One of the oldest and most curious radio broadcasts that has been played with very few exceptions four times every day is the venerable shipping forecast.
It is a very short show with an exceptionally strict format that can seem incomprehensible to the uninitiated. However, for over 150 years the shipping forecast has been a trusted source of weather and water conditions throughout the seas surrounding the country.
This information is useful for freight ships and shipping agents alike to understand weather conditions, foresee potential complications and prepare in advance of bad weather.
There are four broadcasts each day, at 12:48 AM, 5:20 AM, 12:01 PM and 5:54 PM, and are broadcast on BBC Radio 4, formerly known as the BBC Home Service.
However, the shipping forecast predates radio itself and came about due to the tragic sinking of the steamship Royal Charter in 1859, which claimed the lives of 450 people.
Vice Admiral Robert FitzRoy set up a telegraph warning service that aimed to warn ships of the very kinds of storms that claimed the Royal Charter.
By 1911, the Met Office had enhanced these warnings to include storm and gale warnings, and broadcast them via radio for the first time.
The service has only not been broadcast three times in its history. During and in the immediate aftermath of the First World War, the service was shut down to conserve resources and keep people safe, and during the Second World War to protect the safety of broadcasters and researchers alike.
The only other time the shipping forecast did not broadcast was by accident. On 30th May 2014, Radio 4 accidentally broadcast the World Service whilst the staff at Broadcasting House were reading out the report.
