THIS TIME 50 years ago, the first Radio Cherwell broadcasts were going out to patients and staff at the Churchill Hospital from a small group of volunteers in an old Nissen hut for the first time.

From these humble beginnings, the station now broadcasts 24/7 to all three of Oxford's hospitals and is a treasured service which regularly roams the wards to brighten up patients' day.

Chairman Neil Stockton has been involved with the station for almost 46 years, when programmes were largely limited to the still popular Record Requests and live commentaries of Oxford United's home matches.

The 65-year-old, from Bletchingdon, said: "I was working as a BT engineer at the time and I was asked by my boss if I wanted to help out with the football.

"I suppose I just got sucked in after that and you meet so many interesting people. You find people will sometimes open up to us in a way they don't with the medical staff."

His wife Marion has been with the station for 45 years, originally coming along with her husband.

She is currently compiling a book about the history of Radio Cherwell, which is due to be published in the spring.

The 63-year-old said: "The biggest change is probably how much technology has moved on since it started.

"If we wanted to record in the wards then we had to take an open reel and then when we were back in the studio we would physically splice it together with the music and play them both. It was very labour intensive.

"Now everything is so much smaller and that has had a knock on effect for how we do the show as we now have a portable studio so we can be out in the wards and broadcast live from there."

She added she believed despite changes in technology the value of a hospital station was the same as it had ever been, adding: "Our focus has always been on the interaction with patients and I think that is what people love."

The radio station is now run by a team of 80 volunteers, of which around 20 are heavily involved in the day to day operation.

To celebrate the landmark anniversary they broadcast 50 hours of live content last week from the entrances of the John Radcliffe, Churchill Hospital and Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre.

Ian Pinnell, 27, who got involved with the station as a teenager and now hosts a Saturday show and children's programme, was part of this live marathon.

He said: "It's really great, especially with the children who love when we come in and I think hospital radio has a really positive impact on patients in general.

"I'm also involved with the UK association of hospital radio stations and they did a study that showed in many cases hospital radio can have a real effect in helping recovery."

Reflecting on the 50th anniversary, Mr Stockton said: "I am proud to head a team of such talented volunteers who give their time for nothing."

He added thanks to the hospitals for supporting the station throughout the years.

At the group's annual meeting yesterday in the Randolph Hotel seven members were presented with long service awards, totalling 170 years.