Echoes of Bawdsey - The Story of Radar

It's June 1940 and most of Europe has fallen under Nazi control. Hitler is planning the invasion of Britain, Operation Sealion, but before that could happen the Luftwaffe had to destroy the RAF. What followed was the first major military campaign fought entirely in the air. The Battle of Britain. Without radar the British would have not won the battle. Notes on the Soundscape: At the end of th...

It's 1939, and Britain has declared war on Germany, but this is the time of the 'phoney war' before any fighting actually started. We find out what the Army and Navy were doing, alongside the RAF, in the race to get radar ready for war. The scientists have to leave Bawdsey for Scotland, but things don't go to plan, and just as things seem hopeless, a major development is made, just...

Series 2 Echoes of Bawdsey - The Story of Radar.  In this series, we hear about the part radar played in the Battle of Britain, as well as stories from the people who lived and worked at Bawdsey Manor. We’ll also hear how Bawdsey became an RAF station, how radar is now used everyday, and Bawdsey’s place in young people’s lives and the community today. 

One of the untold stories of the birth of radar at Bawdsey is the part that women played. Even in the early days of radar, women were operating the equipment, long before most people even knew it existed. This episode explores the contribution women played in the development of radar. We hear stories of their determination and bravery and how they fought against prejudice and preconceptions to bec...

In 1938 the Munich Crisis holds off the threat of war but only for a year, and in that time huge advances are made in the development of radar. Decisions are made on who will manufacture the transmitters and receivers, we fool the Germans with a 50 HZ frequency, and a little device called Pipsqueak helps us identify on the screen who was a friend and who was a foe.

By 1937 work was well underway to develop ground radar but what advances were being made in the search for a workable airborne radar system?  We hear about the world's first airborne radar flight, which took place at Martlesham Heath in Suffolk, and Bawdsey Manor becomes an RAF training school.

The Daventry Experiment had proved that aircraft could be detected at a distance using radio waves but the scientists needed a new home to continue their research. A chain of transmitters are built to defend the home nations, and things get heated as politics plays it's part. Extra links and additional material: Adam and Ben from the BT team are interviewed about the development of the Bawdsey VR...

Echoes of Bawdsey - The Story of Radar. Series 1 Episode 1 The Bomber Will Always Get Through. In this episode we go back to the end of the First World War to trace the early days of sound interceptors searching for Zeppelins. We also discover that the birth of radar was a lot more dramatic behind the scenes than previously thought. And would you have been tempted to try and kill a sheep at 100 ya...

Coming soon Echoes of Bawdsey - The Story of Radar Podcast The story of how a ground breaking invention happened in Bawdsey, Suffolk and how it changed the world and helped win the allies World War II. The series also looks at radar today and Bawdsey's place in the community as the story has influenced drama, music, science and technology.