones. Also been quite a few times to the HF Convention, now RSGB Convention, at its various locations, now at Milton Keynes,

73 Dave G3YMC

[FIXITNOW]

I am fairly new to rallies only been going for the last 10 years or so ,now days struggle to drive to far so only do what's local Foxton (Cambridge group) ,kings lynn ,St Neots (Huntington group) Barford and Dunstable downs

[Nuvistor]

These taken from the June 1965 SWM edition, probably more earlier and later in the year. Seem to remember Trentham Gardens near Stoke, Bolton, Stafford as well as others mentioned in earlier posts.
June.
6th RSGB RAF Wethersfield Essex
7th Saltash Cornwall
20th Hunstanton
20th Pembroke
20th Reading
26th Mobile Rally Loughton Essex
26th ARMS with the Red Cross Essex
27th Longleat

July
11th Torbay ARS Devon
11th South Shields
11th Mobile rally Headington
18th Mobile Picinic Worcester
25th Cornwall ARS

Aug
15th Derby ARS
30th Peterborough

Sept
11th RSGB Woburn
26th Harlow
30th Peterborough Mobile.

[Peter.N.]

Longleat was my favourite, went to Flight Refuelling at Wimborne a couple of times, but went to Longleat for a number of years, you could also have a good look round the estate if you got bored.

Peter

[SiriusHardware]

In the 1960s there was a melancholy little song called 'The Slow Train' by Flanders and Swann which named many of the railway stations and places which had, or soon would, pass into history following the Beeching Cuts.

Perhaps we need to compose a similar little ditty which reels off the names of all the old radio rallies before they fade away and are lost from living memory?

[snowman_al]

When I lived in the Midlands
Drayton Manor was number 1, for meet ups and just the amount of 'stuff'.
In no particular order regulars were,
in Birmingham there was the Wythall rally and also Erdington.
Derby (Elveston), Leicester Granby, like sardines.
Rugby under the masts almost. Always good stuff there.
Then there was an open air one near Gloucester Cheltenham, nice people.
There was Blackwood in Wales.

How things have changed though...

[Wendymott]

As a "commer in" in the 60's...... the NARMS rally at Harewood House, Nr Leeds was my one and only rally for the year.
Unfortunately due to the rising cost of tents, it had to move indoors, to the impersonal school...... Leeds Grammar I seem to remember..... The original committee decided.. enough was enough, and Otley Radio soc was asked to take over, it was relocated about a mile down the road to another school.......I took over the reigns for two years and relocated to Keithley Victoria park......this was the dark era, not many traders and computer dealers proliferated ........ I let go of the reigns, but Otley Society carried on and moved to the Great Yorkshire show ground, where it became most successful ..generating lots of funds for future projects. In later years, Ripon R/S took it on... but I lost contact and interest.
Meanwhile Denbydale ARS had their rally at Skelmanthorpe school,
Blackpool of course
Drayton manor
Scarborough... Burniston Barracks .
But one I dont think has been mentioned.... A Rally on the sand dunes at South Shields...Newcastle..... a friendly, pretty, venue.
2020....... NOTHING

[Aub]

I thought that the Leicester Grandby Halls rally was the one that moved to Castle Donnington? . Then later that one was superceded by the big one now held at Newark? Perhaps my mind is playing tricks?

The closest one to me used to be the Drayton Manor rally, then next closest was the Rugby rally, at the truckstop on the A5, which moved to Stamford Hall, then finally moved to Princethorpe College. Elvaston Castle was the next closest.

Great days, and the cringeworthy word, "Hamfest" didn't exist 😄😄

Cheers

Aub

[SiriusHardware]

Originally Posted by Wendymott

But one I dont think has been mentioned.... A Rally on the sand dunes at South Shields...Newcastle..... a friendly, pretty, venue.

