Chris lived in Strood, a part of Rochester, and had obtained an allotment from the council to feed his growing family (both his boys were born in the Medway Towns), and this was sited on a hilltop overlooking the Medway Bridge and Rochester Cathedral. (the bell ringing on occasion was quite pleasing whilst labouring with the soil) However, just over the top of the hill was a particularly well overgrown orchard area , full of brambles. This area of course did not show on the map, being a ‘cultivated’ area within the town. There was about 5 acres of thorn and bramble, with an occasional burnt out area where the local kids had had camp fires. Chris decided on a start at a picnic site to the west next to the A2 towards Dartford, and thus manufactured wire cut to length to form a three-element beam. This, he erected in the tops of the fruit and thorn bushes, and gave a very sharp beam to the start, in fact very little could be heard off the side of the aerial (as intended), which led some competitors a merry dance, as to find the transmitter it is usual to outflank it to get a good cross on where it is, but with little to get a bearing on off the side of the beam, this was difficult.

Added to this Chris had partly dug the transmitter crew in below ground, under a bramble patch, and covered him with camouflage netting (evil swine).

Chris being the organiser/ starter, visited the sites in the afternoon to see how things were going, and took his eldest son Matthew, then just about 2 ½ years old. On entering the site, he was met with angry bellows. Trevor Gage was on site, and he wasn’t happy. He couldn’t find the transmitter. In fact he was standing in the middle of a burnt out area, had thrown his set to the ground, and was jumping on all the bramble bushes around. Chris, having covered Matthews sensitive young ears, could see various teams enter the area sneak into the transmitter site, and return with signed forms, but Trevor couldn’t. (it must have been the red haze in his vision)

When time came to remove the aerial, it was amazing, all the undergrowth had been trampled under both the director and reflector elements, which of course were not physically connected to the transmitter, but not the driven wires which was. Amazing.....