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Just after Easter 1965, on Tuesday 20th April, the Wijsmuller tug Offshore I was carrying out its regular duties, servicing Radio Caroline South and Radio London. Caroline's ship, the mv Mi Amigo, was the first port of call. Disc-jockeys returning from their shore leave were dropped off and the tender continued on its way to the Galaxy, Radio London's vessel.
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Meanwhile overhead, an American pilot was flying a Voodoo fighter aircraft. Based in France he was on a training mission
when he was forced to eject at near supersonic speed. The ejection fractured his shoulder and damaged his knee. Dazed,
light-headed and on the verge of losing consciousness, he guided his parachute towards the small ships he could see
way down below him. The North Sea in April can be pretty inhospitable but, fortunately for First Lieutenant John
C. Wynn, the tender was in the right place at the right time. Radio London DJs Pete Brady
and Dave Dennis were on their way back to the Galaxy. They saw the parachuting airman descend into
the water. The tender changed course to pick him up. The press reported that Pete jumped into the sea to help him on board
- which was not strictly true - but the two DJs did assist in getting him onto the tender. The exhausted pilot
was then taken to the radio ship to dry off. He was given warm clothes and a drink. And, of course, the station did not
hesitate in relaying full details of the drama to their listeners.
Having swapped crew at the Galaxy, the Offshore I then returned to the Mi Amigo. The Radio London DJs going on leave
(Dave Cash, Kenny Everett and Earl
Richmond) were joined by their Caroline counterparts (Garry Kemp,
Doug Kerr and Keith Martin) and the tender headed back for
land with the injured pilot. An ambulance was waiting on the quayside and John Wynn was rushed to the hospital at USAF
Bentwaters in Suffolk, a very lucky man.
Tony Windsor reporting the news at 4.30pm that day. The clip is from the CD The London
Sound produced by Hans Knot and released by Stichting Media
Communicatie (duration 1 minute)
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Radio London was not the only radio station to get in on the excitement that day. An air-sea rescue helicopter was launched to pick up the pilot and headed out to sea. Someone must have heard that he was on board a pirate station but got its name wrong because the helicopter landed on Radio City's fort. This caused some alarm to the occupants. Once everything had been explained though they too could not wait to inform their audience.
A breathless Radio City DJ reports on why an air-sea rescue helicopter has just landed on the roof of their fort. The
clip is from the CD The London Sound produced by Hans Knot and released by Stichting Media Communicatie (duration 2 minutes 46 seconds)The rescue of the pilot received a lot of publicity on land, which was particularly helpful to Radio
London who had only been on the air for a few months and only been broadcasting on full power for a matter of weeks.
What delighted the writer of this memo, right, was that the station was not described on the BBC news as a “pop pirate”.
It seemed that, in a very short time, Radio London had already become an accepted part of the established media. It is
thought that the author of the memo is John Dienn, alias DJ Earl Richmond, writing to his colleague Paul
Kaye.
Following the rescue, Radio London received a letter of thanks from the Governor of Texas, John Wynn's home state, and
Programme Director Ben Toney was made an Admiral in the Texas navy!
A couple of years later John C recorded a message of thanks that was broadcast on Radio London. It has been sent to
The Pirate Radio Hall Of Fame by correspondent Hans Stieper. Hans says he thinks it was
recorded as part of the “fight for free radio” campaign that was in full swing during 1967.
John C. Wynn telling the story of how he came to land in the North Sea and thanking those responsible for saving his life.
Recording kindly donated by Hans Stieper (duration 1 minute 59 seconds)
