ROBIN ADCROFT
Robin Adcroft worked as a DJ and technician for Radio Caroline from 1973. He later worked as 'Robin Banks' (not the later DJ of the same name) with Radio Northsea International and the Voice of Peace. His post offshore radio career saw him installing transmitting equipment for TV stations in different parts of the world. Robin passed away after a tough fight against cancer on 16th September 2018.
TONY ALLAN
For many of us, the consumate broadcaster. Tony joined the station in 1972 and remained with us throughout the 70’s. He returned to the station in 2001 following his diagnosis of Cancer. Throughout his final few years he spent much of his time both on air and on our radio ship. He died on 9th July 2004.
DON ALLEN
Born in Winnipeg, Canada, on 8th March 1939, Don worked on both Caroline South and, more famously, Caroline North where he stayed until March 1968. He later worked for Manx Radio, BBC Radio Merseyside and Radio Northsea International. During the eighties he worked on a number of stations in Ireland. Don died on May 13th 1995, the result of a fatal heart attack.
MIKE AHERN
Mike Ahern was originally the mid morning man on Caroline North, presenting the same show on Caroline South from 1965. After leaving us he was part of the original team on Radio One making just one programme before moving to Australian radio, where he enjoyed a long career. He returned to the UK in 1988 and worked for several commercial stations. Mike died of Cancer in October 2009 aged 67.
JOHN ASTON (JOHN HATT)
John was with Radio Caroline North as a newsreader and occasional DJ and later served on the South ship. He'd formerly worked for King Radio, Radio 390 and Radio Essex. In later life he worked in the film industry as a voice-over man. A victim to both Alzheimer's Disease and pneumonia, John passed away on 29th December 2017, aged 74.
BEN BODE
Ben and future Radio Monique owner Fred Bolland got Caroline back on-air in 1979 by supplying much needed financial aid. After Mi Amigo sank Ben and others attempted to launch Radio Paradijs from the ex-coaster Magda Maria. But a raid by Dutch authorities killed the project. Ben ran a very successful jingles and production company in The Hague, and passed away aged 66 in January 2022.
CHRIS CARY (HERB OSCAR ANDERSON/SPANGLES MULDOON)
He joined just as the British Government brought in the act which tried to force the station off the air. He broadcast under two names; Herb Oscar Anderson and Spangles Muldoon. After Caroline he had a hugely successful career as a business man and broadcaster. Following a stroke he died on 29 February 2008.
PETER CLARK (PETER TAIT)
For many broadcasters Radio Caroline was the first step on the broadcast ladder. However, Peter Tait had clocked up many hours on air within British radio before he joined us for a few months in 1983, changing his name to Peter Clark at the same time. The victim of a brain tumour, Peter died in September 2002.
ROBBIE DALE
'The Admiral' was born Robbie Robison in Littleborough, Lancashire in 1940. As a Caroline DJ he will always be remembered for staying aboard Mi Amigo as the Marine Broadcasting Offences Act came into effect in August 1967, along with Johnnie Walker and Ross Brown. He passed away at the age of 81 at his home in Lanzarote on 1st September 2021 after suffering with dementia.
JONATHAN DAY
A student exchange programme brought Jonathan to Oxford University and, before returning to America, he worked with Caroline between May and August 1976. As a News professional he worked for NBC’s London office before returning to New York with both FOX 5 and then Dateline NBC where he was a Producer. He died in a boating accident in New York Harbour on September 7th 1998.
DAVE “THE FISH” TURNER
During our many years as an offshore radio station, we used the services of fishermen who were willing to ferry crew and supplies to our radio ships. One of the legendary fishermen was a character we knew as “Fish”. The stories involving his bravery could fill a website, he took many risks in order to keep the station alive but sadly died on October 14th/15th 2007.
SIMON DEE
The first disc jockey ever on Radio Caroline and as much a part of the swinging sixties as Mary Quant and Carnaby Street. After Caroline he enjoyed success as a TV presenter, a mention of the show's title Dee Time is enough to send many people hurtling back to those days. Following treatment for bone cancer, Simon died on August 29th 2009.
GAVIN FORD
Gavin showed interest in radio as a young schoolboy in Gloucestershire. He spent hours in his bedroom making radio shows that nobody ever heard.
He went on to study at the National Broadcasting School under Michael Bukht (AKA 'The Crafty Cook') before joining The Voice of Peace off the coast of Israel in autumn 1986 (shipmates at the time included Mike Darby, Tim Shepherd and Chris Pearson). After leaving the VoP, he spent some time presenting the overnight show on DevonAir Radio.
He joined Radio Caroline in November 1989, presenting the breakfast show among others and staying aboard the Ross Revenge for a few months.
