BBC Cymru Symbol

This is a symbol BBC Cymru/Wales used in the early seventies. A lovely, simple but clever concept, like the BBC Schools Diamond. I also like the Cymru "C" which I always think looks like a particularly promising sausage.
Though it's one of my earliest TV memories, years later, I couldn't quite remember how it looked. I drew a few pictures based on vague recollections and my friend Dave Jeffery made some trial animations from them which were interesting in themselves but not quite right. Then in 2002 a chap called Steve Jones very kindly sent me some off-screen pictures and Dave was able to use them as an accurate guide to recreation.
This video is available in HD for no other reason than I wanted to see how it would look on KZbin. I suppose it's pretty pointless for simple graphics since there's little detail to benefit from the extra resolution but I thought it would be interesting anyway.
I've done a bit of 'distressing' to Dave's animation - added some noise and geometric distortion, faded the edges a bit and even added some chromatic aberration - the slight colour misregistration on edges. The latter is pretty spurious since the real model would almost certainly have been photographed by a monochrome tube camera with the colour added electronically.
The greatest shame in uploading it to KZbin is that the deinterlacing process replaces the smooth 50 fields per second motion with juddery 25 frames per second movement.
The announcer is Robin Jones and the music is a version of the traditional Welsh tune 'Tros y Gareg' by John Baker of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.

[@stuartharris2165]

At the time, a lot of Welsh viewers had to rely on English transmitters to get any decent tv pictures. Therefore a small amount of Welsh schools programmes. The Welsh soap opera Pobol Y Cym and various welsh light entertainment shows were shown on certain transmitters only normally on Tuesday and Friday afternoons at 3:20 although strangely not in Wales.

[@anthonyperkins7556]

I saw Pobol Y Cym on national BBC-1 in the 70's

[@markwrenn8569]

So did I: unfortunately, I couldn't understand any of it because there weren't any subtitles for English-speaking viewers

[@doornier]

BBC Radiophonics version of 'Tros y Gareg' (Over the Stone) an old Welsh tune. Loved it too, great to hear it again, thanks

[@andrewswift8139]

Can remember watching this animation and music, I'm 47 and can recall Schools Programmes from as far back as 1976!

[@davidpoulton2860]

BBC 1 Cymru/Wales in 1960s and 1970s I remember it as a child i'm 61now and was in school from 1962 to 1974 and college until 1977 I remember hearing wonderful tunes many times when I stayed in Wales with Uncles and Aunts all those years ago.

[@ZardozSpeaks]

This is just wonderful. I've never seen it before. It looks like something you'd see on the monitors on Moonbase Alpha. It seems to me that there was an experimentalness and a bold newness to stuff in the 60s and 70s that has been quite lacking since - the same sort of thing embodied by Radiophonic music and sounds of the era.

[@cherlynng1487]

Stvw

[@dlamiss]

Totally agree- we used to watch Look and read at 10 am in a friday morning and a welsh programme for schools followed it and this music was ALWAYS played. 40 years ago now but remember it like it was yesterday

[@MrTrevor181]

dlamiss this was better than the actual programme.

[@bradmiley]

Used to really scare me this music & ident combo when i was really little. It was shown on BBC2 after Play School I think on the BBC North transmitter at Emley Moor. My maternal Gramma was Welsh so she would watch things (remembering the Motherland!) since her own mother spoke Cymraeg fluently as a first language, whilst Gramma spoke both, but she never seemed to in the house after her mother died in 74. This was one of the first things from my childhood that I "tracked down" when i got the Internet in 1994 (I worked in tech) and a home PC in 95. Its quite amazing how the net has helped us find relics the we remembered from being little - and it always surprises me how much of that is "stuff that really scared me"! BBC Radiophonic Workshop on fine form, constantly finding new ways of terrifying an unsuspecting generation of kids 😂!

[@philjones1432]

I remember this well, even though I grew up in Hereford, which is very close to the Welsh border we could get Welsh TV. Today 14.2.23 celebrates 100 years of the BBC in Wales.

[@SuperRecordman]

I remember this ident when it was networked to all areas. I have never forgotten the music.

[@matthall3077]

This Symbol Returned For BBC Cymru Wales 50th Birthday On Saturday 8th February 2014 Alongside The Other Retro Presentation Shown On BBC2 Wales

[@timwallace2351]

That takes me back... The three scariest pieces of TV music when I was a kid were Doctor Who, the Open University and this one. Love it!

[@MrTrevor181]

I remember this back in the 70's - this was only for one programme.

