Arthur GM3BQO is in the middle of this 1955 NFD group with the mischievous look on his face.
Arthur Grainger GM3BQO was a colourful and amusing character in the Lothians Radio Society in the 1940s – 1970s. His use of the callsign phonetics “Britain’s Queerest Object” gives an indication of his sense of humour. By profession he owned a hardware shop, Dobie & Mackintosh, in Morningside Drive. His face appears in many of the photographs of LRS activities in the 1950s. He collected a wonderful archive of photographs, cartoons of local radio activities, QSL cards etc. After Arthur became a silent key in 1996 his daughter kindly allowed the LRS archivist to scan his material for this website. The photographs have been added to the appropriate folders of Field Days and Social Events. The cartoons, drawn by an artist called George, whose callsign stilll has to be identified, follow in this folder.
It seems that there was a regular local net in the early 1950s of stations in Edinburgh, the Lothians and Fife. Most of the cartoons relate to this net and were drawn by an amateur called George. The participants included:
GM3BQO Arthur Grainger, Morningside, Edinburgh
GM3DAX Jock –
GM3DHD George Brown, Edinburgh (owner of Brown’s Wireless, George IV Bridge).
GM3FXM Jim Christie, Burntisland, Fife
GM3FUU/A W.B. Henniker, Balerno
GM3GBM –
GM3HJC –
GM3HQC C.J. McPherson, Blackhall, Edinburgh
GM5YW George –
GM8ZY –
? George ?, Goldenacre, Edinburgh (Artist and possibly net control). (Signs as “Goldenacre”)
Front of Transfer
Backing paper of Transfer.
The larger of two tiny vests embroidered with the callsigns of the regular net participants.
The size can be judged by comparison with the New Penny coin above.
The smaller of the two vests with a New Penny coin for size comparison.
Two tiny wooden shoes with Arthur’s callsign beautifully added.
Poem about the vests by “D.B.”
Arthur Grainger GM3BQO arrested by “the police”,
watched by Bert Stanway GM3JOA & Syd Rowden GM6SR