Seventy Five Years On Air
75 for 75
A series of 75 articles with photographs capturing aspects of our rich history since 9th April 1951 when we began as an activity at Port Sunlight Boys’ Club.
Read all about the station’s rich history.
75 for 75 series 16 to 30
-
In late 2000, the station received a £1,000 grant under the British Gas / Liverpool Echo community awards scheme.
It was an early gift, ahead of the station’s 5Oth anniversary, coming up in April 2001. Station Manager, Vic Charles, invited Andrew Hanson from British Gas into the studios.
This was towards the end of our time at the studios near St John’s Hospice. With a big move imminent, the grant could not have come at a better moment.
-
In July 1983 Simon Cadell, Tim Bedson, Richie Moore, Neil Southerin and Jan Whitehouse manned ‘Titanic II’ in the Chester Raft Race. The following year ‘The Shed’ was the name of our Radio Clatterbridge raft. There was an Easter Bunny feel to our entry to the Heswall Bed Race which started in 1982 and lasted a decade. Fancy dress was mandatory and the yearly epic saw wheeled beds sent down steep hills and around sharp turns from a starting point of the long-demolished Sandon Arms Pub.
-
To mark our Ruby Anniversary in 1991, a special booklet sponsored by local companies was released. The Programme Schedule was separated into the weekend (pictured) and weekdays. As well as an Introductory page, our President Roger Hazlewood was in nostalgic mood remembering when he joined the station in 1966. Other features included fundraising, staffing, the changing nature of the hospital itself and an explanation of our programming. The wonderful patient in a bed illustration even adorned the newsletters sent out to our membership.
-
By 1974, guests such as Gerry Marsden still managed to pop in but we were beginning to grow out of our cramped studio. Access was also not easy, via a narrow-overgrown passage. The Port Sunlight Boys Club (Sundays) and Radio Clatterbridge (the rest of the week) amalgamated in this year.
-
Our fundraising activities are rich and varied. It used to be the case that barely a week would go by without charities packing bags at your local supermarket. Nowadays bucket collections have largely taken over. The pictures here are from November 2008 (Paul Johnston, Natalie Kelly, and Beth Meredith from the team backing the bags at a local ASDA supermarket) and December 2010 (Steve Evans and John Roberts doing similar at Tesco).
-
The Beatles’ first taped radio interview was conducted at Hulme Hall during a Port Sunlight Recreation Association dance, months after ‘Love Me Do’ reached the Top Ten and just before they went to Hamburg.
Monty Lister worked in Public Relations at Lever Brothers and joined our fledgling service in 1952 initially to help with vocal training, but he soon took over as leader. Here he remembers the famous interview he conducted with 16-year-olds Peter Smethurst and Malcolm Threadgill. You can hear an excerpt from the famous interview with The Beatles via www.radioclatterbridge.co.uk .
In 1981 our Publicity Officer, Brian Cullen, organised an exhibition at Bebington Library over a fortnight from August to September centred around our famous association with The Beatles. Brian is pictured with music librarian Janet Turner.
-
In the early 1980s Clatterbridge Hospitals League of Friends donated a £600 tape recorder to Radio Clatterbridge.
The League’s Chairman at the time, David Waller, presented the recorder to Brian Cullen (the station’s Publicity Officer) and Steve Lord (our Programme Controller).
The Clatterbridge League (now the Friends of Clatterbridge) began just under three years after our station on 1st February 1954.
There have been very strong links between the two charities since the early 1960s with many grants generously provided over the years.
-
In 1968 the Clatterbridge League’s major expenditure was the provision of stethoscope headsets for every bed at the hospital. This enabled all patients to have the personal choice of TV and radio programmes which included Radio Clatterbridge. A total of £2,500 was invested in the hospital by the League on this item alone. The League would go on to provide replacement headsets for over 30 years.
The radio installation project in all wards first mooted in 1961 was finally completed in 1971. To mark this event Roger Hazlewood, then a member of the Port Sunlight Boys Club, undertook a marathon 12-hour gramophone record playing session from 9am to 9pm.