After his time in the North Sea, Gavin went on to work for Contact 94 in Lessay, France, Galaxy Radio in Bristol and Napa Radio in Cyprus before heading to Beirut. There he hosted a popular breakfast show on Lebanon's Radio 1 since 1995.
On Tuesday 27th November 2018, Gavin was found dead in his apartment on the outskirts of Beirut. He'd been murdered two days after his 53rd birthday.
GRAHAM GILL
Born in Melbourne, Australia in 1936 Graham cut his teeth as a teenager on Aussie Radio before travelling to London in 1965 and ended up briefly presenting for Big L before transferring to Britain Radio/Radio England. After those stations closed he moved to Holland and worked for both Radio Caroline, Radio North Sea International and later for Radio Netherlands. Graham passed away in his sleep aged 82 on 9th April 2018.
JIM GORDON
When the British government tried to outlaw our station in 1967, Jim joined Radio Caroline North before a career as a TV continuity announcer under his real name of Guy Blackmore. He continued in radio and TV in his native Australia and passed away on Christmas Day 1995, another victim of cancer.
HERMAN DE GRAAF
One of our Dutch colleagues from the late 1970’s when we also broadcast a separate service aimed at Holland and Belgium. Herman died in the 80’s.
SAMANTHA DUBOIS
Nobody who ever listened to one of her programmes will ever forget her. She was brought up in New Zealand and Holland, a combination which produced her unique accent. Most of her broadcasting was during the 70’s, her first broadcast was in 1973, although she did return during the 80’s. In 1977 she was prosecuted by the Dutch authorities for her involvement with Caroline. She died in New Zealand on October 2nd 1992.
KEN EVANS
Ken came from Australia to work for Radio Atlanta becoming Programme Manager as well as later Radio Caroline South, Radio Luxembourg and BBC Radio 2. He passed away in late 2013.
TOM HARDY (BRIAN JOHNSON)
Too young for the 60s offshore stations, Tom made his way into radio via Abe Nathan's Voice of Peace before joining Radio Caroline in on Mi Amigo in 1978. After the ship sank in 1980 he worked for number of Irish land based pirates before taking up a number of jobs with both Irish and UK commercial stations. Tom passed away in Dublin hospital aged 67 on 2nd March 2022 after suffering a heart attack.
“CAPTAIN HARRIS”
Listeners to Caroline during the last part of 1979 and the first part of 1980 may well recall on air mentions of our Belgian crew member “Captain” Harris. Although not actually a captain, Harris would entertain us with stories of his life at sea. A fisherman by trade, it is believed he was aboard the Hosanna when she was lost at sea. Last contact with the vessel was on February 14th 1980. No bodies have ever been found.
ANDY HOWARD
Some of the largely unsung heroes at radio stations are the engineers. Andy worked with us during the 80’s when we were at sea on Ross Revenge, our radio ship. He did appear on air too, using names like Bilbo Baggins, Roland Butter and Maurice D’Anser. On Christmas Eve 2008 he suffered a massive blood clot in his brain from which he never recovered.
KENNY JAMES (PAGE)
On the 23rd of June 1976 Jimmy James, a new Scots voice, appeared on Caroline, within a week or so he dropped “Jimmy” and became “Kenny James”, followed by Kenny Page. Following his summer stint with us he enjoyed a long career both in the middle east and in his native Scotland. After a long illness, he died on July 30th 2002.
ROB LEIGHTON
Hugely popular with our listeners, Rob was a real music man. Championing many bands and musicians, he is sorely missed by his loyal army of fans. A gentle man who always saw the good in everybody, he remains an inspiration to us all; very few listeners were aware that Rob suffered from Crohns disease. He passed away on January 17th 2008.
TOM LODGE
One of Caroline's original 1960's DJ's, Tom will forever be remembered for his broadcasts from the radio-ship Caroline/Fredericia when she upped anchor and made her way around the south coast and up through the Irish Sea on the way to a new anchorage at the Isle of Man in 1964 to become Radio Caroline North. He passed away in California on 25th March 2012.
MICK LUVZIT
A Canadian by birth, Mick broadcast on a number of North American stations before heading to Europe where he joined Radio Caroline North in 1966. He famously married Janet Terrett, the sister of fellow Caroline DJ Ray Teret, live on air in September 1966. Mick sadly passed away in Canada from heart failure on 8th December 2012, aged 70.
CARL MITCHELL
The big voiced 21 year old American came to Europe to avoid being drafted into the Vietnam War. He ended up joining Radio Caroline in November 1967, despite having no radio experience! Remembered by his listeners for his nick name “the weird beard”. He passed away in New York in 1991 after a long illness.
