The History of Portishead Radio

Portishead radio (callsign GKA) was originally known as ‘Devizes Wireless Station’ and was located at Morgan’s Hill just to the north of the town. The transmitting station at Portishead was opened in 1928 when the name 'Portishead Radio' was born!

The station provided worldwide maritime communications and long-range aeronautical communications from 1928 until 2000. It was the world's largest and busiest long-distance HF maritime radio station. In 1974, 154 radio operators were employed handling over 20 million words per year. It was originally operated by the General Post Office (GPO), then the Post Office and subsequently by British Telecom, which was privatised in 1984.

The station played a vital role during World War II in maintaining communications with the British merchant navy and patrol aircraft in the North Atlantic. During the war, all communications with ships were one-way in order to avoid revealing the ships' locations to the enemy.

In 1948, the station expanded. Two operating rooms with 32 new radio operator positions, a broadcasting and landline room, and a file of ship and aircraft positions plotted using magnetic indicators on a 36 by 16 ft steel map of the world were added. Other maps covered the North Atlantic and Western European areas.

By 1965, 86 radio officers were employed handling over 11 million words of traffic per year and communicating on average with over 1,000 ships per day.

By 1974, this level reached over 20 million words per year, handled by 154 radio officers. The rise in traffic was driven by demand from the oil market, the deep-water fishing industry, and the leisure boating market.

In addition to maritime and aeronautical radio service, the station provided communications facilities for fixed stations worldwide such as relief agencies, emergency and disaster relief companies, and industries where reliable landline communications were poor or non-existent. This was known as the 'Gateway' service and operated from the early 1980s until the station closed.

By the end of the 1980s, rationalisation began as satellite communications had started to take hold. A sad day came on the 31st December 1978 when the transmitting station at Portishead closed. Transmitters in other areas were modified to cover the maritime service but the name remained!

In 1998, British Telecom Maritime Radio Services announced the planned closure of Portishead Radio and the station formally closed at 1200 UTC on 30 April 2000.

In the station's penultimate year to March 1999, there were on average per month 571 radio telegrams, 533 radio telephone calls, and 4,001 radio telex calls.

 The final message sent from the station read as follows:

 “CQ CQ CQ DE GKB2/4/5/6 =

THIS IS THE LAST BROADCAST FROM PORTISHEAD RADIO. FOR 81 YEARS WE HAVE SERVED THE MARITIME COMMUNITY. WE SAY THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO HAVE SUPPORTED AND USED OUR STATION. WE PAY TRIBUTE TO MARCONI WHO MADE IT ALL POSSIBLE. HIS FIRST TRANSMISSIONS ACROSS THE WATER WERE MADE FROM NEARBY HERE AND SO STARTED THE RADIO ERA. WE ARE PROUD TO HAVE BEEN PART OF THAT ERA. AS THIS HISTORIC TIME IN THE COMMERCIAL MESSAGING WORLD COMES TO A CLOSE THE MANAGER AND RADIO OFFICERS WISH YOU FAREWELL FROM PORTISHEAD RADIO/GKB + VA”

A stunning sculpture by Rick Kirby entitled ‘Arc of Angel’s’ standing over 5 metres high of five female figures holding hands, was installed close to the Portishead transmitting site to commemorate the five radio towers and their role. A singular statue stands on the West side of the marina guiding the way up to the Arc.

Portishead Radio – A Friendly Voice on Many a Dark Night by Larry Bennett (2020).

Thank you to local drone operator Raed Shakman for this awesome Youtube link. You can check out his other footage on Instagram by following  raed_shakman.