In 1972 the station turned 21 (Roger is pictured on the extreme left).
-
On 9th April 1981 the station marked its Pearl Anniversary and 30 years to the day ‘on air’.
Our birthday celebrations included a fundraising Disco, outside broadcasts and a VIP Party at our Larch House studios.
By this time, Radio Clatterbridge was broadcasting ‘live’ 48 hours a week. Those pictured include Librarian (Bill Stringer) – the older gentleman on the back row plus several long-term members such as Dave Williams, the late Paul Stewart and Roger Hazlewood on the same row plus Steve Lord (front row extreme left). Brian Cullen (crouching middle front) oversaw our publicity. Presenter Ada Newman’s show at the time was called “Classical Potpourri”.
-
This is how our “On Air” studio (Studio 1) and recording studio (Studio 2) look now.
Studio 2 was re-built in 2025 by our station Engineer, Ron Berkeley. Presenters can pre-record and set up their own personalised links and regular features for their shows on the playout system. It is set up so that, if Studio 1 is unavailable for whatever reason, we can seamlessly broadcast instead from here.
Studio 1 is now a state-of-the-art modern studio including the main playout computer, an Internet PC where we receive many of our requests and mixer desk. We do still embrace some long-standing technology, with 2 compact disc players and a variety of CDs still used in our live shows.
-
In 2011 we had a roadshow with a difference at Vista Kitchens in Bromborough. One of our members, Mo Ferrer, and some friends recreated The Andrews Sisters’ “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” amongst other classics.
Steve Lord was the MC. As well as interviewing Mo and company, he also spoke with member Paul Allt who was working at Vista at the time. Vista Kitchens had become one of our first sponsors the previous year.
-
1991 marked our 40 years of broadcasting. It was an opportunity to have a group photograph which those members available on the day took part in.
Interestingly, the individual on the far right of the back row is Justin Madders who is now the Labour MP for Ellesmere Port and Bromborough, after being elected to Parliament in May 2015.
Justin presented ‘Music Afternoon’ on Saturdays at the start of the 1990s, while studying to become a Solicitor. He was interviewed as part of a Saturday morning ‘Workers’ Playtime’ feature by member Sid Jones and this recording offers a fascinating insight into an individual who would soon become well known both locally and nationally.
-
In 2005 we won the Silver Award for Best Station Promotion for a 50 second advert for our 2004 Staff Achievement Award promotion featuring Gerry Marsden. Subsequent wins included for our ‘Doddy Day’ promotion, but it has been in recent years that the Station has done consistently well. Our youngest member Jake McElvogue won the Silver Award for Best Male Presenter in the 2022 ceremony.
Our impressive haul of Awards from the National Hospital Broadcasting Awards in recent years includes Silver Station of the Year 2025.
First Photo - Mandy Shepherd (2nd in line) is a multi-award winner. Mike Shepherd (far right) is a past Award winner and works hard putting our nominations together. Second photo - Mike Eveleigh won the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2025 Event, after dedicating 50 years to our station. He is pictured receiving the award at his home from Mike Shepherd.
-
Our broadcasting network installed in the 1960s had deteriorated badly and major re-development work had affected the underground landlines. In October 1992 it was agreed that Radio Clatterbridge would be re-housed and a new system fitted. In 1993 we entered our 2nd building near to St John’s Hospice. We never got round to naming it!
On entering, the library was on your immediate left next to two studios, with all entered via a large communal area (where member Helen Craven can be seen) with a small room which doubled as an office and store on the right.
-
Shell has had a business in the UK for over 100 years and has a long history of supporting community projects near to their facilities throughout the UK.
In April 1984, Radio Clatterbridge reaped the benefits, as a sponsorship cheque was handed over to Roger Hazlewood (President) and Dave Wilson (Station Manager).
With Graham Johnson amongst those also on hand for the ceremony, Studio 1 in Larch House was the venue for the presentation.It was all part of Shell’s Contract Employees initiative and doesn’t everyone look smart!
