(Louis Meulstee’s web site)

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The shape of things to come.


- Temporary halt and irregular

  issues of the weekly WftW

  Supplement chapters.


- The articles and supplements

  below cover many pages and

  take much time to complete.

   These will appear at irregular

  times.


o  Listening stations (WW1).

o Earth Current Signalling (WW1).

o British Army Telegraph and

  Telephone equipment (WW1).

o Tech-Fiction/Non Fiction:

   - The Origin of WftW.

   - The Swedish connection.



- Due to the increasing number

 of Amendments which do not

 longer fit between the inside

 cover and dust cover flap, the

 7mm cut away lines will be

 discontinued in future.

Home page

You may reach me by e-mail at the following address:

louis 'at' wftw ‘dot’ nl

About this Site.

Greetings from Ottersum in the Netherlands, and welcome to the homepage of Louis Meulstee, PA0PCR, the author and editor of the WIRELESS FOR THE WARRIOR (commonly referred to as WftW) range of books devoted to the technical history and development of British Army wireless (radio) communication. On this website, you will find basic technical descriptions, photographs, and drawings of radio sets once used in the British Army. Additionally, various other topics are posted, such as line telegraph equipment (the Fullerphone), Air-Sea rescue sets ('Gibson Girl'), H.A.C. Short-Wave Products kits, a gallery mainly featuring British WW2 radios, and more. The background colour of the pages on this site is not chosen at random but matches the colour of British Army radio equipment in the early World War 2 period.


Research at the Royal Signals Museum

Over the years from 1980 to 2014, I spent a week each year conducting research on the topic of British Army (wireless) signalling at the Royal Signals Museum and the REME museum, in addition to visiting The National Archives. This involved initially taking handwritten notes, and in the following years, I started taking photographs and using a rented portable photocopier. In later years, I used a scanner with a laptop and a digital camera. This wealth of information led to the publication of articles in magazines and periodicals.

In 1989, I came into contact with Geoff Arnold, who had just launched his magazine 'Radio Bygones.' He welcomed my offer to contribute a few technical articles on WW2 British Army wireless sets. This marked the beginning of a long cooperation with Geoff (who lived not far from the Royal Signals Museum in Blandford Forum) and with the later proprietor of the magazine, Mike Kenward.

It was Geoff who supported my aspiration to write a comprehensive book on British Army wireless sets, which later became known as the WftW Volume series. At that time, it was a very large undertaking that required much perseverance, considering that digital cameras, scanners, graphic editors, DTP programs, the Internet, and other now indispensable tools were still in their infancy or not affordable.


I have never felt the need to be paid for what I still consider, to this day, a fascinating hobby. That being said, I would like to point out that I have never had any commercial interest in writing articles or putting together the WftW series of books for profit. I simply enjoy sharing knowledge explained in an easy-to-digest way, enriched with illustrations that often convey more than words.


In conclusion, I must express my deep gratitude to all who assisted me over the years, particularly the late John Taylor G0AKN, directors and staff of the Royal Signals Museum at Blandford Forum, and the late Geoff Arnold of Radio Bygones. Without their help, the Wireless for the Warrior range of books and website would never have materialized.


Changes and simplification of the Home Page.

The WftW website was first launched in 1998 with the HTML resources of that period, built and maintained using the now obsolete and discontinued 'HomeSite-5' HTML editor. Several major changes were made to the layout of the site over the years to reduce the loading time of the Home Page. These changes also addressed the previous heavy focus on the WftW books, which are now consolidated under the WftW Books tab. As much as possible the original site's general layout and simplicity of navigating through the pages was retained, avoiding gadgets and irritating pop-ups.

Site Updated: 29-11-2023

Photographs on this Web Site.

A significant portion of the photos on this site were taken by myself, mostly from borrowed equipment. Since these photos were captured in the late 1990s, their resolution and quality are relatively low. I might retake these photos when time allows. Any updates will be announced on the 'What's New' page.

Full permission was obtained for the use of the other photos on this site. However, for some photos, the original source could not be traced. I am therefore grateful to receive information about possible copyright material that was not previously acknowledged.

I would be pleased to add the name or organization of the original owner of these photos.
In my opinion, it is impractical to prevent copying or spoil photos with unsightly watermarks, let alone explicitly forbid the use of my photos elsewhere. As a general rule, I have no objections to the use of my photos, but I would greatly appreciate it if the source is mentioned, e.g.  'photo by www.wftw.nl'

After contacting me, in most cases, I can provide higher resolution versions of the photos

New and recent additions


- Kootwijk radio  (24 Nov 2023)

- Fullerphone add (10 Nov 2023)

- Semafoon        (26 Oct 2023)

- Suppl. 339       (13 Oct 2023)