The Pre-War Fight Over Neon Signs And Radio

De Transcrire-Wiki
Aller à la navigation Aller à la recherche

Britain’s Pre-War Glow Problem

It sounds bizarre today: on the eve of the Second World War, MPs in Westminster were arguing about neon signs.

Mr. Gallacher, an MP with a sharp tongue, stood up and asked the Postmaster-General a peculiar but pressing question. Were neon signs in London installations scrambling the airwaves?

The reply turned heads: around a thousand custom neon signs London complaints in 1938 alone.

Think about it: listeners straining to catch news bulletins, drowned out by the hum of glowing adverts on the high street.

The Minister in charge didn’t deny it. The snag was this: there was no law compelling interference suppression.

He said legislation was being explored, but admitted consultations would take "some time".

Translation? Parliament was stalling.

The MP wasn’t satisfied. People were paying licence fees, he argued, and they deserved a clear signal.

Mr. Poole piled in too. What about the Central Electricity Board and their high-tension cables?

The Postmaster-General ducked the blow, saying yes, cables were part of the mess, which only complicated things further.

---

Looking back now, this debate is almost poetic. In 1939 neon was the villain of the airwaves.

Eighty years on, the irony bites: neon is the endangered craft fighting for survival, while plastic LED fakes flood the market.

---

Why does it matter?

Neon has always been political, cultural, disruptive. It’s always pitted artisans against technology.

In truth, it’s been art all along.

---

The Smithers View. We see proof that neon was powerful enough to shake Britain.

Call it quaint, call it heritage, but it’s a reminder. And that’s why we keep bending glass and filling it with gas today.

---

Forget the fake LED strips. Glass and gas are the original and the best.

If neon got MPs shouting in 1939, it deserves a place in your space today.

Choose the real thing.

You need it.

---