For the rugby league footballer of the 1930s and '40s for England, Yorkshire, and Wakefield Trinity, see Leonard Bratley

Leonard Bratley

Leonard "Len" Bratley is an English former professional rugby league footballer of the 1930s and '40s who at representative level has played for England, and Yorkshire, and at club level for Wakefield Trinity, playing at /, i.e...

Len Bratley is a presenter on the Hospital Radio

Hospital radio

Hospital radio is a form of audio broadcasting produced specifically for the in-patients of hospitals. It is primarily found in the United Kingdom.-History:...

 Station, Trust AM

Trust AM

Trust AM is the operating name of the hospital radio station serving the Doncaster Royal Infirmary on Armthorpe Road in Doncaster, and the Bassetlaw District General Hospital on Blyth Road in Worksop...

, based in the Bassetlaw District General Hospital

Bassetlaw District General Hospital

Bassetlaw Hospital, Worksop, is one of the key hospitals in the Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust[www.dbh.nhs.uk]. The Hospital has 305 beds...

 in Worksop

Worksop

Worksop is the largest town in the Bassetlaw district of Nottinghamshire, England on the River Ryton at the northern edge of Sherwood Forest. It is about east-south-east of the City of Sheffield and its population is estimated to be 39,800...

. Len celebrated his 80th birthday in 2006 and is dubbed 'The Oldest DJ In Town'.

He was originally a patient at the hospital, and listened to the hospital radio

Hospital radio

Hospital radio is a form of audio broadcasting produced specifically for the in-patients of hospitals. It is primarily found in the United Kingdom.-History:...

 station during his stay. He won a competition prize, which was delivered to his home by one of the volunteer presenters. Len commented that the station did not play very much Big Band

Big band

A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...

 music and it was suggested that he may like to come along and present a show on that theme. The rest, as they say, is history as Len's show has become one of the most listened to on the station.

'Voice of the balls' (UK National Lottery

National Lottery (United Kingdom)

The National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.It is operated by Camelot Group, to whom the licence was granted in 1994, 2001 and again in 2007. The lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission, and was established by the then...

) Alan Dedicoat

Alan Dedicoat

Alan Dedicoat is an announcer and on various programmes on BBC One and BBC Radio 2; he is probably best known as the "Voice of the Balls" on the National Lottery programmes on BBC One. He also reads the news on BBC Radio 2 where he is nicknamed Deadly.-Early Life:He was born on 1 December 1954...

 provided some material from which Len's on-air jingles have been made, proudly announcing the Tuesday Teatime Nostalgia Show, which is broadcast

Broadcast

Broadcast or Broadcasting may refer to:* Broadcasting, the transmission of audio and video signals* Broadcast, an individual television program or radio program* Broadcast , an English electronic music band...

 on the station between 4 and 7pm that day. So popular is the show that a further edition has been added on Friday teatime from 4-6pm, under the title 'The Friday HOOT'. Len explains that this stands for Hospital (radio) On Old Time, although others have suggested it should be 'Horrible Old Octogenarian

Ageing

Ageing or aging is the accumulation of changes in a person over time. Ageing in humans refers to a multidimensional process of physical, psychological, and social change. Some dimensions of ageing grow and expand over time, while others decline...

 Time'. Jingles for this second show have been voiced by Stuart Barrett of the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

in Manchester.
Len Bratley passed away at home on the morning of 25th August 2011.Will be missed by all his family and friends RIP