Record#

EV ID

EV-0256

Title

George Kemp’s diary, 6–15 May 1897 (Bodleian MS. Marconi 89, extracts quoted by G. R. M. Garratt): Lavernock pole “107 ft”, Flat Holm “110 ft”, apparatus left “at Penarth”; no mention of Great House Farm

Date of document

6–15 May 1897

Type

diary (secondary quotation)

Evidence label

SECONDARY QUOTATION (diary itself not seen)

Repository / reference

Bodleian Library, Oxford, MS. Marconi 89, “Expanded extracts from diaries”, 1897–98 (catalogue read 20 Oct 2026; not online). Quoted in G. R. M. Garratt, The Early History of Radio (IEE, 1994), via The Diary Junction

Status

SOURCE PENDING (diary not seen; free reading-room inspection possible)

Provenance

Free online quotation and Bodleian catalogue, 20 Oct 2026 (research cycle 15).

Related evidence

EV-0248 (Marconi in Wales, 1897 press) · EV-0011

About this page type → Read the Docs

Quotation (verbatim): 6 May 1897: “Proceeded to Lavernock to see mast … Fixed a wire atop the 107 ft pole”. 7 May: Flat Holm “110 ft pole”; “Slept at a small house owned by the person in charge of the Cremation House”. 15 May: apparatus “leaving it at Penarth”.

Fits with: A day-by-day record of the Lavernock work by Marconi’s assistant; it fixes where the apparatus and the team were on given days.

Cuts against: The extracts give the pole as 107 ft, not 120 ft, and mention Penarth and Flat Holm but not Great House Farm or a Mr Williams. They do not support the farm’s link to the 1897 work; nor do they rule it out (extracts only, c.1930 expanded version).

Notes: Reading-room inspection of MS. Marconi 89 is free; it is Sion’s decision whether to visit.

Catalogued by Sion’s Tab agent, 20 Oct 2026, from research of 16–20 Oct 2026 (free online sources only).

Page version & change log#

Current version: 1.0.0

Version

Date (UTC)

Editor (human or agent name)

Change

Source / evidence

1.0.0

2026-10-20T02:56Z

Sion’s Tab agent

Page created in the 20 Oct 2026 reconcile of research finds into the wiki.

Owner’s instruction, 20 Oct 2026 03:44 BST; research findings F-C15-5

Agents and editors: follow the Editing Protocol.