Retirement gift inspired by part of the Control Panel at Rugby Radio Station presented to Ken Hooper, Rugby Radio Station Manager on November 1987, made by GPO, UK

This retirement gift was presented to Kenneth ‘Ken’ Hooper in 1987. It was made by General Post Office (GPO) engineers and is based on the control panel of the Rugby Radio Station’s very low frequency (VLF) transistor. Until the late twentieth century the General Post Office (GPO), later BT, developed, installed and managed Britain’s communications infrastructure and services. Because of their long wavelengths, VLF radio waves can follow the curvature of the Earth to travel very long distances, integral to Britain’s control over Empire in the interwar period, and can penetrate seawater, ideal for communicating with submarines.

Ken Hooper (1928-2020) was born in Mitcham, South London, the son of Bert Hooper, a taxi driver and Nellie (nee Elliot), who worked in a chocolate factory. Hooper joined the GPO in 1942 as a Boy Messenger at the age of 14, a common route for many school leavers entering the organisation. Over the next forty years, Hooper worked his way up through evening classes to have a successful career across the GPO’s telephone, television and radio services. In 1959 Hooper transferred to the Engineering Department to focus on the planning and provision of internal equipment at radio stations. Between 1964 and 1970 Hooper was exclusively employed on the rebuilding of the very high powered VLF transmitters at Rugby, Criggion and Anthorn Radio Stations. Hooper retired as Station Manager of these stations overseeing sixty-four staff across the sites, providing worldwide coverage on VLF.