Sunday, April 28, 2019

Aussies, Brits vs "Yanks"

1942 Australian-American War of 1942 - The Battle of Brisbane > .
2007 What makes an Australian? | 60 Minutes Australia > .

America shares a language and large parts of its culture with Britain and Australia. But when tens of thousands of US troops arrive in 1942, things will be far from smooth. While the alliance remains firm, their soldiers will spend almost as much time fighting each other as they do the Axis.

Saturday, April 27, 2019

BBC

36-11-2 BBC Television Service launched in the UK - HiPo > .

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 1932, although the start of its regular service of television broadcasts is dated to 2 November 1936.

On 2 November 1936 the BBC Television Service, the world’s first regular high-definition television service, was launched in the UK.  

The BBC Television Service initially offered broadcasts for a few hours each day from Alexandra Palace in London, marking a significant milestone in the history of broadcasting. Prior to this, television had been in experimental stages, but the BBC's launch of regular programming set a new standard for the medium.

The launch of the service was a ground-breaking moment in broadcasting history, and it was designed to reach the small but growing audience of television set owners in London and the surrounding areas. At the time, television sets were a luxury, and relatively few households had access to them. However, the service was a key part of the BBC’s broader mission to bring new forms of entertainment and information to the public.

The inaugural broadcast on 2 November 1936 featured a short introduction by Leslie Mitchell, one of the BBC's first television announcers, followed by a variety of programs including a demonstration of a film and a performance by comedian Adele Dixon. This marked the start of a new era for broadcasting, with television poised to become a major medium for both entertainment and information.

Nevertheless, the early years of the BBC Television Service were limited in terms of both programming and reach especially after the Second World War caused the service to be suspended due to concerns the transmitter at Alexandra Palace could act as a beacon for enemy bombers. However, television returned in 1946, just in time to show the Victory Parade through London on 8 June.

As well as making programmes for the public, the wartime BBC was involved in a range of top secret activity, working with closely with the intelligence agencies and military.

Black Market, WW2

Rationing & Black Market - ViDo > .

Blackout

Blackout
London 1942 (1943) > .
British Council Film Collection >> .


42-2-8 Blackout Ripper ..

Blackout precautions - luminous buttons, paint

Luminous buttons and paint

Daylight Saving Time 

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-31719704

A 'blackout' was enforced in Britain before the war had even begun on 1 September 1939 to make it harder for much-feared German bombers to find their targets. Street lighting and illuminated signs were extinguished and all vehicles had to put caps over their lights to dim them. The blackout caused a rise in collisions. A government campaign urged people to wear white clothes to make them more visible to fellow pedestrians and drivers. The blackout and its dangers provided an unexpected commercial opportunity. A range of luminous accessories, from pin-on flowers to handbags, were produced that would reflect light and help make their wearers more visible. These also included the buttons seen here in normal conditions and when aglow in the dark.

http://www.iwm.org.uk/history/how-clothes-rationing-affected-fashion-in-the-second-world-war

With the blackout came lots of new problems. We were all issued with luminous badges we could pin to our coat lapels, so that when out after dark - especially on cloudy nights -there was this faint glow to warn of one's approach. We could also buy luminous paint ,so grandfather had a lovely time with that, painting our doorstep, the doorknocker, the area around the keyhole as well as painting extra badges and buttons for our clothing. We youngsters thought this was a great idea and loved going outdoors in the dark to see how much around us was glowing.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/37/a6535037.shtml

Early watches from the Great War era when luminous paint was first widely used, before the dangers of radium based luminous paint were understood, can have a surprisingly high level of radioactivity, much higher than those of the WW2 era when the dangers were better understood. Such watches need to be treated with extra caution.

The amount of radioactive material in radioluminescent paint was gradually reduced as technology improved and the long term health effects of radiation were gradually taken more seriously. If your watch was made before 1960 and had luminous numerals and hands, then it is quite likely that the paint contains radium. If it does, then that paint is still radioactive. By the 1950s radium paint was being phased out, although I have seen an advert for ladies' watches in 1956 that stated they had radium dials. Radium luminous paint continued to be used in some applications, primarily military, well into the 1960s.

http://www.vintagewatchstraps.com/luminous.php .

sī vīs pācem, parā bellum

igitur quī dēsīderat pācem praeparet bellum    therefore, he who desires peace, let him prepare for war sī vīs pācem, parā bellum if you wan...