The Dragon Amateur Radio Club was formed approximately 75 years ago by a group of enthusiastic radio amateurs from around Anglesey, Bangor, and Caernarfon in beautiful North Wales. What began as a small gathering of like-minded wireless amateurs gradually developed into a well-established and respected local club with a shared passion for radio communication.
The club’s name, The Dragon Amateur Radio Club was chosen and inspired by the Welsh dragon, the iconic national symbol of Wales displayed proudly on the Welsh flag. Y Ddraig Goch (The Red Dragon) has represented Wales for centuries and symbolises strength, resilience, and national pride. For radio amateurs in this region, it was a natural choice — reflecting both their Welsh heritage and their enthusiasm for sending signals far beyond the mountains and coastline of North West Wales.
North West Wales and Anglesey have a long radio heritage and has been associated with the development of wireless communication, well before the Dragon Amateur Radio Club became established.
In 1913, the pioneering inventor Guglielmo Marconi constructed a significant long-wave transmitting station at Cefn Du, near Waunfawr, just outside Caernarfon. This was one of the earliest large-scale wireless transmitting stations in Britain. During the First World War, the station played an important role in long-distance wireless telegraphy, including communication across the British Empire.
Even earlier, in the early 1900s, wireless experiments were carried out at Holyhead and on Holy Island, where some of the first ship-to-shore wireless signals in the region were received. These early installations helped establish North Wales as an important area in the story of maritime and long-distance communication.
Over the decades that followed, major broadcast and communication sites such as the Llanddona transmitting station on Anglesey and the Arfon mast near Bangor continued the region’s strong connection with radio and transmission technology.
This rich local heritage provides a fitting backdrop to the formation and growth of the Dragon Amateur Radio Club.
Up until a few years ago the clubs home was in the Ebenezer Chapel in Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (Llanfair PG).
Like many organisations, the club faced significant disruption during the Covid-19 pandemic. Regular meetings were suspended, and for a period of time the club found itself without a permanent home.
Fortunately, the club was able to secure new premises at the Canolfan Esceifiog Community Centre, Lon Groes, Gaerwen, Anglesey, LL60 6DD, where it remains to this day.
From this welcoming base, the club continues to promote amateur radio, encourage newcomers, support training, and enjoy the fellowship that has sustained it for more than seven decades.
Help Us Preserve Our History
Our knowledge of the club’s earliest days is still developing, and we would very much like to expand this page.
If you have old photographs, QSL cards, logbooks, newspaper cuttings, meeting minutes, or personal memories connected with the Dragon Amateur Radio Club, please contact the club webmaster with details.
Your contribution could help preserve an important part of amateur radio history in North West Wales for future generations.
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