On January 7th, 1904 the Marconi Company sought to establish a universal distress call; proposing, ‘CQD’ for emergencies. 

Despite its adoption in Britain, other nations had varied distress signals, leading to a lack of international consensus. The second International Radio Telegraphic Conference in Berlin in 1906 came up with ‘SOS’ instead. The United States weren’t keen on adopting the new standard… until the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 highlighted the need to fall into line.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain what ‘WC’ meant; recall the eye-catching way Marconi first demonstrated transatlantic radio waves; and explain how, eventually, Morse Code itself was retired as a method of marine communication by the end of the 20th Century… 

This episode first premiered in 2023, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 100 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!

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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.

Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

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