One of the pioneers of wired broadcasting in England and a founder of Rediffusion, Mr Frank Austen of Pembroke Avenue, Margate, retires from work on Wednesday. For the past six years he has been a director of the company.

Mr Austen, who is 65, was born with radio and electronics in his blood. While a young man of 24 he acquired a Post Office licence and started his own relay service in St Peters.

Shortly after leaving school, Mr Austen went into business on his own making receivers which could pick up station 2LO. He recalls: "I sold one of my sets to a neighbour, Cllr Noble, but the set was constantly breaking down.

"As my own equipment was functioning satisfactorily, I decided to stretch a pair of wires from my receiver to the one in Mr Nobel's home. This was the start of my career in wired broadcasting."

From Isle of Thanet Gazette