Chelmsford's connections with Marconi and the Titanic

A new exhibition, 'Marconi and the Sea' opens on Saturday 14 April at Chelmsford Museum, marking the centenary of the sinking of the Titanic. Two new reconstructed ship's radio rooms will also be unveiled at Sandford Mill on International Marconi Day on Saturday 21 April.

'Marconi and the Sea' tells the story of the Titanic's wireless officers, Jack Phillips and Harold Bride, who were employees of the Marconi Marine Company, and includes a hands-on experience of radio direction finding in which visitors get the chance to find the position of a ship at sea.

Drawing on a large and recently acquired collection of early marine radio equipment and new research by Tim Wander into the history of Marconi's New Street factory, the exhibition features original Titanic-era equipment and key items from the Chelmsford factory ranging from the First World War memorial plaque from Marconi House to a 1960s Marconi delivery bicycle.

The star exhibit is an original magnetic detector, as patented by Guglielmo Marconi in 1902, and the standard receiver on ships, including Titanic, for many years. The magnetic detector has been specially lent for the exhibition by BAE Systems' research unit in Great Baddow.

Then, on Saturday 21 April, Marconi Day at Sandford Mill will allow visitors to see a reconstruction of a Titanic-era wireless cabin. Find out how the equipment worked, and trace the development, through full scale cabin reconstructions of the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s and 1960s, of the radio equipment made for ships at the New Street factory.

Chelmsford Amateur Radio Society will be running special radio stations from the historic Marconi Hut, and Marconi historian Tim Wander will be giving talks about the New Street factory and Marconi and the Titanic. The day also includes hands-on science experiences for all the family.

'Marconi and the sea' runs from 14 April to 5 July at Chelmsford Museum and Marconi Day takes place at Sandford Mill on Saturday 21 April. Admission is free.

For further information: Geoff Bowles, Curator of Science. T: 01245 475498