A someone 'local' I was never aware of that one but I was a relative latecomer to Amateur Radio in spite of my early interest in electronics and radio, so by the time I got involved, the South Shields rally was being held in a large leisure complex. Maybe that one was the direct descendent of the one you remember. My circumstances mean that I am out of the area most weekends which means I almost never get to the local rallies so I couldn't tell you if there is still a rally held there.

I did manage to get to Spennymoor in 2019 and I note they hope to resume again in 2021.

Then later that one was superceded by the big one now held at Newark? Perhaps my mind is playing tricks?

That is my impression as well, that the Newark rally is the present incarnation of what was the old Leicester rally. My colleague still goes to that one most years.

[Radio Wrangler]

Wendy mentioned the Denby Dale rally. One year it was relocated to the New College at Salendine Nook, Another year it was at Honley Grammar. Good events all.

Twice in the past Tommy Menzies, Bob Glasgow and Myself organised the main Scottish rally at the Ingliston Royal Highland Showground. The first time we went for the main hall... so big someone once flew a helicopter inside it (at another event!) The second time we got the size right with the McRobert Pavilion. Both times we had plenty of stalls, all the big names and large crowds. The rumour that there were ex-Bosnia mercenaries keeping an eye on the bring and buy cash drawer is perfectly true. They were also SWLs working towards their RAEs and members of a local radio soc. It was their day off.

But there were excellent rallies all over the country back in those days.

The current one at Braehead shopping centre is about the best we now have up here.

None of the distributors of Icom, Kenwood or Yaesu make it this far North. No-one in Scotland is likely to ever see their latest wares.

David

[captainpugwash]

My memory has been jogged and I think the Pudsey rally was branded as the White Rose Rally at the time we went.
I hope Spennymoor will return in 2021.
I did go to a rally a couple of years ago at Bowburn near Durham but have not seen that advertised since.
Kind regards,
David

[G0HZU_JMR]

Interesting thread! In my youth I lived in various parts of the UK and I went to a lot of radio rallies across the UK. Of these, the furthest north east was the Hornsea rally, the furthest north west was a small rally near Stockport. I can't remember the name of it but it was somewhere between Hyde and Stockport. The furthest south east was the Canvey rally although there were loads of other rallies in Essex in the 1980s and I did my morse exam at the Colchester rally in 1987. Furthest south west was probably Bristol or Longleat although I only went there once. I also was a regular at a rally in south Wales. It was called something like the Blackwood rally and it was somewhere near Newport and it was always a good rally.

I went to pretty much all the rallies in the midlands including Drayton Manor, Telford, Leicester, Wythall and probably several others I can't remember.

Drayton Manor was the first rally I went to sometime around 1981. I attended the last but one rally at Drayton Manor about 15 years ago. It was a shadow of its former self and it really wasn't worth the trip. I wasn't surprised the next near was its last. It was also the last radio rally I've been to. I've been tempted to go to Wythall a few times since but something always takes priority. I remember the park and ride at Wythall and I think I bought my Tek 465 scope at that rally back in the early/mid 1990s.

[Junk Box Nick]

Just remembered the Telford Rally that arrived I think late 70s/early 80s – that got a lot of people from all over the midlands and plenty of items to be had. Also good for meet-ups. It was held in the shopping mall around September time – the days before Sunday shopping of course!

I guess it was the one that moved on to RAF Cosford Museum. I went to it once there – might be about twenty years ago now – as a one off to meet some old friends I'd become reacquainted with and already I had noticed the changes with lower attendance and not so much stuff/junk, having not bothered with rallies since the mid-1980s when my interest had waned as life got in the way. I think the last time I noticed it advertised it was at Ironbridge Museum.

At one point a lot of rallies seemed to become radio and computer fairs to tap into a new market and an emerging allied interest but which put me off as I had little interest in the latter - saw enough of computers at work!

[G4XWDJim]

The Worcester rally held in Droitwich High School was one I always attended many years ago.

