This website was originally inspired by the discovery of a number of QSL (radio reception report) cards dating from the 1920's and is intended to make images of the cards available to as many people as possible.  However, research into the origin of the cards turned up an interesting story of the life of one Radio Amateur.

How it all began

The sequence of events that contrived towards me becoming involved with the search and investigation of a number of old radio reception (QSL) cards was quite serendipitous. In the Spring of 2001 my father, a keen antique collector, had come across a large number of short wave radio reception report cards as part of a lot in a house clearance in a saleroom in Grimsby. Knowing of my long-standing interest in amateur radio my father bid for the cards in the face of strong dealer interest. I distinctly remember my excitement during the telephone conversation I had with him as he described what he had acquired, which included over 250 cards from around the world covering the years 1926-1928. When I showed these to Colin, G4DDI, a local amateur who shared a similar passion for the history of radio, our interests were fired. These cards had once belonged to an amateur, sadly now deceased, who was obviously local and as my interest in amateur radio had started in the late ‘60’s at one of the Grimsby Comprehensive Schools, I was determined to find out more. I had served as Secretary to the Grimsby and District Amateur Radio Society in the early ‘70’s and I thought that I remembered hearing of the amateur whose callsign, G6LI appeared on many of the cards. Although he lived in Ludborough, some 12 miles south near the town of Louth, I do not remember him ever attending club meetings. However, in one of those interesting twists of fate, it appeared that my father had known him in his professional capacity in the 1950’s but had not been aware of the amateur radio connection. I shall elaborate more on this later. (A.E. Livesey G6LI - The Full Story)

The Importance of the QSL Card

The likelihood of individual cards of this date to survive is rare, so to find an entire collection intact was remarkable. As is evident from the stamps, many have been posted and have had to endure the rigours of the world’s postal services. The combined information detailed on the cards gives a wonderful insight into the developments that were taking place at the time and more particularly in the interest fostered by a 16-year-old boy to whom they were addressed. Amyatt Edmund Livesey, (known as "Will") pursued his interest with passion and determination throughout most of his life. As a young boy, he built his first short wave receiver with the assistance of a local amateur and spent night after night listening to signals (mostly in Morse code) from around the world. Components such as valves were not easy to find as surplus items and were relatively expensive to purchase as new. Other components such as coils, resistors and condensers (capacitors) were often homemade from raw materials, their values being calculated using mathematical formulae. You can imagine his excitement when he tuned across an amateur in a new country or when he heard signals on a different wave band. This would have prompted him to make contact by letter giving details to the other station of how well signals had been received, together with information on the date, time, wave band and the aerial and receiver used at the receiving end. In return, hopefully, he would eventually receive a reply confirming the reception report, in the form of a QSL card. These reception reports were of enormous benefit to amateurs whose ranks had not yet swelled to the numbers we have today. "Will" would have proudly displayed these confirmations of reports (later of actual contacts he had made) on the walls of his radio "shack". Indeed, we know this to be the case because many of the cards have the marks of old drawing pins in their corners. Some also show the affects of exposure to sunlight. These simple cards, many of which were homemade, were never intended to be treated with reverence or accorded the care given to archive material or as documents with future historical significance. Remember too, as this was the 1920’s with no easy world wide telephone access, no television or Internet, most of the places contacted like Australia, New Zealand, South America and the Countries constituting the British Empire would have sounded wonderfully exotic and beyond the immediate communication means of most of the general population. For this reason amateur radio in those days was, perhaps, even more magical than it is today as enthusiasts truly had the world at their fingertips. This was even more fulfilling as they had achieved this by their own hard work by building and coaxing their homemade equipment to work. Improvements to these amateur radio stations took time, patience and a great deal of skill. It is no wonder that so many friendship bonds were formed and that the sense of camaraderie among amateurs worldwide was so strong.

The Radio Society of Great Britain

Knowledge of these early developments was propagated by the few specialist publications of the period, including Wireless World, but the main journal was undoubtedly the T & R Bulletin, the members’ periodical of the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB). This organisation, with the stated aim of promoting and protecting the interests of amateur radio enthusiasts had evolved from the London Wireless Club, founded in 1913. In those early days Government control was particularly rigorous due the reliance on short wave communication at both a national and international level. Radio amateurs worldwide were acknowledged as having made a significant contribution towards the development of radio communication techniques and in understanding more fully just how radio waves travelled around the world. In recognition of these achievements numerous international agreements throughout the last century had allocated radio enthusiasts several specific frequency slots were they could continue their experiments. But these had to be fought for and continually justified. It is thanks to the skill and diplomacy of the many RSGB officers that during these delicate negotiations the interests of the radio amateurs were recognised. In these days of mounting commercial pressure for increased frequency allocations the importance of these continuing negotiations are still as relevant as ever. G6LI, like the vast majority of amateurs of the period, joined the Society in the early 1920’s when he was a short wave listener (SWL), still then at school and remained an active member throughout his life.  

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