The Archive Room - Programmes from the Manx Radio Archives
If you’re interested in Island history, if you can’t resist a good story, and if you like meeting great characters, then you’ll love everything in The Archive Room! Real stories, told by the people who were there - using Manx Radio archive recordings to explore every aspect of Island life in years gone by.
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Episodes
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The great flood of '82, a Flying Flea and a Luton Minor, and Radio Isabella takes to the airwaves - we tell their stories - and more - in The Archive Room tonight!
Thursday, 5 September 2024
In The Archive Room this week - Charles Guard reports on the 1982 flood - the worst the Island had ever experienced; former Lt Governor Sir Laurence New shares some Tynwald Day thoughts; inventor and adventurer Jack Carine is remembered by his two daughters, and Radio Isabella takes to the air - from its studios in Laxey Primary School!
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Film making, family life, an airship - and a little tribute to a big man - our own John Kaneen RVB
Thursday, 29 August 2024
Kathleen Morrey recalls the time her home was used as a film set - John Kelly recalls his years as a butcher in Peel - residents of Glenside are full of tales of family life - Group Captain David Scouller talks about an airship - and we celebrate a very famous song that would never have been written, had it not been for our own John Kaneen ..... it's all in The Archive Room this week.
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Life in a Children's Home, wartime experiences, raising seven children, and 40 years in the world of politics - that was life for two tough Manxies - meet them here!
Thursday, 22 August 2024
In this first programme of the new series, David Callister talks with Inkerman Faragher and with Ellen O'Brien (also known as Cissy) Born in 1924 and 1922 respectively, they both spent the majority of the childhood in the Children's Home in Douglas, following the death of their parents. Here they share memories of their childhood, including being film extras on George Formby's 'No Limit' and meeting the star himself. There are stories of their experiences during the Second World War, and they reminisce about their working life which, for Inkerman, meant 40 years in the world of politics, ...
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More nuggets of nostalgia as we take a last look, for this year, at the shelf marked Tourist Trophy in the Archive Room
Monday, 17 June 2024
This programme has extra content, not in the broadcast edition!A potted history of the TT Races - from journalist and race commentator Geoff Cannell, teaches us that, in its early days, it didn't involve bikes at all, and even when the bikes did join in, the race was never about speed!Manx Radio's first Managing Director, John Grierson, explains the mysterious means by which the first race commentaries were broadcast, and there's interviews with race veteran Stanley Woods, and Formula 1 racing car and motorbike champion John Surtees. David Mylchreest talks about the years he spent doing...
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Get your leathers and your helmet on - we're travelling back in time to find vintage TT stories and soundbites!
Thursday, 30 May 2024
From the shelf marked TOURIST TROPHY in the Manx Radio Archive Room .....Johnny Gelling shares stories of marshalling at the Highlander in his native CrosbyFelix Gale explains how he built up a flourishing camping business in Glen WyllinPolitician Jack Nivison discusses how the Island's road surfaces were improved - and how it affected the road racing!The 1966 Junior TT made racing history - but why? The answers are here!And doesn't everyone dream of travelling (or even driving) the Roads Open car?Brian Mylchreest explains to David Callister why HE wanted the job - and reveals that it's not...
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WE'RE IN HOLIDAY MOOD IN THE ARCHIVE ROOM TONIGHT!
Wednesday, 3 April 2024
In this episode of The Archive Room, we take a closer look at the tourist industry on the Isle of Man in the years between the two Wars. In 1919 the Falcon Cliff Hotel was deemed a white elephant - it couldn't make money - but that was before Mr and Mrs Kane bought it in 1919 - and in the early 1920's turned its fortunes around. Tonight we find out how they did it. Cunningham's Camp was a highly successful way to give young men a healthy and happy holiday - set up by the acknowledged father of holiday camps - Joseph Cunningham - some 40 years before Billy Butlin even began his similar...
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ELECTRIC CARS, TAXIS FOR STARS, AND BROADCASTING THE TT RACES!
Thursday, 28 March 2024
We're on the move in The Archive Room this week ..... The Curator of the Marown Motor Museum tells David Callister about some of more unusual vehicles on display there; Alfred Duggan talks taxis - reminiscing about the early days of his business when he drove stars and sporting heroes around the Island - and Geoff Cannell and Charles Webster tell David Callister how they pioneered broadcasting of TT race commentaries - back in 1965!
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A COUPLE OF DOUGLAS BUTTIES - AND EVERYDAY LIFE ON THE CALF OF MAN!
