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By Jason Beattie At 9am on January 1, 1924, radio listeners first heard words that have since become part of our national identity. “Forties, Cromarty, Forth, Tyne, Dogger,” said the bulletin. It ended with “Hebrides, Bailey, Fair Isle, Faeroes”. To some it must have seemed like indecipherable poetry. For others it was information that could mean the difference between life and death. They were listening to the first national broadcast of the Shipping Forecast, a twice-daily guide to the seas and weather around British and Irish coasts. The forecast may sound like it is written in code but the…

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