Tribute to John Ross-Barnard
Following a short illness sadly John passed away in Coventry Hospital on Wednesday morning at 11am the 2nd November 2022
John was a massive fan of Free Radio and always reflected back to the best days of his career out on the Forts, this small tribute of photographs and audio clips is made in his memory
Issue: 3 Date: 1st December 2022
A youthful John Ross-Barnard
John, an early publicity photograph (1963)
Given to scratching the broadcasting itch John had secured a gig at BFBS, turning it down opting instead for a job as an announcer on an abandoned WWII Army Fort in the Thames Estuary
Red Sands Army Forts (1964)
Taking its name from the sign of Kent, Radio Invicta had set up on the Red Sands Forts 7 miles off the Whitstable coast, and 4 miles from the first station to operate from the Forts: Radio Sutch by then Radio City on Shivering Sands
Close up of station wavelength on the Searchlight Tower (1964)
Taken out on the fishing boat 'Mullard' F19 John joined a couple of days following the loss of Radio Invicta founder Tom Pepper (Harry Featherby) lost with two other staff when the stations Tender 'David' left the Fort but failed to reach port
Larry aka John makes an SOS (1964)
With seldom more than three aboard everyone took a turn behind the microphone, sometimes the same announcer would through the course of their shift change names; John used Larry Pannell, Peter Barraclough (pronounced Barclay) and Pete Ross, he said 'made us sound bigger than we were'!
Radio Invicta programmes were what was known in the day as 'middle-of-the-road' easy listening
Operating with a low power transmitter and poor antenna the station failed to gain advertisers or audience making the catalyst for change
Finding new backing Radio KING was launched to little fanfare, it again failed to cover operating costs
Red Sands Army Forts (1965)
Enter the mighty Radio 390, frowned upon by the pop stations Radio 390 'Eve the Magazine of the Air' was by far and away very successful, gaining large housewife targeted audiences
Diversifying to become more rounded, including specialist music genres and announced by some as the 'Britain's family station'
Radio 390 Announcers from late 1965 (Kent Messenger)
L-R: John Ross-Barnard, Sheldon Jay, Edward Cole, Mark Hammerton, Brian Cullingford, Paul Beresford, Peter James, with front Rob Randell
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1. Radio KING Announcement September 1965, 2. Radio 390 Morning Melody 1966, 3. Radio 390 Spotlight (Val Doonican) April 1966, 4. Radio 390 North a clip of unused launch tape June 1966, 5. Red Sands Radio July 2007
Details of the KING Announcement can be seen in Red Relics
The 'Laissez Faire' off the Essex Coast (1966)
When sacked by Radio 390 Managing Director Ted Allbeury John moved to Britain Radio/England as a Newsreader
'Swinging Radio England' hadn't appealed to a British audiences, along with sister station 'easy listening' Britain Radio sales weren't up to par
When outlawed and closed for being questionably within territorial limits Ted Allbeury took over and ran a re-branded Britain Radio as Radio 355 in a similar vein to the defunct Radio 390
Radio 355 was to be the last throw of the dice before the Marine Etc., Broadcasting (Offences) Act became law on 14th August 1967
John on Radio 355 (1967)
John on Radio 355 (1967)
John's BBC Publicity Photograph (1967)
Leaving radio John went to BBC TV as an Narrator, Announcer, Network Director (not many people know he was the voice of the Children's Play school 'Round Window)
New roles at the BBC included work as a News Producer, Assistant Editor and later Manager of Foreign Recordings and occasional News Reader on Radio 1 & 2
Retire not John he continued to work as CE at Thorn EMI/BT Coventry Cable, then CE at Satellite Media Services, and finally a spell as a Justice of the Peace
John on Radio London (2001)
Broadcasting from a PortaKabin on Clacton Pier covered the annual Air show
The first commemorative broadcast of Radio London was made from the 'Yoeman Rose' in 1997 marking the 30 anniversary of the 1960's station closing
The Red Sands Radio Forts
Red Sands Radio broadcast from the Towers in 2007 and 2008 then until 2014 from custom studios at Whitstable Habour
John on a panel at the Dutch Radio Day (June 2011)
Remembering 'The Forgotten Stations' that transmitted from the Offshore WW II Forts
John at the Red Sands Radio launch (Saturday 3th June 2012)
John & Lady Constance as he called his dear wife at Red Sands Radio Fort (2017)
Radar plot of Red Sands Army Forts (2011)
I've known John from our early Fort days, the harbour and of course Lawrence Bean. We never really met properly until he and Angela Bond were tasked to thin out the BBC Radio Medway record library, when I worked as a 'swing jock' and junior producer under Station Manager Harold Rogers. I was to assist take out duplicates, worn and tatty albums mostly destined for the tip, a few were bequeathed to me and are still in the library. Over the years I kept in touch with John and Connie, always charming and good company. Meeting at reunions and socials, John and I ventured out into the Estuary on a number of occasions for filming programmes on a variety of TV stations
John also helped behind the scenes with Red Sands Radio including making contributions to the programmes. I have a particular fond memory of one of John and Connie's visits to the coast, sitting in their luxury mobile camper on Tankerton slopes taking the air and imbibing rather a lot of red wine! as John would say 'Happy Daze' RiP old friend - Bob Le-Roi
Good luck trying to find archive material. John & I were friends with John, may he rest in peace - Sheila & John Garbutt
Produced with permission from John Ross-Barnard's family, with contributions from John's own archive, Fotoflite, Chris Edwards, Martin Stevens, Jerry Pitcher
Additional material from Fiona Ingram Fiona (Ross-Barnard), Beverley Hatchard (Ross-Barnard), & Niall Ross-Barnard