From 1939 to April 1945, the clock dials were unlit in compliance with wartime blackout rules.ģ3. The latin words under the clockface read Domine Salvam Fac Reginam Nostram Victoriam Primam, which means 'O Lord, keep safe our Queen Victoria the First'ģ2. Before the 9pm BBC radio news was broadcast each night, members of the public were encouraged to dedicate silent contemplation and prayer to those on the battlefields, for the 60 seconds that Big Ben would chime.ģ1.

In 1940 the Silent Minute was introduced. Those listening to a live transmission of the bell by radio, however, will hear the bells before you.ġ3. Stand by the base of the Elizabeth Tower and you’ll hear the bell’s chimes about one-sixth of a second after the bell is struck. Big Ben and its chimes illustrate the difference between the speed of light and sound. The bell’s strikes were broadcast internationally for the first time in 1932, during King George V’s Christmas broadcast on the Empire Service (later the World Service).ġ2. The BBC first broadcast Big Ben’s chimes to the country during a New Year’s Eve radio broadcast in 1923.ġ1. It also fell silent during nine months of repairs in 1976.ġ0. For seven weeks in 2007 its chimes were snuffed out so repairs could be made.

It has since been quietened on other occasions. That September, a crack caused it to fall silent for four years. Big Ben chimed for the first time on Jbut it would not ring for long.

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