Mexborough and Swinton Times, February 25, 1938

Goldthorpe Man’s Wireless Hobby
Makes Him A Stamp Collector

Mr. Norman Dacre, of 49, BarnburghLane, Goldthorpe, has perhaps the most modern of all hobbies—that of comprehensive short wave reception on the radio. He does not dabble, but has a system for the reception of programmes from all parts of the world.

It is his practice to sit up until the early hours of the morning using his powerful 8-valve short-wave set, and when he gets a foreigner sufficiently distant to be worthy of his attention he takes careful note as to the clarity and tone of reception. He then makes his comments on a form supplied by the British Long Distance Listeners’ Club, of which he is a member.

When completed this form is dispatched to the station concerned and in return Mr. Dacre receives a verification card. In this way he has received cards from all over the world, Australia, New Zealand, North and South America, Russia, and the West Indies.

This extensive correspondence has led to Mr. Dacre’s chief sub-hobby, that of stamp collecting. In the past two or three years he has amassed a splendid collection of over 5,000 stamps, nearly every major country in the world being represented. Mr. Dacre is considered one of the leading philatelists in the district.

“Nearly all the long distance stations”, Mr. Dacre told our reporter, “broadcast in English as well as in the native language and I often get the news of important events abroad before they appear in the newspapers. As a rule I am not able to do much in winter time because reception from long distances is then always pretty bad”.

Mr. Dacre said his chief ambition was to set up a transmission set of his own. There are two transmitters in the district, one at Wombwell and one at Mexborough.