Frank Hope-Jones - daylight saving and the 'Greenwich Pips'

[Colin Pykett]

This is only related very tenuously to organs, but today as the clocks go forward it reminded me that Robert Hope-Jones's younger brother Frank, who is still remembered as a famous horologist, gave a talk on the 'wireless' in April 1923 about changing the clocks. It was re-broadcast in 1932 and more recently a brief excerpt was included as part of a Radio 4 Extra programme (27 October 2012 at 8 pm). It is still available as archived material at:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01nk1d0

 

The excerpt starts at about 06m 50s.

 

Frank, who also invented the 'Greenwich Pips' time signal, died in 1950. His inventions changed the world of clocks and timekeeping just as his brother had changed that of organs.

 

I found it fascinating to hear his clipped accent from the Victorian era which probably takes us as close as anything can to the family which also gave rise to Robert the organ builder.

 

CEP