[@arthurvasey]

@Martin Lee - I believe so - in later years, they just did a straight announcement from BBC 1 in London in English - the Welsh programmes were simply just broadcast in Welsh, with no subtitles - as if we English speak Welsh - a bit odd, I thought - films in French and German and Polish were either subtitled or dubbed - whereas programmes in Welsh were just broadcast in Welsh - originally introduced by a Welsh announcer (now identified as Robin Jones) and just broadcast in Welsh!

[@ragster316]

If I remember correctly, there were two versions of this ident - the second one was used during the schools programmes slot and had "YSGOLION - SCHOOLS" in place of the "LLIW - COLOUR" legend.

[@stephenholmes1036]

The music played before Glamorgan played cricket in the 1970s and 80s

[@KevinM913]

Like others have already said, I remember finding this music scary and being totally confused by the Welsh language (growing up in the Midlands).

[@chopchung]

in the early 1970's the Crystal Palace transmitter in the LONDON region.Think it was called Heddiw. Have NEVER known why they did that.

[@bradmiley]

Ex pat Welsh diaspora service? 😂 Heddiw means "Today", so the perfect generic title for a news prog. Years later, S4C created a C4 news opt out called "Newyddion Saith", which again has a very functional title: "Newyddion" is "News" and "Saith" is "Seven". Functional, terse, and right to the point! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

[@andrewswift8487]

Hyn o Fyd ran right through almost to the end of BBC1 Schools Broadcasting though in later years with the standard twin-stripe holding slide but with Ymhen Ychydig (Shortly)

[@stuartharris2165]

The slide for Ffenestri tended to be a little different when BBC1 took over continuity fom BBC Wales, it said "fe fydd ffenestri yn dilyn ymhen Ychydig"

[@applemask]

In two minutes, a programme for Schools in Welsh. *says it again backwards*

[@JacobFurrier]

This message was delivered in English and Welsh.

[@arthurvasey]

The Welsh translates as “In two minutes, a programme for schools in the series “This World!”.

[@borgduck]

Nothing like a good ol' Prog Rock tune.

[@nationalml45]

Is this the same piece of music that was used when the anouncer said. "The next programme is in welsh and on certain transmitters only, the next programme on all transmitters is you and me at 10:45.

[@paulsawtell3991]

Yes. The full version runs at just over 3 mins.

[@fairytaleforest]

This is literally the best thing I have ever seen.

[@annother3350]

Are you high?

[@garethwalters2936]

I can remember this old bbc wales simbol has a kid.and i found it a little bit scary to has a child. And sometimes when it usto appear on my tv screen now and then a few in one white diamond shapes around the simbol usto be orange. Instead of white . This tv logo was like the coroner pop simbol traveling through doctor hwos time tunnel.

[@Springamatul]

Yes the Welsh tune I can never forget that either. lol.

[@errolnicholson3595]

Those were my days!!!

[@deansinger299]

fab sound - remember it well in the 70s

[@Andy-Robus]

luv that bit of welsh instrumental music - done by the same department that produced the Dr who theme if i am correct?

[@annother3350]

Mr Tumniss appears...

[@michael1967812]

@michael1967812 I remember this BBC Cymru Symbol YSGOLION - SCHOOLS plus LLIW - COLOUR legend as well Regional The North of England areas plus North West & North East England areas both used BBC1 or BBC2 Testcard F Music this sectiion.

[@k.voskuyl5775]

I wonder how the mechanical model for this worked

[@anthonyperkins7556]

BBC Radiophonic Workshop piece

[@seanwilkinson3975]

Trippy!

[@borgduck]

Should I be on some sort of "chemical" for this "Prog-Rock" video?

[@Alexanification]

John Baker - Tros y Gareg Bought it on iTunes

[@annother3350]

What does it mean?

[@paulsawtell3991]

@@annother3350 Over The Stone

[@annother3350]

@@paulsawtell3991 When do you guys use that phrase?!

[@borgduck]

Delia Derbyshire.

[@TCDL11]

I'm sure the graphics in was inspired by the psychedelic Harlech ident from 1968.

[@stuartharris2165]

Troes y Garreg

[@itogi]

How does this model work?

[@cherlynng1487]

School west network

[@jamesconnolly9591]

Ii WormHolT

[@arrblue94]

the ep is caled get reday ella break house aka spouse no more it begiens with the phone call from noo noo

[@arrblue94]

thats why they do 2 tirps to fix his tv and see ella for her spose s burrl aww

[@arrblue94]

Alex Robinson with robin jones

[@arrblue94]

Alex Robinson why i had to lewae work early