Long Wave radio era set to end with Droitwich switch-off

A campaign has begun to get two large transmitter masts listed, after the BBC's Long Wave (LW) service is turned off. The 700ft (213m) high Wychbold Masts in the Worcestershire countryside can be seen for miles and are often used as a landmark for drivers on the M5 near Droitwich. They have been in use since 1934 for sending the signal across the country, as well as for transmitting important messages during the World War Two. Local history experts and the Twentieth Century Society have called for them to become listed, due to their "historical importance". Droitwich was picked as a central location for the station and masts so Long Wave could reach everywhere in the UK. The construction was a big operation for the time and local expert Alastair Moseley, from the Bromsgrove Society, said a huge team of workers had to come and put them up "It cost £200,000 to build then, that's about £20m now, which actually is quite a good value I think," he said. "But the towers themselves were built by just 10 riggers and there was one particular guy, Derek Pigeon, who actually had just come over from building Sydney's Harbour Bridge." On the 6 September 1934 everything was ready to go, and the f