List of offshore radio engineers

North Sea radio engineers[1].

Edited by Derek Burroughs, jr.

Updated on January 2, 2009

The Engineers of the offshore stations off Essex in the 60s of course were very essential to the stations. It would be good to make an honorary list of them, and I’d appreciate if any reader may help with this. My impression is that they were sort of "allies" regardless of being on competing stations.

1. Classic Continental Engineers,

all connected to the building of “Mexican Border Blasters”:

Nestor Cuesta

James “Jimmy” Weldon(founder of Continental Transmitters, also built NSS Cutler, ME and Norwegian VLF in Northern Norway)

Joe Sainton

2. Radio Nord Engineering Staff

John Mullaney of US Navy in Washington.[2]

Ted Giles from Philadelphia

Archie Mesch, W0MTN

Glen Callison, from KLIF

Ove Sjøstrøm

Archie Mesch(W0MTN) measuring the signal strength on 606 kHz from the Bon Jour in March, 1961 at the anchorage near Almagrundet lightship in the Stockholm archpelago.(Source: Jack Kotschack: Radio Nord kommer tillbaka, 1963. Unknown photographer)

Coverage map of Radio Nord, 10 kW, 602 kHz, 495 metres.(Source: Jack Kotschack: Radio Nord kommer tillbaka, 1963.)

On this photo of the Bon Jour/Mi Amigo from spring 1962(?) there is a strange antenna on the stern. Something to do with R Nord's TV project? (Source: Jack Kotschack: Radio Nord kommer tillbaka, 1963. Unknown photographer)

A rare picture of Gordon McLendon’s(Rosebud shipping)radio ship the Bon Jour/Mi Amigo from summer 1962 on the way from Sweden to the UK to take up its role as Radio Atlanta. This was not to materialize before late April, 1964, and then only after a visit to Galveston in 1963.(Unknown photographer, Hans Knot archive)

A rare picture of Gordon McLendon’s(Rosebud shipping)radio ship the Bon Jour/Mi Amigo anchored off the Dutch Coast near the old Radio Veronica vessel the Borkum Riff in the autumn of 1962. (Unknown photographer, Hans Knot archive)

3. Radio Atlanta Engineering Staff[3]

Milan Leggett from KLIF?

A.N. THOMAS Consultant Engineer. Had also been engineering consultant for Radio GBOK. WAS Chief Engineer (Transmitters) in BBC, and later Head of Planning & Installation Department (BBC). Had distinguished career. Involved with Droitwich 400 kW project in 1941 (HPMW) -first time that two high-power transmitters had been combined to give this power. Also involved with secret H-Group project of low-power (100 Watts - 1 kW) MF transmitters in every town with over 100,000 Population, in case of Invasion (1940). High-power transmitters in Invasion zone would have been destroyed. Brilliant engineer. Demanding to work for. Did not suffer fools! Commanded (and got) immediate respect. I never knew his first names - he was always, invariably, "Mr. Thomas" or "Sir". Died aged about 94. Only visited a ship when he absolutely had to!

JOHN H. GILMAN Radio Supervisor, based in London. WAS Aerial Engineer in BBC, responsible for electrical and mechanical design of MF and HF aerials. Retired, and also involved with Radio GBOK. Modified J.H. Mullaney's Radio Nord drawing to give a much better practical aerial for us. In charge of engineering on both Caroline ships to December 1965, and also studios in London. Always based in London. Interviewed me for my job, followed by A.N.T.! Interesting-near end of WV2 went on special raid in northern Germany to capture Norden-Osterloog 120 kW MF TX intact (had broadcast "Lord Haw Haw" Propaganda to Britain). Successful. It became a BBC European Service transmitter until 1962, with the original German staff; very pleasant and friendly personality. Died Dunster, Somerset, c. 1971.

GEORGE SAUNDERS Chief Seagoing Radio Engineer, based Mi Amigo. Joined snip at Greenore. WAS in commercial high-power broadcasting transmitter development project, then technical author on radar project. Deputed for John Gilman in London Office when ashore, until January 1966, left offshore radio Feb. 1966 for overseas broadcasting project, Joined BBC Engineering Division May 1968, and retired from BBC in mid-1995.