Thursday, 21 March 2024
In The Archive Room this week ..... Politician and former Speaker of the House of Keys, Victor Kneale CBE and his wife Thelma chat with David Callister (recorded in around the year 2003) about the need to keep the Manx language alive, and share some of the Manx words they use in everyday conversation. Leslie Garrett (born in 1932) reflects on the years his Father was Steward on The Calf of Man. Although he was just over 3 years old when they went there (in approx 1936) and he was around 7 when they left, he has cherished memories, and a collection of great stories from that time - includ...
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THOSE FIRST TT BROADCASTS ON MANX RADIO - DOT TILBURY KNOWS WHAT REALLY HAPPENED ....
Thursday, 14 March 2024
In The Archive Room this week - a young Dot Tilbury showcases her natural talent as a topical and hilariously funny entertainer - sharing all the behind-the-scenes adventures when Manx Radio first began live broadcasting of the TT Races: We make a first visit to the Baldwin Valley in the company of Manx Radio's Charles Webster talking with Tom Cowell about the area Tom knows so well. Using Tom's book, Baldwin - My Valley, as a basis for their conversation, Tom and Charles this week discuss why and how the Baldwin Reservoir was built in the year 1900. There'll be more from Tom and Charl...
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IT ALL STARTED IN A TRENDY LONDON TAVERN - 200 YEARS AGO!
Wednesday, 6 March 2024
As part of Manx Radio's special series of programmes to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, in The Archive Room this week we explore the life of Sir William Hillary, a Yorkshireman who came to live in the Isle of Man, and having seen at first hand the significant and regular loss of life through shipwrecks, was determined to establish a service dedicated to saving lives at sea. In a conversation recorded 40 years ago, keen sailor Ian Cottier talks with author and Editor of the Isle of Man Times, Robert Kelly, who researched the life o...
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...AND THE HORSE DECIDED "I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS" ....
Friday, 1 March 2024
In The Archive Room this week, I'm selecting some gems from the shelf marked TRAVEL - David Callister talks with Wilson Gibb who, for the last 20 years of his working life, was Manager of the Douglas Horse Tram Service - but that wasn't how he started - the full and fascinating story is here! Celia Joughin and Edith Cutsforth joined the staff of Peel Engineering straight after leaving school - here they share the secrets of working with fibreglass - and other unusual jobs they did, as well as making bodies for the famous P50 car. And finally, Archie Gilmour - a plumber by trade - describ...
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DISREGARD EVERYTHING YOU'RE ABOUT TO EAT!
Thursday, 22 February 2024
In The Archive Room this week, Eva Kane remembers a wartime royal engagement at the Howstrake Hotel in Onchan, Irene Shimmin recalls teaching in the 1950's, and her connection with the Douglas Carnival, and The Majorettes; we have our first meeting with Alfie Duggan - caddying at the Fort Anne Golf Links at the tender age of 8 - and Wilson Gibb shares just a few of the secrets of managing the Horse Trams.
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SIT DOWN, WHILE I THUMP YOU!
Thursday, 15 February 2024
In The Archive Room this week .... Irene Shimmin recalls a fascinating family history, shares some memories of her own childhood, and describes the start of her teaching career. Laurie Davies tells how wonderful childhood holidays in Ramsey filled him with a love for the Island which later shaped his life as a teacher and Jean Skinner (nee Corkish) explains how she was truly 'blessed' as a baby - and shares stories of her family life at Ballakilley, and, at the outbreak of the 2nd World War, her decision to leave school and join the Land Army. These are wonderful characters, with so many o...
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A 1920's childhood, holidaymakers, hoteliers, and interesting animals and their owners - find them all in The Archive Room
Thursday, 21 December 2023
Victor Kneale was born in 1918 and grew up in central Douglas - he recalls a happy childhood, and a time when the Island was over-run with holidaymakers - and every home welcomed them in. Mrs Nancy Mills takes John Kennaugh by surprise with her story of the Doctor and the monkey - and listen out for the mention of the donkey who liked to stop for a pint when passing the pub! Arthur Underhill - a policeman in the 1930's - recalls enlisting the help of a passing motorist, in order to catch a criminal, and a last minute change of plans brought Hilary Guard to the Isle of Man - where his brie...
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We're back in The Archive Room - more stories of Island life, told by the people who were there.
