John Logie Baird is one of the most notable and influential Scotsmen of the 20th century, but it is said to have been here in Falkirk that he first created his most famous invention - the television. This event is marked by a commemorative blue plaque (marked as a reference waypoint for the cache) but that hardly does justice to one whose Falkirk connections and activities were a major part of his story. Baird’s great-grandfather was the tenant of Sunnyside Farm in nearby Camelon and his grandfather farmed at the adjacent Sunnybrae Farm. JLB's father became a minister and took up a position at the the West Church in Helensburgh, near Glasgow. It was in the Manse there on August 13, 1888, that the great inventor was born.
As he grew up, Falkirk area and his grandparents’ farm here, was a regular port of call. So it is unsurprising he found himself returning here to make the breakthrough experiments that eventually brought us all TV. In the early 1920s he came into contact with John Hart the owner of a radio supply shop in Falkirk. Hart was a talented electrical engineer with special knowledge of radio transmission, so the pair had much in common. It seems that Baird came to Falkirk and worked with Hart in his workshop in an area of Falkirk called 'The Pleasance' (near where the blue plaque is now) and it may have been during this time that the first public demonstration of television took place. Details are scant but the Falkirk demonstration claim was made by the late George Shaw, a local foundry craftsman, who said that in 1925 he was sent by his teacher from the Science and Art School to see a ‘scientific’ demonstration in a cafe in Falkirk High Street, very close to Hart's radio shop. During the evening Baird invited him to be the subject of an experiment and that his image was sent to a receiver in another part of the building. Essentially a camera that converts images into an electric current that can be sent to a receiver, this is the oldest piece of equipment made by Baird known to exist, as described on the BBC History site here.
Many historians point to JLB's demonstration of an early prototype in London's Selfridges Department Store in 1925 as his first public demonstration of the television, however given where he first developed his machinery, the Falkirk claim for this to have happened here first, seems quite credible and has an eyewitness account. What is just as likely is that because Baird made various adjustments to his design in the early days, and showed them to the public on various occasions between 1925 and 1930, there were probably several 'first public demonstrations'.
The Falkirk Televisor
When Hart visited his friend Baird in London in 1926 he was given a piece of television apparatus with instructions to place it in a Scottish Museum. Known as the Falkirk ‘Televisor’ it was probably a prototype of the machine used in London. John Hart moved his radio business to premises at the east end of Falkirk High Street where the machine was displayed in his window. It is now a treasured possession of Falkirk Museum and a tangible link to one of the great technological advances of all time. Falkirk Town Archivist Geoff Bailey recounts the tale of the Falkirk Televisor in this short film. The fascinating personal account by the local man who lays claim to being the first televised person can be watched on Youtube here.
Acknowedgement is given to Falkirk Local History Society from which most of the above information was sourced.
Finding The Cache
This is a Puzzle Cache, so the cache is not at the published coordinates, there is no reason to go there but it does mark the original location of Sunnybrae, the farm of John Logie Baird's grandfather, and where Baird spent many visits to the Camelon area of Falkirk, in his youth. The area is now a mix of housing and playing fields. There is a 19th Century map of the area in the gallery, from the period when Baird would have been there.
To get the coordinates you will have to answer some questions, and unsurpringly, they relate to John Logie Baird's most famous invention. The questions to answer are below, and the cache can be found at:
N 56° 00.ABC W 003° 50.DEF - you can find out what ABCDEF are by answering the questions below. Where the answer requires converting a letter to a coordinate number, it is on the basis of A=1, B= 2 etc.
Question A
On modern HD TVs there are typically 1080 vertical pixels in lines, Baird’s first experimental television used how many lines on a screen? Second digit.
Question B
One of the earliest colour broadcasts on British Television (1967), it's stars eventually clocked up more than 50,000 hours of broadcast airtime together, in over 30 countries. The female star’s first name - 1st character.
Question C
The first couple shown in bed together on prime-time US TV were....? 1st letter of man’s name converted to a number and add 1.
Question D
Although claimed to be an invention by a Scot, the word ‘television’ itself was first coined by a Russian while delivering a speech in French, at a public event in what year? 4th digit.
Question E
During his famous public demonstration of TV in London’s Selfridges in 1925, JLB had two ‘assistants’ who figured in the broadcast. One is only known to have had a single name, but the other had two names. For the assistant with two names what is the second character of the second name, minus 3.
Question F
The first TV advert ever was broadcast in 1941 in New York. The advertisement was for what type of accessory? 5th letter of the type of item (not the brand), minus 2. The answer is a singular btw.
There's a solution checker on this cache page for you to verify the coordinates you get from your answers.