Radio Sutch & City in Pictures & Audio Part 2

Issue: 3 Updated: 3rd January 2008

One of Radio City's tenders the Harvester 1 in it's home port of Whitstable, this picture taken by my late brother Mike

A line drawing depicting Shivering Sands in 1966 by Alan Brown

Radio City headed note paper, the Oxford Street building still sports an interesting array of aerials on its roof

Advertisement voiced by Eric K Martin - Station Manager & owner of The Record Centre the Radio City Kent & Sussex office at 20a Oxford Street Whitstable, above holding a rectifier valve from the 299 transmitter

You can hear Eric K Martin recalling his role at the station on the CD "The Radio Sutch & City Story" which can be found in the Offshore Shop

The Record Centre's own headed note paper. It's been a fruit & vegetable shop, a carpet shop & is now a book shop

20a Oxford Street can be found next to the former Oxford Cinema, a bingo hall just before the road becomes High Street

Personnel entry into the Gun Towers was achieved by jumping onto the salt encrusted rusty ladder across some old pallets to scramble up the runs to the single man door entry in the base of the fort

Here a crew change at the then only used GI Southern Gun Tower

For a range of books on the building of the Army & Navy Forts go to Offshore Shop

Alternatively engineer Tony Pine ascends by bosons chair & gives the daily report over Pigeon-Blackbird fort to shore link using the old Radio Sutch transmitter

Pictures of the Radio Sutch transmitter can be sen in Sutch & City Part 1 & Sutch & City Part 4

You can hear Tony Pine's memories of the station on the CD "The Tower of Power" which can be found in the Offshore Shop

Final 50 gallon drums of diesel oil go up on the 1 ton electric hoist as the tender pulls away

To feed the one & half ton Lister JP3 diesel generator above which was eventually hauled up into the fort on a second try after the hoist had been modified

This was later used at night when a Detroit flat head diesel generator came aboard

The G1 Gun Tower was separated from the original Gardner LV generators on the Searchlight Tower following the Ribersborg collision of 1963 which toppled the G4 Gun Tower

Hear that story & more on the CD "The Tower of Power" in the Offshore Shop

The reinforced fort legs were constructed on hollow pontoons in the shape of an Oxford Picture frame

Each fort was slung between two barges the legs were flooded & the fort structure lowered to the sea bed by winch

Drawings by J A Posford the fort builders from "The Construction of Britain's Sea Forts"

For more details on all the Thames Estuary Forts see Fort Fax

Tom Edwards below closes down for the night after the boarding party had left in the final studio on the fort

Tom Edwards known as mother on board was to be the close down voice of Radio City. This picture taken to commemorate his first year on City

Paul Elvey accepts sealed orders from the tender following the boarding raid of June 1966 & shooting of Reg Calvert - The death null of pirate radio had been sounded

The tender pulls away at speed to leave the crew to an uncertain future

Whilst Engineer - Ian West turns 299 back on, all be it briefly

What might have been the final QSL card by Eddie Austin, featuring the Sky Photos aerial photograph of the fort cluster at Shivering Sands in 1967

This story continues from Sutch & City Part 3

For a surname A-Z biograghy of the Radio Sutch & City Jocks The Pirate Hall of Fame

ENJOYED the latest scrapbook on Radio Sutch! By the way THANK YOU for the link. Karl, who helped me (the field photo is actually of his wife's parents farm, near St. Louis FAR from here) and I, both got a kick out of how you used the sign with the middle of nowhere. Anyway, I have NOT set up my "Tom's Friends" links yet but AS SOON AS I DO you will be there! Have a good week. THANK YOU! Tom (Konard)

Superb photos from the Shivering Sands I've never seen before. This jungle walk is amazing, could connect the towers once again. Still listen to the old City and 390 tapes, these two on the forts were excellent radio stations, each in its own way. Greetings from Groningen. Paul de Haan

For all the Shivering Sands features navigate from Sutch & City Part 1

For Red Sands Fort & it's Radio Stations navigate from Red Sands Rendezvous

For the Navy Forts & their Radio Stations navigate from Radio Essex 222 & Sealand One

For details on all the Thames Estuary Forts see Fort Fax

Make sure you also see the NAB "Mystery Tower" the forerunner to Maunsell Forts in Sailing the Solent

For the range of documentary CD's in the Offshore Radio "Roaring 60's" collection, the Sealand VCD, books, & a video on the Army & Navy Forts go to Offshore Shop