history

Hospital radio started in this part of Hertfordshire in 1973 when a group of friends got together to form Radio Hertford. The station was officially opened on October 27th by Dave Lee Travis. A new studio block on the Hertford County Hospital site was commissioned in August 1977 from where the first programmes were broadcast to the QE2 in Welwyn Garden City on September 7th.

In 1985 Radio Hertford again relocated to another part of the Hertford County site. At first only one studio was available, but a second studio was completed in 1997, thanks to a 50/50 grant from East Herts District Council.

With the closure of the Hertford County Hospital to overnight patients, our audience became exclusively the patients at the QE2. The QE2 had also become an NHS Trust, so the members of Radio Hertford decided to recognise these changes and rename itself East Herts Hospital Radio.

Over the years many people have passed through the membership of RH/EHHR, some of whom have gone on to become professional broadcasters. The equipment being used in the studio has changed with the advances in broadcast technology, starting in 1973 with basic record decks and cassette players, through to compact disc and minidisc in later years.

These are uncertain times for the QE2, with plans to transfer in-patient care to the Lister Hospital. East Herts Hospital Radio intends to continue to broadcast to the patients of the QE2 for as long as we are able.

Copyright EHHR 2011