Copper earthing tube believed to have been used by Marconi, 1890-1897

Copper earthing tube believed to have been used by Marconi in 1896/7 in his experiments on Salisbury Plain, unknown maker, probably British, 1890-1897.

When Guglielmo Marconi came to Britain with his wireless telegraphy equipment in February 1896 he was given great encouragement by W H Preece, Engineer-in-Chief of the Post Office. He carried out experimental demonstrations on Salisbury Plain to representatives of the Royal Navy and the army in September 1896 and March 1897 which showed that his system of signalling by the use of Hertzian waves had some value but that the results, although interesting, were somewhat tentative. A Post Office technician, G S Kemp, was assigned to Marconi to assist him and he became one of Marconi's longest-serving assistants. This copper earthing tube, which was found locally many years later, is believed to be associated with these experiments.