Questions & Answers

Several years ago I was given the logbook of radio amateur, John Blair, GM5FT, of Selkirk.

His usual amateur entries start in 1936, but after a contact on 31 August 1939, “WAR” is written in large letters to fill the rest of the page.

He was obviously a Voluntary Interceptor and attached below is the second page of his WW2 listening, I guess, initial general monitoring: he notes various amateur call signs. It’s interesting that even in February 1940 Lithuanian amateurs are having a contest; the last entry on the page is of hearing German amateur, signing “Heil Hitler”.

The first page of his WW2 log has a couple of telephone numbers - Police and RAF, details of his radio and interestingly 3TD=V/S/68. GM3TD was Abbey Anderson, another local radio amateur.

The third log page, starting Sunday March 24th, 1940, has written at the top “V/S/18. Region S2. , Group Tweed, Sub Group E/1 R.S.S.”

I assume that John Blair was V/S/18, so who was “V/S/231”?  Was there a third Voluntary Interceptor?

After three years of research, I spoke to the octogenarian son of 2CGY, Tom Purves, yet another Selkirk amateur.  In his late father’s papers was a a commendation signed by Herbert Creedy which was given to VIs after the war.  His son had no idea what the commendation was for, or indeed what his father did during the war, but he could recall being taken (in short trousers) by his father to John Blair’s ‘radio shack’ and meeting Abbey Anderson!

I have copied all of John Blair’s WW2 log - it’s some 16 pages - and can email a (large) compressed file should it be of interest.