WaveLength

Last updated
WaveLength
Formation1939;83 years ago (1939)
Founder
BBC
Location
ServicesProviding televisions, radios, and tablets to those in need
Website wavelength.org.uk

WaveLength, previously known as Wireless for the Bedridden Society and W4B, is a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom, set up to work with people experiencing social isolation.

Contents

History

The charity was founded after Charles Stonebridge gave an address to his local Rotary Club in 1938, following a recent visit to Manchester where he had spoken to an organisation there which was providing radios (wirelesses) for people of limited means. The Rotary Club joined forces with the BBC to found a charity helping similar people living in London, the Greater London Society Providing Wirelesses for the Bedridden. Key founding members included HG Brewster, AJ Pilgrim, FW Lovell, C Stonebridge, W Cady and the BBC’s John Underdown. [1] By 1953, the Rev. Alfred Pilgrim was the only original founding member still involved with the society. He remained on the board until his death in 1968 and received an MBE in recognition of his work, becoming the driving force within the charity. In his obituary in the charity’s newsletter, editors wote that he hated all unhappiness and suffering and "strongly believed that the well-being of each should be the concern of all." [2]

The society went into hibernation during the Second World War and re-emerged in 1945. In 1946, it changed its name to Wireless for the Bedridden Society to reflect that it planned to extend its services to the whole of the United Kingdom. [3] The charity remained based in central London until 1979 before moving to Upminster in Essex and then to its current headquarters in Hornchurch, Essex. Traditionally, WaveLength has had the Archbishop of Canterbury as its president.

2010–present

As its original name became outdated, the charity became known as W4B. In 2010, the charity took on the larger name of ‘WaveLength’. WaveLength incorporates the digital, as well as analogue devices that it provides, and a possible expansion into internet provision. [4]

WaveLength has worked with Women's Aid to give TVs, radios, and DVD players to domestic violence refuges across the country. It also provides TVs to centres helping victims of torture.

Alongside the gift of technology, the charity also aims to provide a voice to vulnerable people through advocacy. WaveLength has been involved in several consumer forums including the Consumer Expert Group, and has testified before the House of Lords on the UK’s digital switchover plans. [5]

Representatives of the BBC, UTV, the Rotary Club, and the charity's sister organisation Wireless for the Blind, sit as trustees on the charity's board.

As of 2014, the charity had started providing tablet computers to lonely and isolated people living in poverty, as well as radios and TVs.

Policy interventions

In 2017, WaveLength and the BBC collaborated to protect women and men living in Domestic Abuse refuges. The rules affecting television licenses in refuges had long been unclear and impractical. The policy change meant that everyone living in a refuge is now covered by one communal license. Refuges are now eligible for the same rules as hospitals and hotels, which allow all residents to share one licence regardless of how long they stay or how many residents there are at once. By changing this policy, more abuse survivors can benefit from a TV of their own during their time in refuge.

Charity theme tune

In 2011 WaveLength became the first UK charity to have its own ringtone theme tune, or 'audible signature'. [6] This was created and donated by Andy Cato of Groove Armada. Cato calls music the 'universal language', and says that he created the ringtone because it was a chance to make a 'specific contribution' to a cause. The tune 'conveyed a sense of hopefulness. It was then a question of adding a melody, which has the potential to be emblematic in a short space of time.' [7]

Related Research Articles

The early history of radio is the history of technology that produces and uses radio instruments that use radio waves. Within the timeline of radio, many people contributed theory and inventions in what became radio. Radio development began as "wireless telegraphy". Later radio history increasingly involves matters of broadcasting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radio receiver</span> Device for receiving radio broadcasts

In radio communications, a radio receiver, also known as a receiver, a wireless, or simply a radio, is an electronic device that receives radio waves and converts the information carried by them to a usable form. It is used with an antenna. The antenna intercepts radio waves and converts them to tiny alternating currents which are applied to the receiver, and the receiver extracts the desired information. The receiver uses electronic filters to separate the desired radio frequency signal from all the other signals picked up by the antenna, an electronic amplifier to increase the power of the signal for further processing, and finally recovers the desired information through demodulation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Groove Armada</span> British band

Groove Armada are an English electronic music duo, composed of Andy Cato and Tom Findlay. They achieved chart success with their singles "At the River", "I See You Baby" and "Superstylin'". The duo have released nine studio albums, four of which have charted in the UK Albums Chart top 50.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wave 105</span> Radio station in Fareham

Wave 105 is an Independent Regional Radio station based in Fareham, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to South Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, West Sussex and Wiltshire, and until September 2022 could also received in parts of Dorset on FM.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spark-gap transmitter</span> Type of radio transmitter

A spark-gap transmitter is an obsolete type of radio transmitter which generates radio waves by means of an electric spark. Spark-gap transmitters were the first type of radio transmitter, and were the main type used during the wireless telegraphy or "spark" era, the first three decades of radio, from 1887 to the end of World War I. German physicist Heinrich Hertz built the first experimental spark-gap transmitters in 1887, with which he proved the existence of radio waves and studied their properties.

