Laurie Margolis (born 1950)[1] is a BBC journalist and news editor.

Career

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On 2 April 1982 Margolis obtained information about the Argentinian invasion of the Falkland Islands using amateur radio and broke the news in the UK on BBC Radio 4 PM at 17:00 (BST).

Margolis (callsign G3UML) used a short-wave radio transceiver, connected to a large aerial on the roof of the Langham Hotel in London, to establish radio contact with Bob McLeod (callsign VP8LP) in the Falklands Islands. The transcontinental SSB radio communication was made at 16:00 (BST) on 21.205 MHz from the BBC's amateur radio club which was located in attic room 701 the hotel. Margolis recorded the conversation on an audio cassette.[2]

On 28 December 2012, following the release of government files about the Falklands War by The National Archives in London, under a 30-year rule, BBC TV broadcast this story again.[3][4][5]

Margolis retirement from the BBC, on 22 August 2024, was announced the day before, on the Radio 4 PM programme.[6]

References

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  1. ^ Freeman, Hadley (28 December 2002). "A family and its rubbish - an everyday story of unnecessary waste". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  2. ^ Margolis, Laurie (2 April 2007). "How BBC man scooped invasion news". BBC World Service. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  3. ^ "The BBC's Laurie Margolis broke news of Falklands invasion". BBC News. 28 December 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  4. ^ Biles, Peter (28 December 2012). "Falklands telegrams reveal UK response to invasion". BBC News. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  5. ^ Laurie Margolis G3UML on BBC TV – Southgate Amateur Radio News, 28 December 2012
  6. ^ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m00224k8