Did radio star give a signal to my dad? (From Penarth Times)

Did radio star give a signal to my dad?

A MAN has appealed for information through the Penarth Times about the role his father played on the day Marconi made history.

Guglielmo Marconi became the first person to transmit wireless signals over water from Lavernock to Flatholm Island.

Marconi"s team entered the history books by successfully completing the transmission on May 13, 1897.

Fred Powning, aged 76, of Swansea, said: "My father, William Henwood Powning, was the chief telecommunications engineer for South Wales.

"I know he worked with Marconi and Sir William Preece as part of the team at Lavernock.

"He formed a friendship with both men and corresponded with Marconi for many years.

"I would be very interested to hear from anyone who could provide me with more information on the role my father played on that historic day."

Guglielmo Marconi is credited with the discovery of radio in 1895, harnessing the achievements of earlier experimenters James Clerk Maxwell, Sir Oliver Lodge, and Heinrich Hertz.

Marconi was born in Bologna in 1874, the second son of Giuseppe Marconi, an Italian country gentleman, and an Irish mother, Annie Jameson.

In 1895, Guglielmo Marconi built a transmitter and receiver in his house, sending signals from one end of the building to the other.

When the Italian government refused to finance his work, Marconi moved to England, where he was introduced to Mr (later Sir) William Preece, engineer-in-chief of the Post Office.

Marconi"s goal was to transmit across the Atlantic Ocean.

After making history at Lavernock, Marconi went on in 1899 to establish wireless communication between France and England.

In January 1903, the first wireless message to be transmitted directly from the USA to England was sent from the President to King Edward VII.

By 1908 sea captains were using wireless signals to transmit Morse code, and in 1914, speech was transmitted for the first time.

The Great War saw further advances.

Commanders could talk to their troops in remote trenches, and even to aircraft flying overhead.

In 1920 Marconi invited opera star Dame Nellie Melba to perform at his works in Chelmsford, demonstrating the potential of wireless for the purpose of entertainment.

Marconi won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1909 and died in Rome on July 20, 1937.

* Anyone able to help Mr Powning in his research should write to The Penarth Times at 12 Royal Buildings, Stanwell Road, Penarth CF64 3YU.