The Radio Tower Project - Part 2

The full & real story of the ill fated Offshore project to launch a Pirate

Television Channel & Radio station from the Sunk Head Fort

Part 2 of the 5 part feature: Tower Television

Welcome back to Sunk Head with the often choppy seas around the fort

The Radio Tower 236 Car Sticker produced in 1965

It's colour is accurately reproduced & measuring 46.1cm (18.25") x 75.cm (3") made of a polyethelene material it pre-dated the Britain Radio England sticker of the same type produced in 1966

Dave Simser watches young Bill Rollins on radio test transmissions "Can anyone hear us?"

Friendly greetings from those on Sunk Head

With the project moving forward Eric Sullivan made contact with Robin Garton who ran Martello Studios from his families Martello Holiday Park at Walton-on-the Naze

Robin Garton in 2004

Robin was keen to promote semi-pro & amateur bands, he was to produced & host the Sounds Good Show a pilot was produced but the programme never aired

Robin gained the heady title of Advertising Manager, with his recording studio earmarked to make other pre-recorded programmes & advertisements

Open reel tape master of Radio Tower Jingles November 1965

It was at the Martello Studios the Radio Tower home spun jingles were produced

Acetate 7" record pressing

Tower TV on the deck of the Sunk Head Fort with Dave Simser & Chris Gosling

With Derek Massen now running the operations side, he got cold feet over the tests, not wishing to do anything illegal he pulled out of the project

Blowing a bit with Dave holding on his signature Big T 10 gallon hat

Meanwhile on-shore Peter Jeeves with salesman Bob Record sold advertising, said to include the News of the World Newspaper, Timex Watches & the 7th Day Evangelists

Locally, an Anglian turkey farm, in Colchester the Scotch Wool Shop & T.H.E. Estate Agents located in the same building as Radio Tower at 15 Trinity Street

Tower TV quite a blag

Television transmissions were supposed to have begun on 9th November 1965 at a power of 10 watts, using equipment built by George Short & a home made antenna system 119'on top of the fort

Dave Simser, Chris Gosling with John Boulter on Camera & Bill Rollins wearing headphones

A follow up report in the East Essex Gazzette said that a blurred test card was seen by viewers on Channel 5 (VHF 405 lines) at Walton-on-the-Naze, the reports are unsubstantiated & may have been part of the publicity drive by Tower Television themselves

Tower Television John Boulter focusing on the test card held by Dave Simser

Dave had come to England from native Florida with the USAF, as DJ Dynamite Dave Simser he saw Tower as a way of converting the English to American Country Music

He'd been managing Clarke's Newmarket General Store which he renamed The Tower Trading Post

This is probably wishful thinking, other than the simple closed circuit camera & test card it's definate that there was no television transmission equipment onboard when these pictures were taken

With very poor radio transmitter the fort barely managing to produce audible radio signals let alone a TV transmission, so it's highly unlikely that any TV broadcast were ever made

Photo Journalists report by Martin Stevens for Life Magazine, Saturday January 1st 1966

But the idea made a cracking story just like Caroline TV!

Fort Guard John Boulter by one of the big 3.7" guns

Originally Tower followed the example set by Radio Sutch, setting up a batch of batteries for broadcasting, recharged by a petrol generator when the station wasn't testing

The tide's turned

On 28th November, Eric Sullivan wishing for more reliable tendering, contacted Kees Romas of the Offshore Supply Company

A meeting was hurriedly set up in Holland with the Dutch parent Company Wijsmuller, for a fee of £150 per month their Offshore 1 would make two visits each month, already the Offshore 1 was tendering the Mi-Amigo, Radio Caroline & the Galaxy, Radio London

On the only occasion the Offshore 1 visited Sunk Head with the Tower Crew hidden beneath tarpaulins as it made Caroline's Mi-Amigo & Radio London's Galaxy

Drama struck on the unofficial trip, arriving at Sunk Head the Offshore 1 was dragged into one of the legs & became trapped, with the platform wedged between the vessels two masts

With pieces dropping onto the deck from the fort superstructure & the likelihood of being holed below the waterline from the remains of the submerged landing gantry, Kees Romas pushed the Offshore 1 full ahead snapping off the rear mast

Steaming back to Holland Kees was sacked by Wijsmuller, Eric Sullivan having declined to pay the then extortionate tendering sum to Wijsmuller made Rommers a direct offer to come & work for Radio Tower

A jubilant crew prepare to welcome visitors

A wage of £5 a day (£35 a week, £140 a month) was tabled & Romas agreed to work for Radio Tower, searching Holland for a suitable tender vessel he turned up the 69' iron built ex-Icelandic Trawler SS Maarje

The Maarje was taken through the waterways of Holland to Ijmuiden, & rebuilt at a said cost of 17,000 Guilders

Sailing back from Holland in thick fog the vessel berthed at Parkstone Quay, Harwich

Fooling about on the deck as the supply boat circles waiting for the swell to calm

Dave Simser waves his 10 gallon hat as the tender leaves

We continue to explore Sunk Head & find out what went wrong for the Television & Radio project on the Fort in Radio Tower - Part 3

Fantastic updates to your website, especially the Tower Radio series & the Sealand updates. I wish I had known about the"Three Forts Special" Boat Trip sooner as it really is the ideal one for me & I cannot get time to do it! Any chance of this one sailing in next years season? I know a few people who will be interested in sailing on the cruise

Best wishes & many thanks for a great website .... always look forward to the updates - Dave

The Radio Essex documentary is now available from the Offshore Shop

There are a few more sailings before the season closes this year, the 2007 will begin in April & we will be running a number of three Fort Specials, details will appear on the Boat Trips page

For a brief history on all the Thames Estuary Forts navigate from Fort Fax