Thursday, 21 December 2023
Legendary entertainer Dot Tilbury reflects on her childhood and shares some precious Christmas memories - there's also stories from Dot's working life in London in the Swinging 60's, and stories from her homecoming to the Island - and discovering the joy of working with the very talented and amusing Ian Qualtrough. There's a couple of stories from Ian Qualtrough, as he recalls an aunt, and a man who got into difficulties with a bicycle - and Mona Douglas explains to David Callister some of the customs associated with The Foolish Fortnight - on the old Manx calendar this began on 21st Dec...
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We're taking a another stroll round The Archive Room - pausing at the shelf marked CHRISTMAS
Thursday, 21 December 2023
The Three Wise Men of Manx Radio - Bernie Quayle, David Callister and Terry Cringle sit down round the table to share Christmas memories from their respective childhoods. Mother and Daughter Mary Radcliffe and Claire Quayle reflect on life on a poultry farm - for Mary, raising geese and turkeys, and preparing them for the table at Christmas, was very hard work - but for daughter Claire, the preparation of the turkeys was a time of great excitement and a sign that Christmas wasn't far away. There's poetry by Kathleen Faragher read by Jack and Pat Corrin, and music from the Aeg Threshlyn ...
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THE ARCHIVE ROOM - 26 OCTOBER 2023
Thursday, 26 October 2023
This is the last in the present series of The Archive Room Hollantide Day survives largely in name only nowadays, but once the 12th of November was a hugely important date in farming life - we explore the centuries-old traditions in conversation with two great countrymen - John Kennaugh and Harvey Briggs - with a little Manx history from Dr Fenella Bazin. And chimney pots link stories from Eddie Leece and Callin Hudson - Eddie reflects on how his enterprising Father branched out to overcome unemployment, and Callin recalls the perils of working on a roof ..... and how his gifted Father m...
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THE ARCHIVE ROOM - 19 OCTOBER 2023
Thursday, 19 October 2023
In this week's episode, David Callister talks to Walter Clarke about his work in the late 1940's recording the last native Manx speakers. Walter explains the challenges of working with an American tape recorder and an unreliable electricity supply - but nevertheless managing to collect some wonderful stories of Island life - including various different explanations of encounters with the Little People! John Kennaugh, Eddie Leece and Callin Hudson share stories of when the church was not just a place of worship but also a social centre, and David Callister needs all his skills as an interv...
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THE ARCHIVE ROOM - 12 OCTOBER 2023
Thursday, 12 October 2023
From the Manx Radio archives this week- David Callister talks with Mrs Daphne Corlett about her well-equipped Manx cottage kitchen, full of vintage items from the Edwardian and Victorian era. Euan Kelly of Kelly's Souvenirs explains how a passing interest became a very successful business, and Louise Quirk visits the Manx Museum to talk with technician Walter Clarke about recreating a traditional Manx farmhouse - and how to thatch a roof. And have you recognised the Mystery Voice ?
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THE ARCHIVE ROOM - 5 OCTOBER 2023
Thursday, 5 October 2023
In this episode we go to Peel - to hear memories of fishing for herrings and producing kippers, as David Callister talks with Eddie Leece - famous as the founder of a museum devoted to Peel history, which became known as The Leece Museum. John Kennaugh chats with Callin Hudson to find out how herrings came to Dalby, and Peter Canipa, who ran Deveraux's kipper curing business, shares some fascinating facts and cookery tips in his Mandate report from July 1989. There's also a bit of fishing-themed music from The Mannin Folk
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THE ARCHIVE ROOM - 28 SEPTEMBER 2023
Thursday, 28 September 2023
In this episode, it's Harvest time in The Archive Room, as the late John Kennaugh takes us on a nostalgic trip to farms on the Island, in an era when bringing in the harvest was done with very little machinery and a lot of manual labour; when there was no harvest thanksgiving until the harvest was completely in, and when Mill Days and Tea Fights were highlights of the autumn calendar. Everything you need to know about Manx harvest time and all its traditions is here, as John chats with Ken Collister and Callin Hudson - the conversations were recorded in September 2002
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THE ARCHIVE ROOM - 21 SEPTEMBER 2023
Thursday, 21 September 2023
Welcome to the first episode of our autumn amble around the Manx Radio archive - eavesdropping on conversations with more wonderful characters. On this programme, we meet Mrs Mabel Bean, the very first female resident to move into Cummal Mooar on Ramsey Promenade, when it opened its doors in 1981. Despite being over a hundred years old when this conversation was recorded, she clearly remembers those early days. And Mrs Leonora Smallwood - born in 1905 - realised that a good way to get out and about on a dull autumn evening was to enrol at night school and get a diploma in word proces...
