Podcasts & Specials

Mission Motorsport

05/03/2024

Listen to interesting stories from those that fought in conflicts around the world.

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Returning for its 5th year and set against the backdrop of the iconic Silverstone racetrack, the National Transition Event held by the charity Mission Motorsport is an annual Armed Forces community movement; a coming-together of service leavers, veterans and family members that features the UK’s largest Armed Forces transition event and the Troops’ Track Day.

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The Polar Preet Adventure

03/01/2024
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Listen again as BFBS chats with Polar Preet about her adventure to the South Pole - we find out about the highs and lows, her future plans PLUS find out if she broke the world record!

Photo: Credit Preet Chandi

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Serving on the Equator

24/11/2023
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The British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK), is one of the most ‘exotic’ postings available in the British Army.

BATUK’s main training hub is at Niyati Barracks in the town of Nanyuki, 2,000m above sea level and on the equator.

Mario Chrisostomou’s been finding out what life (and work) is like for the service personnel and their families there.

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Dame Kelly Holmes

20/11/2023
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Double gold Olympic medallist Dame Kelly Holmes has opened up about hiding her sexuality for more than 30 years in her new book.

‘Unique – A Memoir’. In this BFBS interview with presenter Amy Casey, Dame Kelly also shares her thoughts following the UK Government's apology to LGBT veterans and of bringing change.

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Journey of Remembrance

10/11/2023
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As we look ahead to Remembrance this weekend we are reflecting on different monuments and memorials across the forces world to reflect on the sacrifices and stories of service men, women and communities.

From Aldershot to Bahrain, Benson, Cyprus and a statue you'd see on your daily commute in London, they all hold a special meaning to remember those before us.

Series produced and presented by: Jess Bracey, Hayley Hammond, Natasha Reneaux, Tamsin Robson and Joe Carden.

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Serving on the Thin Blue Line

22/09/2023
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Jess Bracey goes behind the scenes with Thames Valley Police as we hear from military veterans about what life has been like since leaving service and putting on a different uniform.

From front-line action dealing with crime and mental health, this is an operation with a difference and no two days are the same.

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An interview with Luke Turner

06/07/2023
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James Wharton speaks with Luke Turner, the author of Men at War. The book looks beyond the increasingly retrogressive and jingoistic ideal of a Britain that never was to recognise men of war as creatures of love, fear, hope and desire. From writers, filmmakers, artists and ordinary men – including those in his own family – Turner assembles a broad cast of characters to bring the war to life.

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75 years of the NHS

05/07/2023
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As BFBS reflects on 75 years of the NHS, we wanted to explore the close relationship between medical units in the Armed Forces and the NHS.

Amy Casey caught up with some members of a highly skilled minority: healthcare professionals who give up their spare time as RAF Medical Services Reservists. Somehow, she managed to fit into the hectic schedules of the following selfless individuals:

Sgt Diane Allebone, Intensive Care Unit Nurse / HRR CCAST

Sgt Jayne Lum Kin, Emergency Medicine Nurse

Cpl Mash Banks, Primary Healthcare Nurse

Flt Lt Suki Sira, Pharmacist

FS 'Wilf’ Williams, MERT Paramedic

They let us know where these adjacent worlds of work overlap and shared lessons they've taken from the front line to the NHS.

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An interview with Elaine Chambers

09/06/2023
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Forced Out tells the important story of the men and women who were dishonourably discharged from the UK Armed Forces, simply for being gay, who dared to take on the military establishment and to fight for the ‘gay ban’ to be overturned. 

Natasha Reneaux chats with Elaine Chambers, a former army nurse who had to resign from the military in the 80s.

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Hidden Ink

11/04/2023
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To mark world tattoo day, Anthony Ballard from BFBS has been speaking to people about the stories behind their military ink.

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30 Commando

27/03/2023
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Have you been tracking Exercise Joint Viking? It's the huge exercise in arctic operations base in Norway which has seen the UK join with 20,000 Norwegian and allied troops.

Amy Casey from BFBS has been finding out more about it with Sgt Mat Sidders - Media Ops with 30 Commando - Royal Marines who talks what they've been up to in Norway!

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What are Chaplains?

14/02/2023
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Wing Commander (Reverend) Weir & Squadron Leader (Imam) Omar, deployed on operations, spoke to Amy Casey on BFBS Radio about their role in supporting personnel in the UK & deployed.

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Operation Cabrit in Estonia

23/12/2022
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Mario and Jess from BFBS were out in Estonia to spread festive cheer amongst the Enhanced Forward Presence - the main Battlegroup in the Baltic's at the moment being King's Royal Hussars.

