Monday 5 February 2018

Pinpointing the location: "on the left at the top of the stairs"

For those who value a precise determination of the site of historical events, this is an update on Kings Buildings, the location of Radio Atlantico del Sur's offices and studios.




I illustrated my November 2017 post The Secret is Revealed with this photo showing both sides of Kings Buildings in Westminster, less than five minutes walk from the Houses of Parliament.

The main entrance to Kings Buildings is on the side of the block in Smith Square, on the right.

When I visited Kings Buildings last October and took this photo, I found that only the Smith Square door was still in use.

The other entrance was closed. It's just visible on the far left of the picture, around the corner in Dean Stanley Street.




In his January 2018 guest post on this blog, Radio Atlantico del Sur staffer "A" confirmed my guess that, in 1982, the Dean Stanley Street entrance to Kings Buildings was open and was used by BFBS, which had lent some of its accommodation to RAdS.



"A" wrote: "We arrived at the then BFBS (British Forces Broadcasting Service) premises at Kings Buildings in Dean Stanley Street and went to a small suite of offices on the first floor on the left at the top of the stairs. It had 'Media Assessment Team' on the door."



This next photo shows the Dean Stanley Street side of Kings Buildings today. Smith Square is on the extreme right of the picture.

The Dean Stanley Street entrance (now closed) can be seen.

This is the door that "A" would have gone through on the morning of 19 May 1982, before he walked upstairs to the first floor (the second floor for American readers) and turned left for the offices of the "Media Assessment Team" (the cover name used by RAdS staff).

"A" recalls that the BFBS studios used by Radio Atlantico del Sur were in the basement of this building. Would any former BFBS staffer like to confirm that?



© 2018. Material may be reproduced if attributed to Chris Greenway and any original source.

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