Radio Brockley marks 60 years with live weekend

Founder member Barry Cobden will return to Radio Brockley this Friday to broadcast at the exact time the hospital station first went on air.

His programme is part of three days of live shows from 2 to 4 October, with past and present members returning to the station, which serves patients at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore.

Radio Brockley began in 1966 after six volunteers left Radio Edgware and approached the hospital about starting a service. Members built or supplied the tape recorders, mixer, amplifiers and other equipment used for the broadcasts. Harrow East MP Roy Roebuck officially opened the station on Sunday 2 October that year.

The first studio was believed to be an old air raid shelter beside one of the wards. Its roof leaked, and damp affected the sound as the record deck’s crystal cartridges deteriorated.

The anniversary weekend also coincides with 18 years of Alpha Sessions, a Radio Brockley programme featuring unsigned and independent musicians who perform in the studio and interview one another. The station has received the Hospital Broadcasting Association’s Station of the Year award in 2016, 2018 and 2020.

More information is available at website.