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THE ARCHIVE ROOM - 29 JUNE 2023
Friday, 30 June 2023
We're all aboard the steam railway in this episode - with stories from people who devoted their working life to the smooth running of the trains that were such an important part of Island life in years gone by. Cyril Mylchreest recalls his days as Station Master in Port Soderick and then at Union Mills, in conversation with Charles Guard. And when David Callister visited Ballasalla Halt, he got some first hand knowledge of how to deal with two incoming trains, by watching Station Master Peter Craine. Then there's another story from Arthur Underhill's days in the Police Force - can you imag...
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THE ARCHIVE ROOM - 22 JUNE 2023
Thursday, 22 June 2023
David Callister talks to Mike Ventre about a lifetime working in the Isle of Man Fire Service - from the days when recruitment depended upon your shoe size, and a small number of dedicated firefighters worked very long hours - to the lighter side of the work - involving a disappearing fireman, and a bottle of rum that wasn't quite what it seemed to be! Another fireman tells a very different story - David Callister talks with David Wolstenholme about his years in the 1960's as a fireman on the Steam Railway And finally Ian Qualtrough is back with some more tales of the characters (and fam...
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THE ARCHIVE ROOM - 15 JUNE 2023
Tuesday, 13 June 2023
Master storyteller (and natural comedian) Ian Qualtrough introduces us to a host of characters in this edition of The Archive Room - family members, neighbours, staff in the family business and great characters he came to know through a lifetime spent in the south of the Island. There's Willie Sayle, Aunt May, Albert 'Alfonso' Craine, Dick the Bumbee, Dickie Cooill, "Gumper" and Jackie Moore with his little dog .... and the story of the 'borrowed bike'! Then Evelyn Fraser and Robert Hendry put us 'on track' for next week's programme ..... they have transport stories to share - and Episode ...
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THE ARCHIVE ROOM - 8 JUNE 2023
Friday, 9 June 2023
The 1935 comedy film No Limit tells the story of a Wigan chimney sweep determined to ride in the famous TT Race. Starring George Formby and Florence Desmond, it was a massive international success, and screening it in all the Island's cinemas became an essential part of the TT festival each year. In The Archive Room this week we hear from locals involved in both making and screening the film. Jack Cannell (father of the legendary TT Commentator Geoff Cannell) was on hand to give expert advice - and more!! Jack Ward was only a schoolboy at the time, but remembers how the special effects...
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THE ARCHIVE ROOM - 1 JUNE 2023
Friday, 2 June 2023
It's an entertainment special this week - with stories from Manx Radio's Archive Room from the days when the Island's cinemas were 'packed to suffocation'. Charles Kelly recalls his childhood visits to the cinema during the First World War years - Charles Draper and Laurie Kissack discuss their years as cinema managers, Eddie Leece remembers a Peel cinema, and Fred Moore has a wonderful collection of 'behind the camera' stories from 1946 when he worked with the production team who came to the Island to film the World War II spy thriller 'I See A Dark Stranger' starring Deborah Kerr and Tre...
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THE ARCHIVE ROOM - 25 MAY 2023
Saturday, 27 May 2023
Another trip down memory lane, using material from the Manx Radio archives. As well as being a prominent figure in Island life, Donald Gelling is also a great storyteller, and in conversation with David Callister he looks back over his childhood - he was born in 1938 - his schooldays and getting his first job. And transport expert Robert Hendry joins in, with useful information about moving your goods around by train - a popular activity in the heyday of the Island's railways. A pig is definitely not hand luggage - and you can't send your barrel organ to town, unaccompanied !
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THE ARCHIVE ROOM - 18 MAY 2023
Thursday, 18 May 2023
In The Archive Room this week, we've been finding stories of policing on the Island in the 1930's and 1940's as told to David Callister by Arthur Underhill and Hector Duff - who both spent the majority of their working life serving the community as members of the Island's police force. Next week's programme will include a selection of stories on a variety of topics, told by Donald Gelling - and there'll be more stories from Arthur and Hector later in the series.
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THE ARCHIVE ROOM - 12 JANUARY 2023
Thursday, 12 January 2023
In this nostalgic meander down Manx Memory Lane, FRANK DOWNWORTH recalls leaving school at the age of 14 in 1946 and spending the first five years of his working life on the railway at Ramsey Station. He has fond memories of the staff - and a fund of stories - some frightening, and some funny - from his time there. Harry Kelly's thatched cottage is probably the most easily-recognised building in Cregneash village - but how many people actually knew Harry Kelly? Well, DORIS MADDRELL certainly did - and has a few tales to tell about him .... and about the holidaymaker who really needed ...