This is an amateur radio QSL card from 1933. It is the size of a postcard. It was sent by Richard J Bradley who was then living at 5 Roker Terrace, off Yard Road, Stockton. These QSL cards were exchanged by two amateurs when they wanted to confirm that they had been in radio contact. This particular card was sent to G2JY, the registration number of an amateur station operating in Sheffield. This card gives the details of the contact – 13 June 1933 at 22:30hrs, using Morse Code.
It provides the receiving station with a report on his radio signal, and states what receiving and transmitting equipment G2FO was using. The amateur even sends a short message to his contact which bears comparison with today’s text speak, it reads;
“Mni tnx fr QSO OB Hpe cu agn sn, cheerio!” which can be read as “Many thanks for the radio contact old boy. Hope to see you again soon, cheerio!”
Image and details courtesy of Cliff Thornton.
Picture Stockton Archive 
Amateur or Ham radio is as popular today as it ever was, there are some 3 million worldwide, with around a hundred thousand in the UK and growing. I operate daily, with local networks and distant stations regularly.
Some stations still swap QSL or confirmation of contact cards.
Richard Baker G0AIH. Darlington.
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Raymond Fleming Restall [1934-1990] – Silent Key
Amateur Radio Station G4FCU.
Amateur radio enthusiast, he would listen over the airwaves in his spare time. Qualified in using Morse code, that would allow him to contacts around the world.
A friend who is forever missed.
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I have known three Radio ‘Hams’, my Father in Law (G8HFH and G3FIC), a school friend,(G3SEQ) and my school friends Father (G2DML) each of their ‘Shacks’ had the walls covered in such cards.
When my Father in Law first became interested in ‘Ham’ radio he bought himself a multi waveband Eddystone receiver which he used to listen to radio ‘Hams’, strangely whenever he came in from work it had magically retuned its self to Radio Caroline, I suspect my then girlfriend, now wife, may have had something to do with that.
One of my Father in Laws favourite cards was from King Hussein of Jordan, who was a keen ‘Ham’
I knew about the R.S.G.B but the B.E.R.U was new to me, Google gave me the answer.
An interesting post.
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Bruce, I was interested to see that your Father in Law had two call signs. I suspect that he passed his amateur radio exam and took out a “B Licence” (G8…)which enabled him to use the higher frequency amateur bands. Then he passed his morse code test, which qualified him to take out an “A Licence” (G3…). That enabled him to operate on the longer wavelength amateur bands which provided propagation to Australia if the conditions were right. You do not see so many “ham” aerials in peoples gardens these days. I wonder if the introduction of the Internet has taken some of the magic out of amateur radio?
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Cliff, you are right, my Father in Law took his G8 exam first as he was having difficulty with Morse, it was about a year later he became proficient enough to take the full exam.
He once told me he had made contacts in both North America and Australia in the same day but he couldn’t contact a friend in Lancashire, atmospherics of course.
When I was a schoolboy in the 1950s I was given a pre-war radio that had about twenty push buttons covering short, medium and long wave transmissions, it was brilliant, I remember getting stations such as Shenectedy in New York, Athlone in Ireland, Hilversum in Holland and Moscow amongst others, the ability to listen to distant lands was magical.
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