About HWD Hospital Radio
HWD Hospital Radio is the broadcasting name of The Heavy Woollen District Hospital Broadcasts Association - a registered charity in the United Kingdom.
The station is staffed and run entirely by volunteers and receives no regular income in the way that commercial radio stations or businesses do.
However, we have overheads, repairs and ongoing costs which have to be paid for from our own funds, so fundraising is vital.
Established in 1952
HWD Hospital Radio celebrated an amazing 60 years on the air in 2012. Our first broadcast was a live commentary on a rugby match at Batley's Mount Pleasant stadium in 1952.
It received so many compliments, commentaries were then broadcast on a more regular basis.
Regular records requests began in the late 1950s and we later moved to Batley General Hospital, taking up residence in the attic and also broadcasting to Dewsbury General, Staincliffe Hospital and five local care homes, which had their own request shows.
NHS restructuring and the building of a new hospital on the Staincliffe site mean rapid fundraising was needed to build a new studio complex. This was opened by Margaret Thatcher in 1989, beginning a new chapter in the history of HWD Hospital Radio.
Over the years, our studio complex has been extended and refurbished to include the latest digital technology and we now broadcast 24 hours a day to Mid Yorkshire Trust.
hwdhospitalradio.com
garyhughes.home@icloud.com
HWD Hospital Radio Registered charity number 227515
