White Rose Amateur Radio Society (G3XEP)

Based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, the White Rose Radio Society, operating under the club callsign G3XEP, is a long-established part of the amateur-radio community in the city.

The society's roots go back to the 1960s. It was formally established in 1967 as the Pudsey & District Radio Club, having previously been known as the Star Radio Club in Bramley. As the club developed and its activities expanded, it adopted the name White Rose Radio Society in 1971.

Today, G3XEP continues to bring radio enthusiasts together in north Leeds, maintaining a tradition that now spans almost six decades.

Weekly Meetings in North Leeds

The society currently meets every Tuesday at:

Moortown Social Club
Cranmer Gardens
Leeds
LS17 5LA

The club's current website continues to advertise the weekly Tuesday meetings and invites anyone interested in amateur radio to come along.

Older club information has often listed an 8:00 PM start, but the present homepage no longer gives a specific meeting time. Anyone visiting for the first time may therefore wish to contact the society beforehand to confirm the arrangements for that particular Tuesday.

From Bramley to Moortown

White Rose Radio Society has occupied several homes during its history.

After its beginnings around Bramley and Pudsey, the club eventually established premises at 83 Town Street, Armley in the early 1970s. Members themselves helped restore the building, carrying out electrical work, plastering, flooring and decoration to turn the previously derelict property into a usable radio-club headquarters.

In 1979, the society moved to Moortown Rugby Club, where members again helped create their own operating facilities.

When that site changed ownership in 2012, the radio society needed a new home. Moortown Social Club offered space, and members constructed a smaller dedicated club room there. The society remains based at Moortown today.

Encouraging New Radio Amateurs

Helping people discover amateur radio has been part of White Rose's identity since its earliest years.

The club's own history recalls that one of its principal aims was to encourage short-wave listeners and beginners to become radio amateurs, offering assistance to people preparing for the former Radio Amateurs Examination.

Amateur-radio licensing and training have changed considerably since those days, particularly with the introduction of the modern Foundation, Intermediate and Full licence structure.

The society's current website does not advertise a formal 2026 training programme, so prospective operators seeking licence tuition should contact the club directly to ask what support is currently available.

The White Rose Rally

One of the best-known chapters in the society's history is the White Rose Rally.

The first rally was organised in 1969 as a way of introducing the club and amateur radio to a wider audience. It proved sufficiently successful to become an annual event and, over the following decades, attracted amateur-radio enthusiasts and traders from across Britain.

The rally also gave its name to the White Rose Award, which recognised amateur stations and short-wave listeners making or hearing contacts with stations around Yorkshire.

These activities became an important part of the society's identity during the period when British amateur-radio rallies attracted large regional audiences.

Connecting Leeds and Dortmund by Radio

White Rose Radio Society also played a memorable role in the relationship between Leeds and Dortmund, its German twin city.

On 23 November 1974, club station G3XEP established an amateur-radio link with a station operating from an exhibition in Dortmund.

The Lord Mayor of Leeds visited the White Rose station for the contact, while representatives in Dortmund took part at the other end. The link was completed on 7 MHz, with strong signals reported between the two cities.

It remains a good example of how amateur radio was used not merely as a technical hobby, but as a means of connecting communities internationally.

A Smaller Club, but a Continuing One

Like many long-established amateur-radio societies in Britain, White Rose Radio Society is smaller today than it was during the hobby's peak decades.

The society's own history records that membership once reached around 150 people. It also acknowledges that the group is now considerably smaller, while noting that many of the remaining members continue to attend meetings regularly.

That makes it more accurate to describe White Rose today as a long-standing and continuing amateur-radio society, rather than relying on broad descriptions such as “one of the most vibrant clubs in the region”.

Its current website remains active, its Tuesday meetings continue to be advertised, and the G3XEP identity remains associated with amateur radio in Leeds.