The flood of mail that came into the Glasgow headquarters of Radio Scotland right from the start made it clear that Scots, particularly in their ‘teens and early twenties, regarded Radio Scotland as their very own.

They were not content merely to be listeners. They wanted to be PART of Radio Scotland. So the Clan 242 was formed. The flood of mail turned into a torrent, with requests for posters, car-stickers, badges and photographs of the disc jockeys and the ship in almost every letter. One aspect of the “fan mail” which is unusual — requests come in frequently for pictures of Mr T. V. Shields, the company’s managing director. No other managing director in the world can make this claim — unless it’s Brian Epstein.

To cater for all the new Clan members, a Clan programme was started right away, to play music for members and to pass on any news of interest. A delightful, red-haired beauty queen, Miss Cathy Spence, who has been with Radio Scotland since the inception of the station, became secretary of the Clan and interviewed on the air most of the current pop personalities, including her very good friends the Beatles.

Clan dances and balls were immediately organised, in major centres like Dundee, Falkirk, Ayr, Kirkcaldy and Edinburgh, and a chain of 242 Clan centres sprang into being.