h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

At St Lawrence near Niton on the Isle of Wight there used to be on top of the inland cliff two lattice towers with numerous yagi aerials pointing out towards the English Channel.
I believe that these were a Forward Scatter Radio Transmitter. Has anyone more information about this site as the masts were NOT like the Aces High American over the horizon communication system?
The masts were taken down sometime at the end of the seventies but the bungalow was used again by Niton Radio and a pair of pole masts for shipping radio replaced the previous towers with their UHF-like arrays. Unfortunately as a child I never took a photograph of the towers because of all the dire warnings posted around the site.

More information has come to light from www.srde.co.uk/SRDE/telecomms_work_programme.htm from which I can gather pre-1975 when the site became the Niton Radio shipping radio station the site was an experimental site for GEC and SRDE.
The aerials in the sixties and early seventies were testing the HOBART communication system bouncing UHF signals off the ionosphere from St Lawrence in the Isle of Wight to Gozo in Malta 2000km away. Further information has dried up as GEC were taken over by Marconi. Probably the availability of sattelite communications made the forward scatter project less atractive as with the American Aces High.

On visiting site 28/09/03 the Niton Radio signnpost still exists at the start of the tarmac access road on the Whitwell Road near Dean Farm, This road is also the footpath to the inland cliff edge and down to St Lawrence near to the former railway tunnel. The road turns sharp right at a style and runs about fifty yards to the west where in a large fenced off grassy area stands the large rectangular brick bungalow that still contains radio gear for the two lattice wire-stayed masts of the remotely operated Niton Marine Radio. The bungalow has a generator back-up house at its western end.
The only possible trace of former masts are concrete bases with studs visible in the grass. From the site on a clear day you can see to the north east the TACAN navigation mast overlooking Wroxall and to the east the former ROTOR radar site on St Boniface Down with its large TV relay mast perched over Ventnor. From the cliff edge you might de able to identify the concrete block bases of the Chain Low masts of WW2 and surviving central pillbox near the sea cliff edge as mentioned in the WW2 Radar on the Isle of Wight. In season the blackberries here are excellant!

It's very true - I've often enjoyed berry-picking around there.
I may not know much about the technical side of the radar site, and only the basic outlines of the history, but I know a good blackberry when I've eaten one.

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I have just read your 2003 posts re forward scatter station at St Lawrence.
I worked on the Malta end for several years in the RAF.
I realise this subject is probably dead and buried but if you are still interested and I can be of any help please let me know.
tb58

It doesn't look like he's commented for the best part of a decade. But thanks for popping by and if anyone else is interested, I'll point them in your direction

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I used to service the teleprinters at both Dingli and Il Kortin between 1963 and 1965.

Stationed at Siggiewi as a Jnr Tech in the 5 unit (teleprinter) workshop.

I've been looking for information for both sites for many years. Anything appreciated especially for radio relay regarding it's exaxct location as there were a number of sites close to each other.

Gordon Milsom AKA Taff or Rip Van Winkle

email direct via [email protected]