\n
Most people have not heard of a Cardiff based Post Office engineer called George Kemp, but his important contribution to the history of radio communications, alongside the more famous Gugliemo Marconi, cannot be denied.
\nAs Marconi\u2019s right hand man George Kemp helped make history when, on 13 May 1897, the two men transmitted a radio signal across open sea (from Lavernock Point to Flat Holm) for the first time. Many will have seen the bronze plaque unveiled by the Cardiff Rotary Club, inside the courtyard of the closed St. Lawrence Church, Lavernock, which marks this achievement.
\nGeorge Kemp was born in 1857 and spent most of his childhood in the port of Southampton. At the age of 17, like many of his friends, he joined the Royal Navy. Kemp took part in some famous naval operations, including, in 1879, the bombardment of Alexandria in the Anglo-Egyptian War, fighting alongside John (later Admiral) Jellicoe. On his return home, he studied at a famous Torpedo and Gunnery School, where he was in the same class as Prince George (later King George V). At the final passing out examination, the talented Kemp obtained a record 97%. In 1887 he was promoted Chief Torpedo instructor, going on to experimental work on torpedo design and the use of electricity on ships. Kemp left the navy at the age of 38, his skills getting him a prestigious appointment to the engineering staff at the Post Office based in Cardiff.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Picture1.jpg?resize=500%2C281\")
\nKemp (on the right of the picture) had held this appointment for only a few months but had already impressed his boss Sir William Preece. Preece decided Kemp, with his background and experience, was the ideal person to help Marconi realise his dream of becoming the first to create a system of long range wireless telecommunication. Marconi had already managed to send a message in Morse Code over a distance of two miles on his father’s vast country estate. With little interest shown in his exciting work in Italy though, Marconi decided to move to London, hoping to develop a system of messaging between ships, which would find enthusiastic customers in the Royal Navy and merchant fleets. Marconi and Kemp hit it off immediately. In July 1896 Kemp, who had three children to look after, gambled on his faith in Marconi, gave up working for the Post Office in Cardiff and soon became head of engineering development with the Marconi Company, a position he held for the next 36 years until his death in 1933.
\nAfter transmitting messages between government buildings, in 1897 the two men successfully sent Morse code signals over nearly 4 miles on Salisbury Plain. Living in the area, George suggested the south Wales coast as the ideal location for the experiment to transmit across open sea. Following days of testing, Marconi took up position on Lavernock Point while Kemp and his nephew Herbert were positioned three miles away on Flat Holm. Kemp\u2019s diary detailed early set backs as the fate of the experiments \u2018trembled in the balance.\u2019 \u2018An inspiration saved it\u2019 he wrote. It was a simple one. The apparatus was carried to the bottom of the cliff increasing the overall aerial height to 50 metres. Marconi sent an initial message in Morse code. It read: “CAN YOU HEAR ME”. Shortly after, Marconi received a reply from Kemp: “YES LOUD AND CLEAR”. The recording slip for this first message is now kept at the National Museum of Wales. Another followed by successfully transmitting nearly 10 miles across the Channel to Brean Down Fort near Weston Super Mare.
\nKemp remained at Marconi’s side for his most memorable achievements, including the first wireless transmission across the Atlantic Ocean in 1901. The two men grew to be close friends, so much so, that Kemp was even in charge of Marconi\u2019s personal diet. In 1909 Marconi shared the Nobel Prize in Physics with fellow pioneer Karl Ferdinand Braun, in recognition of their \u2018contributions to the development of wireless telegraphy\u2019. The contribution of the Cardiff based Post Office engineer should also not be forgotten.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
. THE MAN FROM THE \u2018DIFF\u2019 WHO HELPED CHANGE THE WORLD Most people have not heard of a Cardiff based Post Office engineer called George Kemp, but his important contribution to the history of radio communications, alongside the more famous Gugliemo Marconi, cannot be denied. As Marconi\u2019s right hand man George Kemp helped make history when, on 13 May 1897, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[334],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6cWjO-2WF","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":16931,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=16931","url_meta":{"origin":11325,"position":0},"title":"Barry Docks to Penarth Marina","author":"Alan Williams","date":"3rd May 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Barry Docks to Penarth Marina It was Easter weekend and we stayed local to avoid traffic. We started opposite the household waste centre in Barry, at Hayes point, on the edge of an exposed industrial area but walking through a gap in the verge we found ourselves on rocks at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Footsteps"","block_context":{"text":"Footsteps","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=38"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Footsteps.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12750,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=12750","url_meta":{"origin":11325,"position":1},"title":"Place-Names Derivation – Llwyneliddon \/ St Lythans","author":"Alan Williams","date":"5th January 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"THE DERIVATION AND MEANING OF PLACE-NAMES LLWYNELIDDON \/ ST LYTHANS The Welsh name is made up of two elements - \u2018llwyn\u2019 and \u2018Eliddon\u2019. \u2018Llwyn\u2019 is the Welsh word for \u2018grove\u2019 or \u2018copse\u2019 and the second element \u2018Eliddon\u2019\u2019 is the name of the saint to whom an earlier church was dedicated.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Readers Articles of Interest"","block_context":{"text":"Readers Articles of Interest","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=228"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13705,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=13705","url_meta":{"origin":11325,"position":2},"title":"Cardiff And The Bute Family","author":"Alan Williams","date":"31st October 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 CARDIFF AND THE BUTE FAMILY \u00a0 Anyone living in the Cardiff area will have heard the word Bute. It is associated with many areas such as Bute Docks, Bute Street, Bute Park and many more. But how many of us know where the Bute family came from and how\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reader's Travel Tales"","block_context":{"text":"Reader's Travel Tales","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=125"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Mount-stuart.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9199,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=9199","url_meta":{"origin":11325,"position":3},"title":"Otters in the Middle of Cowbridge","author":"Alan Williams","date":"3rd March 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Otters Seen in the Middle of Cowbridge The news that Otters had been seen in the middle of Cowbridge where the River Thaw flows under the main street was a reminder that this mammal is making a bit of a come-back. We have yet to get a confirmed record of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=49"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Otter.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":15670,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=15670","url_meta":{"origin":11325,"position":4},"title":"In Search of George and The Dragon","author":"Alan Williams","date":"2nd July 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"IN SEARCH OF GEORGE AND THE DRAGON With the Summer still here, walking in and around the Vale is as popular as ever. Whilst Valeways walks celebrate a 25th anniversary this year, the Visit the Vale website also provides details of a host of other opportunities to get out an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Interest Articles"","block_context":{"text":"General Interest Articles","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=334"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Front-Cover-295x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4576,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=4576","url_meta":{"origin":11325,"position":5},"title":"SS WENVOE \u2013 A STORY OF BRAVERY AND TRAGEDY","author":"Alan Williams","date":"26th May 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"SS WENVOE \u2013 A STORY OF BRAVERY AND TRAGEDY \u00a0 The 2,979 tonnes merchant steamer the SS Wenvoe was built in 1894 by the Gray Company of Hartlepool and owned by a prominent Cardiff shipping family, the Morels. Ships like the SS Wenvoe, which were used to transport a variety\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Wenvoe History Group"","block_context":{"text":"Wenvoe History Group","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=40"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11325"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11325"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11325\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11348,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11325\/revisions\/11348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}