Crispin Redshaw managed the Marconi Beam Radio Station that used to be situated along the Bridport/Dorchester Road, and boasted 25 transmitters, with the first service having been to New York. If you came along to From the Stacks (our free, monthly, public talk) last month, you would have heard Archivist Emma talking a little more about these volumes.
Mr Redshaw’s incredible photograph albums provide a fascinating insight into Dorset life in the 1900’s. Whilst highly annotated, they are not chronologically or subject curated, which in many ways makes them even more interesting, as our lives are not lived in blocks of actions. Family portraits, photos of the radio station, family holiday, lens and camera tests, are all mixed up in this fascinating history. There are so many stories to be found, from the day-to-day life in sleepy Dorset to life during and between the two wars.
We have written about the radio station previously but we wanted to revisit these albums; we have recently learned the sad news that the owner of these incredible albums has passed away, and we offer our condolences to her family, who have kindly offered to entrust the albums into our care at Dorset History Centre, along with some more recently found items.
Something that caught our attention upon revisiting, is that Mr Redshaw’s brother appears at regular interviews in uniform, which seems to be Special Operations. Crispin Redshaw served in the Royal Naval Reserve during the First World War, and it seems his brother had followed suit.
Several photographs show him home on leave with a” Tommy gun, 12 bores and a brace of automatics and a couple of revolvers” (quote from fig.4) , possibly a Webley service revolver. Tommy guns were relatively rare and their use somewhat restricted due to their high cost, which lead to the later development of the Sten gun. Yet here it is seen being used for a fun session with a female relative and a young boy! The Navy issue jeep can also be seen in some photographs, which it could be assumed that he was dropped home and picked up in.
We tried to find about more about Crispin’s brother Pim, however the only reference to him we could find was that he commanded the training of the RN Beach Commando ‘Nan’, “whence on completion of training proceeded to FOLIOT and Achnacarry before being attached to Force ‘V’ with whom the Unit sailed for Sicily on the 29th June 1943” (RN Beach Commando ‘Nan’ | ͏ for further reading).
The record of day-to-day life around Dorset is wonderful, from walks in the woods, to rabbit shooting, to a little boy eating his supper!
The range is huge and shows a wonderful insight into country and family life in Dorset.
Mr Redshaw was a man of energy. Whilst working full-time, spending valued time with his family, taking holidays, with them, he also created this magnificent record of events and daily life pre and post war. How he found the time for it all is anybody’s guess, but life was lived very differently then to now. He had a tremendous collection of cameras but the Leica and Contax appeared to be his favourites. He tested lenses and experimented with different ways of printing and presenting his photographs. They are all made by him in his home darkroom, which can be seen in some of the photos – a real cornucopia of photographic potions!
These albums are testament to a life well lived!
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Our next From the Stacks talk will take place on Wednesday 26 August 2026 at 12.30pm, with Archivist Owen taking you on a journey through two centuries of Dorset tourism, told through the records preserved at Dorset History Centre. Featuring photographs, postcards, brochures, diaries, and other treasures from the collections.
From the Stacks talks are completely free to attend, and last up-to 30 minutes.