PHIL MITCHELL
Phil had been involved with the landbased pirate radio scene in London before making his Caroline debut on June 14th 1975. In those days we broadcast from a ship in the North Sea and it was illegal for British citizens to work for the station, Phil was stopped and questioned by the authorities in the summer of 1975. He suffered a stroke in 2004 and died on March 25th 2008.
MARTIN NEWTON
Martin was an engineer with Caroline in 1964 working on both our South and North stations. He left the following year to join rival Radio London before working in the field of studio installation. He died from cancer on 8th December 2002.
AD ROBERTS
Ad started as a technician for Radio Mi Amigo and later presented for Radio Monique, Radio 558, Radio 819 and Radio Caroline amongst others. Ad died at the age of 62 on 8th April 2018 in his hometown Beverwijk in the Netherlands.
JIM ROSS (DIMITRIOUS JAMES CONTARATOS)
Jim and his wife Maria were crewing the Ross Revenge when she broke her moorings in severe weather on Christmas Eve 1998 and grounded on the wreckage of the HMS Bulwark in the Medway. Jim later presented on-air during the station's digital-only era before pulling out due to ill health in 2013. Although Jim had suffered a brain tumor for a number of years he passed away in March of that year during heart bypass surgery.
STEVE SCOTT (CANHAM)
Peckham born Steve co-presented the
PAUL SHELTON (CONVILLE)
Paul went out to the Ross Revenge in the mid eighties to help build a mast, but ended up as a presenter. Back on land he blended back into ordinary life where horses and gambling were his passions. In 2014 Paul became suddenly and seriously ill. After a brief respite he caught Pneumonia and passed away on New Years Day 2015 aged 51.
PHILIP SOLOMON
Philip was a Director of Radio Caroline in the 1960's. He was also known for his management of The Bachelors, Them, David McWilliams and Twinkle and for his record label Major Minor Records. Philip died in April 2011 aged 86.
MARTIN SMITH
Martin was our Sunday morning breakfast presenter when our studios were based at the Vinters Park TV Studio. He left in 2005 and later joined Radio Seagull. Martin passed away in November 2020, a victim of the Covid-19 pandemic.
CRISPIAN ST. JOHN/JAY JACKSON
Remembered for his deep voice and elongated vowels, not to mention his habit of calling everybody he met “Shag”. He enjoyed two very separate stints with us, first of all in 1972 and then in the early 80’s when he re-joined and set up “The Radio Caroline Department Of News And Public Affairs”. He sadly died on July 17th 2002.
CLIVE THOMAS
Clive first heard Caroline in the 1960's at home in Swansea. It had a lasting effect but it wasn't until 2006 when he took early retirement from his job with the Performing Rights Society that he was able to join us. “I sent my application to Radio Caroline in 1964 - it just took a long time to process”, he once proudly said. A victim of both heart problems and cancer, Clive died in August 2009.
PETER VAN DAM (NIJDENS)
A Flemish presenter (born in Germany as Peter Nijdens), he worked on Radio Mi Amigo firstly under the name Peter Brian and later as Peter Van Dam. He passed away in January 2018 at Kapellebrug, The Netherlands aged 65 after a long illness.
TOM VAN DER VELDE
Tom was part of our Dutch language service in 1979 and 1980. His professionalism on air belied his young age. Tom died in England on May 11th 2011 aged 53.
JOOP VERHOOF
One of the Dutch broadcasters who graced our station in the early 1970’s, Joop later transferred to our Dutch sister station Radio Mi Amigo. When the Dutch government introduced legislation designed to stop us broadcasting from their coastline and using their country as an administrative base, he moved to Spain to record his programmes. He died of cancer on the 18th of July 2002.
MIKE WALL-GARLAND
For a short time in the 1970’s we broadcast under the name of Radio Seagull. Michael Wall-Garland was one of the broadcasters. Famed mainly for his poetry reading, he became known as Mike The Poet. When he left the station he became an ambassadorial chauffeur. On December 17th 1975 in Alassio, Italy, he met an untimely death in a car crash.
JEROEN WOELWATER
Jeroen Woelwater, with Caroline in 1979, died from a heart attack in January 2012. Following his time with us he went on to a long and succesful career in the Dutch media world using the name Jeroen Soer.
PETER ZONNEVELD
Another of our Dutch colleagues from the early 70’s and our days at sea. Our good friend Hans Knott remembers that in 1973 during the tv sports show Studio Sport on Dutch tv, the presenter told the viewers that he had a special message for the people onboard Radio Caroline; Peter Zonneveld had become a father! Remember there were no mobile phones in those days so his family decided to ring the NOS as they knew football was watched every Sunday on the ship. A few months later Peter died in a car crash.