Women's Aid Federation of England, commonly called Women's Aid within England, is one of a group of charities across the United Kingdom. There are four main Women's Aid Federations, one for each of the countries of the United Kingdom. Its aim is to end domestic violence against women and children. The charity works at both local and national levels to ensure women's safety from domestic violence and promotes policies and practices to prevent domestic violence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Polio Fellowship</span> British charitable organisation

The British Polio Fellowship is a charitable organisation supporting and empowering people in the UK living with the late effects of polio and post-polio syndrome (PPS). It provides information, welfare and support to those affected, to enable them to live full, independent and integrated lives and campaigns to raise awareness of PPS.

Digital terrestrial television in the United Kingdom encompasses over 100 television, radio and interactive services broadcast via the United Kingdom's terrestrial television network and receivable with a standard television set. The majority of digital terrestrial television (DTT) services, including the five former analogue channels, are broadcast free-to-air, and a further selection of encrypted pay TV services are also available.

Premier Christian Radio is a British Christian radio station, part of Premier, owned by the charity Premier Christian Media Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Epilepsy Society</span>

The Epilepsy Society is the largest medical charity in the field of epilepsy in the United Kingdom, providing services for people with epilepsy for over 100 years. Based in Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire, UK, its stated mission is "to enhance the quality of life of people affected by epilepsy by promoting research, education and public awareness and by delivering specialist medical care and support services." The Epilepsy Society has close partnerships with the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (NHNN) and the UCL Institute of Neurology, both located in Queen Square, London.

Green.TV is a multi-channel video publishing network for clean tech, conservation and sustainability stories. It launched in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Order of Malta Ambulance Corps</span>

The Order of Malta Ireland – Ambulance Corps is a voluntary ambulance and first aid organisation operating in Ireland in affiliation with the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, founded in 1938.

The Motorola Slvr is a series of mobile phones from Motorola, and is one of the series in the 4LTR line. The first phones were released in early 2005. They are designed to be very thin and lightweight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital radio in the United Kingdom</span>

In the United Kingdom, the roll-out of digital radio has been proceeding since engineering test transmissions were started by the BBC in 1990 followed by a public launch in September 1995. The UK currently has one of the world's biggest digital radio networks, with about 500 transmitters, three national DAB ensembles, one regional DAB ensemble, 48 local DAB ensembles and an increasing number of small-scale DAB ensembles broadcasting over 250 commercial and 34 BBC radio stations across the UK. In London there are already more than 100 different digital stations available. In addition to DAB and DAB+, radio stations are also broadcast on digital television platform as well as internet radio in the UK. Digital radio ensemble operators and stations need a broadcasting licence from the UK's media regulator Ofcom to broadcast.

NVTV, also known as Northern Visions Television, is a local community television station based in the city of Belfast. It is operated by the Northern Visions media and arts project, and although some staff are employed by the station, most involved are volunteers. NVTV is now the only local community station in Northern Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Age UK</span> Registered charity in the United Kingdom

Age UK is a registered charity in the United Kingdom, formed on 25 February 2009, and launched on 1 April 2009, which combined the operations of the previously separate charities Age Concern England and Help the Aged to form the UK's largest charity for older people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brandon Trust</span>

Brandon Trust is a United Kingdom charitable organization working with and for people with learning disabilities. They focus on helping people with said disabilities to live life how they want to٫ but does not worsen their disability.

Bradbury Fields is a charity based in Liverpool, UK, which works with blind and partially sighted people. It has been described by the BBC as "Liverpool's main charity for the blind" and is part of the 800 Group, a consortium of Merseyside health and care charities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Wireless for the Blind Fund</span>

British Wireless for the Blind Fund (BWBF) is a British charity and a private company limited by guarantee. Founded by Sir Ernest Beachcroft Beckwith Towse in 1928, the organisation provides adapted radios and audio players on free loan to registered blind and partially sighted UK residents over the age of eight, where hardship circumstances can be demonstrated by receipt of a means-tested benefit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NAA (Arlington, Virginia)</span>

NAA was a major radio facility located at 701 Courthouse Road in Arlington, Virginia. It was operated by the U.S. Navy from 1913 until 1941. The station was originally constructed as the Navy's first high-powered transmitter for communicating with its bases across the U.S. and the Caribbean. During its years of operation NAA was best known for broadcasting daily time signals, however, it also provided a variety of additional services, using multiple transmitters operating on frequencies ranging from longwave to shortwave. The station also conducted extensive experimental work, including, in 1915, the Navy's first transatlantic transmission of speech.

References

  1. ↑ ['Charity minutes', internal minutes, 1938]
  2. ↑ ["Bedside world", Vol.1 No.21 Christmas 1968]
  3. ↑ ['BBC written archives, Charity Commission and Charities minutes', letters to the BBC, revisitation, internal minutes, 1938]
  4. ↑ "Charity Commission", letters to the BBC and internal minutes, 1938
  5. ↑ "Digital switchover of television and radio in the United Kingdom: Report with Evidence" (PDF). 29 March 2010. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  6. ↑ "Andy Cato creates first theme tune for UK charity". WaveLength. 2011-10-26. Retrieved 2017-06-29.
  7. ↑ "Interview with Andy Cato". WaveLength. 2011-10-26. Retrieved 2017-06-29.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.