TED WALTERS Engineer. Joined ship at Greenore. WAS domestic TV Service engineer. Good mechanical skills. Left R. Caroline South early 1966, becoming chief radio engineer M.V. Olga Patricia. Died many years ago. Quiet, nice sense of humour.

W.V. "JOE" NEAL Engineer. Joined ship at Brightlingsea, Essex. Retired BBC transmitter engineer from Washford MF transmitting Station, Somerset. Worked there from before 1959. Knew John Gilman, and got job on "old boy" basis. Very good, reliable and pleasant. Died Watchet, Somerset c. 1975.

OTHER ENGINEERS (SELLEN, HAVEY, THOMSON etc. ) JOINED AFTER THE MERGER WITH CAROLINE.

4. Radio Caroline South Engineering Staff[4]

GEORGE SAUNDERS

TED WALTERS

FRANK SELLEN

CARL THOMSON, G3PEM 
PATRICK STARLING
TREVOR GRANTHAM
HAVEY

EX-NAVY MAN

PAUL DALE
MARTIN NEWTON

SHERIDON STREET

PETE POSTHUMOUS
RAY GLENNISTER

5. Radio Caroline North Engineering Staff

ARTHUR CARRINGTON, ex BBC

OVE SJØSTRØM, ex Radio Nord

JAN GUNNARSON, ex Radio Nord

CARL THOMSON, G3PEM

MANFRED SOMMER

SHERIDON STREET

MIKE WRIGHT

Carl Thomson, G3PEM at Caroline North’s two 10 kW Continental transmitters in 1966. (Photo: ©Carl Thomson’s photo collection.)

6. Radio London Engineering Staff[5]

Former Radio London Engineer Dave Hawkins(Australian Dave Hawkins joined Radio London in February 1966): The only Engineering staff who I knew were the Radio London ones during my tenure and the - therefore inevitably incomplete- list follows:

RAY SMITH(ex British Army 'REME' Engineering Corp.)

MARTIN NEWTON(ex BBC Tech. Dept.)Deceased

JEAN-PAUL PIETERS+1(Belgian contract engineers)?

RUSSELL TOLLERFIELD(ex BBC Tech. Dept.?

MICHAEL HOWELL(later Yorkshire TV engineer)Deceased

And of course, DAVE HAWKINS, see another interesting contribution from him here.

RCA STAFF FROM RTV NOORDZEE; REM ISLAND

I have no knowledge of an 'Art Nobo' nor of any USA RCA staff visits though a UK-based, RCA techie (who was a fellow Australian) was sent to the ship when we commissioned the 10kW reserve transmitter as I guess that was inclusive in the transmitter purchase package.

7. Olga Patricia[6] Engineering Staff

JOE SAINTON(from Continental)

TED WALTERS(passed away)

BOB GITTIS(GITHERS?)

PATRICK STARLING

The late Ted Walters, prior to joining the Olga Patricia , here photographed in January, 1966 onboard the Cheeta II when that ship stood in for the Mi Amigo. (Photo: ©Carl Thomson’s photo collection.)

5. Radio Caroline Engineering Staff 1972-1980

PETER MURTHA(CHICAGO)

DICK PALMER

ROBIN ADCROFT

BOB NOAKES

MIKE BARRINGTON

and??

[1] Sources George Saunders(Radio Atlanta/Caroline South), Carl Thomson(Caroline South and North), Patrick Starling(Caroline South/Radio England-Britain Radio) and David Hawkins(Radio London).

[2] Picture enclosed with John Mullaney working in the mast in the Chalk Harbour, Åbo, Finland early 1961.
Maybe touching here on not only the clandestine R Swan/R Americas circles but also Station X/R Libertad, see Alice Brannigan’s essay in Popular Communications July 1998, and my own provisional piece about some clandestine broadcasting seemingly related to offshore broadcasting.