Listen as they meet with the chefs, PTI, Commander of the EFP, Tank Commanders, Ambassador to Estonia, and take a wonder round the Christmas markets with the troops.

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Children of Belsen

31/08/2021
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Misty McCready presents this unique documentary recalling the memories of young inmates at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp during the Second World War. The programme includes interviews with survivors of the camp, poignant archive audio, and first-hand accounts written in 1945. You’ll hear interviews with survivors Rudi Oppenheimer and Miryam Sommerfeld. Bernard Levy, a British soldier who arrived approximately one week after the liberation, also shares his story. BBC archive audio featuring Richard Dimbleby, the first reporter into Belsen post-liberation, and Harold-Osmond le Druillenec, the only British National found in the camp, set the documentary in raw historical context. This programme was made to mark the 70th anniversary of the camp’s liberation in 1945. Produced by Dave Roberts and Misty McCready, ‘Children of Belsen’ won two trophies at the 2016 New York Festivals Radio Awards and was a winner at the 2015 AIBs (Association for International Broadcasting).

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Faith in the Forces

02/08/2021
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The programme, presented by Tim Humphries, features Christian, Muslim and Buddhist chaplains and explores the pastoral and practical support they bring to service personnel, at home, overseas and on ops. We also hear the views of secularists and Humanists, as well as those of soldiers, sailors and airmen, reflecting on what the concept of faith means to them. Throughout, we’re asking, does faith matter?
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For Queer & Country

31/10/2020
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Men and women who are lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and trans-gender talk about their experiences while serving in the UK armed forces. Some decided to keep their sexuality hidden, while others have come out. Some talk about how they were forced to give up the job they loved because they were found out. This programme was originally broadcast in February 2019, for LGBTQ History Month.

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Runnymede Memorial: Virtual Commemoration Service

18/05/2020
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Every year the RAF holds a remembrance service for the 20 thousand Commonwealth airmen and women who lost their lives in the Second World War and have no known grave. Sadly, due to the COVID 19 emergency, the full service couldn’t happen in 2020. Instead, a ‘Virtual Service’ took place at the Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede in Surrey. The service was led by Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Mike Wigston and conducted by Deputy Chaplain in Chief of the Royal Air Force, Group Captain the Reverend Dr Giles Legood Photo Credit: MOD/Crown Copyright/ SAC Beth Roberts

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VE Day 75 Sound Stories

07/05/2020
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In 1944 the Allied Forces reinvaded mainland Europe. It was a hard fought but important victory in the fight to free the world from the threat of tyranny. But what happened next? It took 11 months to get from D-Day to a final victory in Europe. In this original programme, BFBS counts down to VE Day on May 8th 1945. Hear the story through original archive recordings of the events after the Normandy landings to the end of the war in Europe. Narrated by Mark Chadwick. Written and produced by Andrew Wright.
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Life After Service

03/03/2020
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Inspirational stories about life on Civvy Street. Promoting positive stories about the achievements of former servicemen and women. Veterans do some pretty remarkable things in civilian life and here you can listen to just a few of them. ‘Life After Service’ is our campaign to tell some of the many fantastic stories of what ex-servicemen and women go on to achieve with their lives and careers after leaving the armed forces. Media reports of veteran unemployment and mental health issues are only a very small part of a much more positive and bigger story—as you will discover in this podcast.

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Berlin 30: Fall of the Wall

11/11/2019
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Jamie Gordon was a trainee presenter at BFBS Berlin in 1989.  This is his personal account of what happened on the night of the 9th of November when the Berlin Wall came down.   In this programme, made to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the event, Jamie returns to Berlin and speaks to former servicemen and BFBS colleagues who were stationed in the city at the time. You’ll hear about what it was like for British Forces serving in this divided city and how servicemen and women bore witness to this incredible moment in history at the end of the Cold War. You’ll also hear some recordings from our archive.  These were some of the first English speaking news reports from the city and as a result were in huge demand throughout the world.   Whether you were there or following the news from elsewhere, or are entirely new to this story, this special programme captures the atmosphere of a unique time in the 20th century. Produced by Hal Stewart and Jamie Gordon, ‘Berlin 30: Fall of the Wall’ is a finalist at the New York Festivals Radio Awards 2020
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From mud through blood to the green fields beyond

05/11/2019
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Jason Herbert explains how a special unit consisting of mechanics, technicians, plumbers and even circus trapeze artists were brought together to break the stalemate of the First World War. What they did would revolutionise warfare for the modern age. They came up with the idea of the tank. Hear about the development of the tank, the people who built and crewed it and the meticulous preparation that led to the Battle of Cambrai.
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