Dave Jeffery's
Flash Files 4

Created  Tu 5-Aug-03
Last Major Revision  Fr 2-Jan-04

ABC Clock

ABC broadcast at the weekends, serving both the Midlands and the North of England. This clock was for joint continuity, parts of the programme schedule where both regions were showing the same programmes. It was broadcast from the ABC studios in Teddington, Middlesex and would be seen, for example, before World of Sport on Saturdays.

ABC Clock - Midlands NEW! We 1-Oct-03

The second ABC clock was seen only by viewers in the Midlands.

ABC Clock - North NEW! Fr 2-Jan-04

And finally, an ABC clock seen only by viewers in the North.

ATV Clock 1
ATV Clock 2

ATV's digital clock was the last image broadcast by the company as it closed down for the final time, 34 minutes into the first day of 1982. Later that morning, Central was born. Its clock used the same digits, this time superimposed onto a Central caption. You can choose the clock with a black background or the more common blue background. (Or if you can't decide, download both!)

BBC 1 Clock - electronically generated

This is BBC 1's first virtual clock. The image was generated by a box of electronics, designed in house by Richard Russell. Similar hardware was then used for the other BBC solid state clocks featured below.

BBC 1 Clock - electronically generated II

The second virtual clock for BBC 1 first appeared in February 1985. It was introduced to accompany the new golden globe symbol or COW (Computer-Originated World) as it was known at the BBC.

BBC 2 Clock - electronically generated

This is BBC 2's first virtual clock. The move to electronic generation meant that the network symbol underneath the clock face could finally be shown with all of the colour shades on the stripes. I'm reliably informed that when Roly Keating, who became Controller of BBC Two in June 2004, first saw this screensaver, he decided he had to have it installed on his own PC!

Border Clock

This is Border Television's mechanical clock, used in the Eighties. It features the company's "chopsticks in a bowl" symbol.

Channel 4 Clock NEW! We 1-Oct-03

Martin Lambie-Nairn and his company were responsible for Channel 4's identity when the station launched in 1982. Since then his company has become a major force in television branding. This is the Channel 4 clock, which features the stripy 4 logo. For some reason they decided to use a dark blue rather than the main logo's light blue.

HTV Clock NEW! Fr 2-Jan-04

When colour came to the Wales and West region in 1970, Harlech became HTV and its famous "aerial" logo was born. To go with the new white-on-blue symbol was this white-on-blue clock, which lasted well over a decade.

Rediffusion Clock - Black NEW! Fr 2-Jan-04
Rediffusion Clock NEW! Fr 2-Jan-04

In 1964 Rediffusion began using an ident that ended with the rotating "adastral" star on a completely black background. This was later superseded by another that ended on a grey background. These two clocks match those idents.

Southern Clock NEW! Fr 2-Jan-04

This was a clock used by Southern after the station began its colour service. The clock was still in use in 1981, the company's final year of broadcasting.

Thames Clock NEW! Fr 2-Jan-04

Thames Television's clock also told you the date as well as the time. It was used until the end of the Eighties, when the Thames mirrored skyline ident was dropped and the ITV "corporate look" began.

TSW Clock

TSW promoted itself as "Television Simply Wonderful" on its opening night in 1982. It ceased broadcasting ten years later, having lost its licence at the next franchise round. This computer-generated clock was TSW's only timepiece throughout its decade on air.

TVS Clock NEW! We 1-Oct-03

The second clock design used by TVS, which served the South and South East from 1982 until the end of 1992. Sometimes the caption would say "TVS South" or "TVS South East", when different presentation was being transmitted in each of the two TVS sub-regions.

Tyne Tees Clock NEW! Fr 2-Jan-04

This clock was introduced when Tyne Tees began broadcasting in colour in 1970. As well as white-on-blue, other colour schemes were experimented with such as light-blue-on-black.

Westward Clock NEW! Fr 2-Jan-04

For some reason, Westward's clock, used until it ceased broadcasting in 1981, reminds me of one of those wooden-framed clocks you used to see on the wall inside banks. The exploded pie-chart style (with the bottom right-hand quarter of the rounded rectangle separated from the rest) was also seen on continuity slides for much of the seventies.

Yorkshire Clock - Gold NEW! We 1-Oct-03

Seen in 1977, this clock from Yorkshire Television features golden lettering.

Yorkshire Clock

This was Yorkshire's first computer-generated clock. It was a replacement for a mechanical clock of a similar design.