G4GA
We are a small contest group in the west midlands and south of England. We operate predominantly in the RSGB National Field Day Contest from portable locations around the south of England, however the callsign is used by club members in other contests and GX4GA has been used in several CQ WPX contests.
The original holder of the G4GA call-sign was Joe Hollington. He was reported to be a driving force in the Chingford Radio Society between 1940 and 1970; he was one-time chairman of the East London RSGB Group, and a former member of the RSGB Mobile Committee.
The following references have been found in various magazines on the World Radio History web site.
From June 1948 Short Wave News
From July 1950 Short Wave Magazine.
From November 1950 Short Wave Magazine
From February 1951 Short Wave Listener
From March 1964 Radio Bulletin
From October 1964 Radio Bulletin
From February 1965 Radio Bulletin
From August 1965 Short Wave Magazine
From November 1965 Short Wave Magazine
From December 1965 Short Wave Magazine
From July 1966 Short Wave Magazine
From August 1966 RSGB Bulletin
From October 1966 RSGB Bulletin
From April 1967 Short Wave Magazine
From August 1967 RSGB Bulletin
From June 1968 Short Wave Magazine
From January 1970 Short Wave Magazine
From September 1971 Short Wave Magazine
From July 1973 Rad Com
Ken G3LVP wrote on the UK Contest Reflector (11th June 2021):
As a raw beginner the original G4GA was the fourth entry in my SWL log 3/7/55 RX single 1T4 Valve on Top Band AM two years before I got my Licence. That was when almost ALL of the 'locals in SW Essex /NE London regularly used Top Band using Home Brew TX's , very few operated on V/UHF or even on SSB ) , Other log entries were on 20m AM using the domestic Pye RX. I can't imagine that a beginner today would be able to log much using receivers like that! (of course a TV USB stick will do much more but needs a PC & much more knowledge that was needed to build an OVO!.). Those were the days!