Building – Page 110 – What Was Pebble Mill?

Refurbished Film Sound Transfer Suite – Peter Poole

Photos copyright Peter Poole, no reproduction without permission.

These photos from the early 1990s, show the Film Sound Transfer Suite which was a very busy area. Its main use was to transfer audio tapes to SEPMAG. The tapes were recorded on a Nagra tape recorder together with a pilot tone signal. This was needed to ensure that the audio was synchronous with the picture. At a latter time a DAT recorder with time code replaced the Nagra. The Transfer Suite also housed a collection of “Library Music”. These discs were produced for TV and radio programmes and not commercially available. They had interesting titles such as “Links Bridges and Stings”. A full collection of BBC sound effects were also available.

Peter Poole

Radio Birmingham audio slideshow – Pete Simpkin

This audio slideshow of 1970s and ’80s photographs, was produced by Pete Simpkin, and used when he gave talks about the work of Radio Birmingham ‘Heart of the Nation’. It dates from the time when Pete presented the Breakfast programme, and illustrates the daily routine of the Station, which was based at BBC Pebble Mill.

Mike Johnston – photo by Laura McNeill

Photo by Laura McNeill, no reproduction without permission.

This photo is of Mike Johnston, a floor manager at BBC Pebble Mill.

Marconi Mark One Camera – Pete Simpkin

I remember the Marconi Mk ONE……we trained on them at Evesham (Wood Norton) and this picture is of three of us carrying out some ‘impact’ maintenance on one of them! On the left is Phil Upton showing where to hit the camera and wielding the panning handle is Keith Tucker. We were from all the regional studios and I cannot recall the members from Birmingham on TA Course 16 in the Spring of 1963.

Pete Simpkin

Marconi Mark 3 Camera – photo from Dave Kirkwood

This is a very young ‘me’ with a Marconi Mark 3 camera. This was one of the iconic cameras of the era (1960s) used in studios and outside broadcasts. It was the one featured on the original opening shots for ‘Grandstand’.

(Incidentally it was the Grandstand titles that inspired me to go for a career in broadcasting). The camera was obsolescent by the time this was taken but still in daily use at Gosta Green (pre BBC Pebble Mill).

Dave Kirkwood

Former Radio WM presenter, Gordon Astley, remembers working at Gosta Green: ‘I was there as my first posting after Wood Norton. My biggest thrill was being allowed to play on the new colour cameras …I seem to remember a scanner outside. Then I went to be a boom operator on all sorts of shows such as “The Doctors”. Looking back I should have stayed on staff, and now would be living on an island on a hefty pension!!!’