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DIRECT TELEVISION
from ALEXANDRA PALACE

photo of AP mast (8K)

by Arthur Dungate

Index

The purpose of this website is to provide information, much of which may be unavailable elsewhere, on my personal experiences of the early days of BBC Television when it was broadcast from Alexandra Palace on the heights of North London. The period covered is post-war from 1952 to 1963. In addition there are some experiences of Lime Grove and Riverside Studios in the mid-1950s.

Please note
This is a personal, private venture with no commercial content or sponsorship. Some uncredited illustrations appear on this website, although most are of BBC origin. Every effort is made to avoid infringing copyright and the compiler trusts that any unintended breach will be notified to him so that due acknowledgement can be made.

Also
While I am pleased to have been able to put such information online, with reference to those people I have encountered or referred to, this is the only information I have, and I cannot undertake to do any research for readers.

Since this has been designed as a sort of "e-book" in chapters, it is recommended that the pages be viewed in sequence, although this is not essential. Specific pages and topics can be found in the Index.

A Request

This site has been re-created from Arthur's original files, and, if you should find anything wrong, either with the content, or with site itself (eg broken or non-working links) we would regard it as a favour if you would kindly let us know.
BBCVT On behalf of Arthur Dungate

AP mast (2K)

CONTENTS

AP mast (2K)

  1. This Is Direct Television.....
  2. Life at the Palace
  3. The Demfilm, Cintel, and music.....
  4. The Announcers
  5. Race Days, and the TV Garden
  6. Tuning Signals
  7. The Television Newsreels
  8. Victory At Sea, and Flowerpots.....
  9. Marriage, People, and Food
10. Elizabethan TV
11. Recording the Coronation
12. The Coronation that Never Was.....
13. Lime Grove Studios
14. The Grove Family, Peer Gynt, and all that
15. The Flying (spot) Mechau, and telerecording
16. Telerecording at Lime Grove
17. A Horror of Advertising
18. The BBC Film Unit, Lifts, and Hoffnung
19. Tape Tangles
20. Riverside Studios
21. The Quatermass serials
22. Back to AP
23. Here is the News.....
24. BBC Club and Party Films
25. Pranks and Presenters
26. BBC TV Today
Appendix A - The demolition of Lime Grove Studios
Appendix B - Anecdotes from the early days of TV
Appendix C - The AP Film Dubbing Suite
Appendix D - The Suppressed Frame Telerecording System

Our television nostalgia journey starts here!
Index