18 Oct 2014 – Silent Key – Dick Richardson GM3AKM

 

It is with great sadness that we learned that LRS Life Member Dick Richardson GM3AKM became a Silent Key on 18th August 2014 at the advanced age of 93. Dick was LRS Secretary / Treasurer in 1963-64.

His funeral service at St. David’s Episcopal Church, Boswall Parkway, Edinburgh, cremation at Warriston Crematorium and wake at Silverknowes Golf Club on Monday 25th August 2014 were attended by six members of the LRS. In his eulogy to his father, Richard Richardson made numerous references to Dick’s radio hobby and the LRS. Many thanks to him for allowing quotations below from the eulogy.

Click for Edinburgh Evening News Obituary.

 

WAR SERVICE 

Dick in naval uniform in WWII.

“Dick joined the RN Volunteer (Wireless) Reserve and trained at Chatham in radio engineering. On being mobilized in late 1939 he found himself as a Radio Operator on small coastal protection vessels (often converted trawlers) and the destroyer HMS Valorous. He served in hot-spots such as the Scilly Isles and the May Island in the Firth of Forth, rations there being supplemented by gulls’ eggs and by rabbit snaring skills”. 

He is mentioned in a fascinating booklet “Aboard H.M.S. May Island – The Story of May Island’s Role in Wartime” by Ron Morris, Save Wemyss Ancient Caves Society, 2004, available from the Scottish Fisheries Museum in Anstruther. Dick’s son Richard has kindly donated a copy to the LRS archives, for which many thanks. As well as being credited for help in the preparation of the booklet, it contains a photograph of Dick and a description of the work done by the group of signallers of which he was a member:

 

  “Four Telegraphists in normal May Island uniform”.

L-R: “Spike” Sullivan, Brian Moran, L. R. Richardson, Dennis Bradley.

 

War Signal Station (WSS) on right (after wooden tower was added). Generator Hut on left.

Both now removed. The WSS was formerly a bird observatory. 

“Besides the Signal Officer, the War Signal Station (WSS) was staffed by a Chief Yeoman, three Yeomen, and twelve Signalmen, who were divided into four watches. They were billetted in a wooden hut on the south side of the WSS. Normally one Yeoman, or the Chief Yeoman and one Signalman, manned the Signals Distribution Office (SDO), whilst two other Signalmen manned the tower.

Signals were mostly dispatched by lamp using morse code. One Signalman read out incoming signals whilst his companion noted them on a signal pad. When communicating with Royal Naval vessels, an electrically-operated 10″ signal projector was used during daytime, but at night this was replaced by an aldis lamp with coloured shade. Merchant ships used flag signals incorporating an international four letter code”.  

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 AMATEUR RADIO

 

Dick was a founder member of the LRS in 1947 and remained a member all his life, being awarded Life Membership. He is 2nd from the right in this NFD 1955 group at Loanhead (LRS Archives section of this site). From his callsign, early in the GM3xxx series, Dick must have been licensed just after the war.

His son Richard writes: “Amateur Radio was his great hobby – spending hours in his shack speaking to folks on the other side of the world. I remember his nimble fingers tapping out Morse code. “I’m sure that skill helped him in later years with PC keyboards. He was a founder member of the Lothians Radio Society. I can remember these enthusiastic members setting up field camps in farmer’s fields. As GM3AKM he was one of the oldest Radio Hams operating in the U.K. I can also remember the enormous aerials constructed in the garden and terrifying the neighbours. He terrified us by clambering about rooftops fixing aerials – fearless. He could turn his hand to anything – car maintenance to my algebra homework and neighbours’ TV sets sitting on the kitchen table for repair. He and Joyce enjoyed travelling together visiting relatives in the U.S. and Canada. He enjoyed communicating and keeping in touch with those very many people he had made contact with over the years – old ship-mates, radio amateurs – on one occasion a Radio Ham behind the Iron Curtain in Bulgaria”. 

 

Peter O’Dell GM3MUM

Among Dick’s activities was the friendship and help given to Peter O’Dell GM3MUM, severely disabled from birth with cerebral palsy. Peter used the nickname “Twinkletoes”, initially as his CB “handle”, as he could only operate his radio equipment using his right toe. The LRS archive contains a detailed 3-part article about Peter from the RAIBC newsletter (Radio Amateur Invalid & Bedfast Club) and other items about him. In the 1950s, those seeking a licence had to pass a Morse test at 12 wpm in addition to a theory exam, and Peter achieved both with great assistance from his mother, who sadly died before he received his licence. He managed to obtain the callsign G3MUM as a tribute to her, after having to wait two years for it to become available in the strict alphabetical sequence used by the GPO, the licensing authority at that time. Peter moved from his native Yorkshire to the Leonard Cheshire home in Edinburgh around 1970. It was here that Dick GM3AKM befriended him, including taking him to rallies etc in his wheelchair. Peter became a Silent Key in 1998 at the age of 69.   

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DICK’S CAREER IN RADIO & TELEVISION RETAILING

LRS member Mike Brunsdon GM8KCS worked with Dick from the late 60’s through to 1979. He writes: 

“Dick was a manager or maybe a director at Maitland Radio which was my first job as apprentice TV engineer in 1968.  When Maitland was bought over by Clydesdale in 1970 he joined with another ex Maitland colleague and started a new business called Astra Radio in the old Maitland shop next door to the Playhouse Cinema. I joined Astra as an apprentice TV engineer shortly after they opened and stayed with them for 9 years until they unfortunately sold out to Clydesdale again in 1979. I then moved to the PMR industry. 

Dick knew I was very interested in building transmitters and was always encouraging me to take the RAE throughout my early years, telling me of all the countries he had worked and how much fun Amateur radio was. I eventually did in 1975. He also encouraged me to join the LRS.  Dick permitted me to install my Pye Cambridge and Westminster 2 metre radios in my company car so I could operate /m whilst out on my service calls. 

I believe he was the only one in Maitland Radio that had the expertise to repair the Murphy Rover mobile radio system we used in the TV service vans. I always had great respect for Dick, he was a really nice guy and very knowledgeable. He was my last contact with a bygone age and will be sorely missed”.

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Photo of Dick from his funeral program.

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