The Mail was present for a couple of significant milestones for the Furness Amateur Radio Society and dignitaries were there to mark the occasions.

For the 75th anniversary of the Barrow and District Amateur Wireless Association becoming one of the first groups in the world to gain a licence, a special event call sign called GB2DT was set up in the venture scouts hut at Thorncliffe Road, Barrow in 1988.

Under the watchful eye of mayor John Dick, the society was able to make contact with amateur stations from across the world, including Canada, Uruguay, the Caribbean, Egypt, Colombia, South Africa, Israel and Australia.

Five years later, The Mail was there again for the society's 80th anniversary and support again came in overseas, with members this time setting up base at Thorncliffe Road, which included putting up a 40ft-high aerial.

The club changed its usual call sign to a similar one that was the first used in the Furness area, GB2RXY.

Mayor Hazel Edwards and her predecessor Joyce Fleet both went along to see the 'Hams' in action.

Club secretary Basil Bull said: "We are using high frequency transceivers which transmit anywhere in the world - somewhere like the Falklands would be no problem today."