As a young boy it was my wish to have a radio station but that was not possible as one had to have a licence   to do so, so I made it my ambition that one day I would obtain one.

 

On going to the information centre that told me which radio books would be helpful to me the first being Practical Wireless and Short Wave Magazine that was before WW2 and I made some of the simple designs but then the war started and parts were very hard to get, however I built a crystal set which I put in our air raid shelter at the bottom of the garden. At a later I obtained a radio valve and made a one valve radio than worked from batteries which gave us better reception.

 

On my 17^th birthday I signed up to join the British Army (as a boy soldier) and within a couple of months was instructed to report for training at Bodmin in Cornwall. After six weeks training I was sent to Woking for company training with the “Royal Army Service Corps “and I trained on stores and transmitting of food ammo etc and storage of same. I passed my 3^rd 2rd and 1^st class tests and then I was posted to Belfast Northern Ireland. After 9 month our unit moved to Bidston Birkenhead and then my work became to check supplies sent by boat, that the stores were packed correctly. So I was on my travels again, first Glasgow, Cardiff, Edinburgh Newcastle, Hull and London.

 

By now our unit had to close down so I was sent to a holding unit and then posted to “Port Said” Egypt and assigned to the Q.M. stores as acting Q. M. my  unit  being  “HQ” and “A” Section Cold Storage Unit. The unit had a Pye radio with 6 band spread short waves. knowing that I had knowledge of radio I was asked by the C.O. if I would sort out the aerial, having obtained the copper wire I put up a long wire about 90 feet which enabled me to listen on 40 and 20 meters. So my interest in amateur radio started again.

 

On the 1^st April 1948 I was demobbed in Woking and returned home to “Leicester” where I started work in the hosiery trade which I did not enjoy so it was then that I saw an advert for a Mechanic with “Roneo-Neopost Ltd”. At their Leicester branch I had my interview and was offered the position, it was servicing Postal and Insurance Franking Machines. It was the type of work I enjoyed. Later I became Branch Supervisor, then Midland Region Service Manager. By now the company had expanded and sold other products i.e, Folding, Inserting, Sorting Machines Electronic Door Locks etc. All of which later became The Paper Handling Division of which I became UK Service Manager.

 

While all this was going on I attended an amateur radio course at the Leicester Collage of Art and Tec and passed my C and G exam and at a later date my Morse code exam at the Post Office Head Quarters in London on the 19th June 1957 which I passed. I chose the call sign “G3LTT”; I had achieved what I set out to do many years ago. I was later called “Little Tommy Tucker” by an old friend Norman G2DSF and from that first contact I have been known as “Little-Tommy-Tucker”.

 

One person who has had more for me during the time above was my lovely wife “Jean” we first met in 1954 and we were married on the 31^st March 1956 and later presented me with two wonderful sons. Neil being the first who now lives in Perth Australia And Gary an electronic engineer who lives in Leicester After we had been married my wife ask me why I had stopped doing my radio (Morse code) so I contacted 3 local amateurs (G2DSF NORMAN, G3LIR MIKE, G3LQW KEN) who sent me slow Morse on the 160 metres band every night which as you know I passed in London.

 

That brings me up to date having built many transmitters and antennas and still learning to this day then a young lad (Glynn) sent me a qsl card to tell me he had heard me on the 2 meter band and that I knew his mum and dad (what a lovely surprise) for Val and George were long lost friends as my wife worked with Val. However “Glynn” was a whiz kid on computers and he has taught me about them and in return I have taught him amateur radio and he has the call sign “2E0TPP” so that brings me to the end of my story. Should you hear me on the air please give me a call as I will be very happy to have a contact with you

73s and 88s   Arthur G3LTT Little Tommy Tucker

 

P.S. 73s is Good bye and good contacts and 88s is love and kisses for the young ladies.

THE LTT STORY