In the late 70s early 80s I bought a good looking but very cheap Marconi TF144G sig gen in its original wooden box. As it was so heavy I carried the box and my mate carried the sig gen on his shoulder. At the critical angle on his shoulder a gallon of very rusty water came pouring out of the case join all down his back. Shirts and trousers aside the Ginny was unharmed but I couldn’t say much for his shirt.

An unusual feature to remember a rally by.

Jim

[G0HZU_JMR]

Just remembered the Telford Rally that arrived I think late 70s/early 80s – that got a lot of people from all over the midlands and plenty of items to be had. Also good for meet-ups. It was held in the shopping mall around September time – the days before Sunday shopping of course!

Yes, the Telford rally was huge in those days. I think it was the second rally I ever went to some time around 1981 and there were numerous traders selling Tek 5xx series scopes. These scopes seemed to be everywhere and it was as if a lot of them had hit the surplus market. Some traders at Telford had at least a dozen of them stacked like house bricks. I bought my first scope at the Drayton Manor rally the same year. It was a Tek 585 and I still have it and it still worked the last time I tried.

[SiriusHardware]

One year myself and a few other relatively new amateurs travelled all the way from Tyneside to the Blackpool rally and were mystified to find ourselves attending a Dog Show. Somehow, we had got the day wrong and gone down there on a Saturday when of course that rally and most others were held on Sundays.

Luckily the family of two of our party had a large caravan at Keswick in the lakes so we retreated there for the evening and drove back down on the following day. Thereafter, radio rallies were always referred to as 'Dog Shows'.

On another occasion I set off on a Sunday morning on what would be a fairly long drive down to Leicester to the rally there in its original Granby Halls location. I set off really early and was about half way there when I struck up a conversation with a fellow amateur and I mentioned where I was going, whereupon he pointed out that the Leicester rally was almost unique in that it was held on Friday / Saturday rather than Sunday like the majority of rallies.

The day wasn't entirely wasted, as a National Trust member / English heritage member I found myself surrounded by properties I rarely if ever had the chance to visit, so I spent the day pottering around those instead.

Both of these incidents were just slightly pre-internet - it may have been around at the time but I still didn't have it so it was difficult to cross check anything last minute as we would nowadays.

Since the advent of Satnav not only in self contained units but also now on mobile devices, how many rallies still do the traditional talk-in on S22?

[G6Tanuki]

The Telford rally - first one of them I went to was in 1980-1981? when it was held in the shopping-centre. I bought one of my R209 receivers there, as well as an _enormous_ coil of Andrew "Heliax" - the thick stuff about an inch diameter - which was so large that when I hooked it over my shoulder it still dragged along the ground. I actually didn't want the cable - it was the 2 connectors [which even then cost £25 or so apiece] that came with it which was my prize.

Telford did indeed move to RAF Cosford museum later on - where I bought a job-lot of 12 Pye MX290 radios. Alas the vast majority of them turned out to be police-band and so not worth converting to 2M.

The Telford rally has since moved to the Ironbridge Gorge mouseum - I must arrange to visit it when it next comes around, as I have family in the area that could also do with a visit.

Another rally still going strong - the McMichael in Reading. First went to thta nearly 40 years ago.

[G6Tanuki]

Originally Posted by SiriusHardware

Since the advent of Satnav not only in self contained units but also now on mobile devices, how many rallies still do the traditional talk-in on S22?

Newbury and Harwell still do; I make a point of checking-in and giving signal/traffic reports just so the talk-in ops don't feel their efforts are unappreciated.

[SiriusHardware]

Although most people have alternative ways to find their way to the venue now I think the talk-in still has value as a way of knowing what the local traffic / parking situation at the venue is, which is 'live' information which you probably wouldn't get any other way.

[buggies]

I think the last one I (+XYL) attended would have been at Bellahouston.
I remember the Birkett team at the rallies with all their paper bags at the ready...
And an aerial lecture using 3cm (?) dipoles and yagis to demonstrate different aerial types.