Campaigners save Marconi Collection for Science Museum

BY NIGEL HAWKES
SCIENCE EDITOR
(Times of London March 26, 1997)

THE Marconi Collection of historic items from the earliest days of
radio is to be given to the Science Museum after a U-turn by the
electronics firm GEC-Marconi, which originally planned to auction it.

The sale of 1,000 items of equipment and archives relating to
Guglielmo Marconi's development of the invention was halted after
protests, including one from Marconi's daughter, Princess Elettra
Marconi, which appeared in The Times.

The auction was abandoned a month ago and the results of the
negotiations, announced yesterday by the company, have resulted in a
complete success for those opposed to the break-up of the collection.
The Princess said it was "wonderful news".

"This is the best thing that could happen," she said from her home in
Rome. "It's a wonderful day to think that the whole collection is
saved and will remain in England."

The Science Museum, which will take responsibility for the long-term
conservation of the 250 items of equipment and the 750 letters or
documents, will lend many items for display in Chelmsford, where
Marconi set up the first radio factory in the world. The borough
council is planning to set up a science discovery centre and is hoping
for money from the lottery fund. The papers will go to the Essex
County Council archive, where they will be available to scholars.

Sir Geoffrey Pattie, chairman of GEC-Marconi, said that the company
was "absolutely delighted" to have come to an agreement with the
Science Museum. He said that, before deciding on the sale, the company
had looked at the options available for preserving the collection, but
had not made much progress.

Since the sale had been announced, he said, the company had received
constructive proposals from the Science Museum and Chelmsford Borough
Council: "Once we had those possibilities, the whole scene opened up."


The company originally valued the collection at £1 million, now
revised to £3 million. The proceeds of the sale were to be used to
fund "Marconi Days" for teachers, organised by the Institution of
Electronic Engineers and designed to raise their skills in
electronics. Now GEC-Marconi will fund the initiative from other
resources.

The items in the collection date back a century to when Marconi
arrived in Britain from Italy with the aim of making radio
communication a reality. He did so with the help of the Post Office,
later founding the company that still bears his name.

John Sutherland, a former managing director of Marconi Radar whose
letter to The Times protesting about the sale was instrumental in
rallying opposition, said yesterday: "I'm absolutely delighted. This
is an excellent decision from which everyone will benefit: the public,
the Science Museum, Chelmsford and the good name of GEC-Marconi. No
recriminations ­ this is the right thing to do and I'm very pleased."


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