Darren and Jess have news about our latest BFBS podcast series “Near Death” and how it’s related to “Tea & Medals”. If you enjoyed the Michelle Goodman DFC episode you’ll want to hear this! Listen to the full series of Near Death here: https://open.spotify.com/show/6Z8fTmj6gJ7BRe93qHMGlA https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/near-death/id1712834196…

VF-17 is likely the most famous of all the US Navy squadrons. Their history started back with their deployment to the Solomon Islands in 1943 and participation in the campaigns around Bouganville and Rabul and continues to this day. This episode covers their time in the South Pacific as well as the trials involved in the use of the F4U Corsair as a…

A new podcast from the makers of Tea & Medals. Darren introduces Near Death... How do you come back from the brink? A close encounter with a body bag, an out of body experience or a fight through a wall of fire. Some people know what it’s like to come back from death’s door. Near Death is a brand-new podcast from BFBS Creative that explores some of…

Continuing the series of episodes on the Corsair and the fight for aerial supremacy in the Solomon Islands. In January 1944, the Japanese defenders at Rabul still had some fight in them. Robert Hanson, a 23 year old Marine Corsair pilot, would rack up an impressive string of victories in January, ending with 25 kills at the time of his death. This …

This episode covers Pappy’s time in the South Pacific, his command of VMF-214, The Blacksheep, and their run through the Solomons in late 1943 and early 1944, and finally his time as a prisoner of war. Initially two parts, I condensed it down cutting much of Pappy’s postwar life. If you’re interested in that, there are many books that cover that, i…

Part 1 on Greg "Pappy" Boyington. Before he led the world famous VMF-214 Blacksheep over the Solomons, Pappy Boyington was a broke, sometimes violent, drunk, about to get kicked out of the Marine Corps. He’s given a second chance when he joins the American Volunteer Group, the Flying Tigers. This episode covers Pappy’s early life and time before hi…

In a More Tea special Darren Coventry and Jess Bracey speak to medal expert Mark Smith about the medals on show at the funeral of Her Majesty the Queen on Monday 19th September. We also talk about whether the Queen's pallbearers are likely to receive a medal and look ahead to the Coronation of King Charles III.…

In 1962 Sergeant Eric Smith, a search and rescue winchman in the RAF, was called out alongside his crew to the French fishing trawler The Jeanne Gougy which had run aground on the Cornish coast. They spent hours above the sea in a Westland Whirlwind Mark 10 helicopter battling the conditions as Eric was winched down to the vessel to help those in t…

17th May 2000, Lungi Lol, Sierra Leone Sergeant Steve Heaney was deployed to Sierra Leone as part of a task force sent to evacuate foreign citizens caught up in the country’s civil war. The Revolutionary United Front, a murderous rebel group known for their brutality, were advancing towards the capital Freetown and Steve, along with the rest of his…

As we mark the 40th anniversary of the 1982 Falklands Conflict, we revisit our Tea & Medals episode with Keith Mills DSC. At just 22 years old Keith Mills, then a Lieutenant in the Royal Marines, was sent to the island of South Georgia to sort out an issue with some Argentinian scrap metal workers. The diplomatic incident turned into an assault whe…

1st Lt Kenneth Walsh was the first F4U Corsair ace and a pilot in VMF-124 during the Solomon Islands campaign. He would earn his Medal of Honor over the course of two missions in August of 1943 and finish the war with 21 victories. In addition to Ken Walsh and VMF-124, this episode covers the development of the F4U Corsair and the initial moves of …

28th May 1995 Gorazde, Bosnia Major Richard Westley and his company of Royal Welch Fusiliers were working as United Nations protection force troops, attempting to keep the peace in the hostilities that followed the break-up of the former Yugoslavia. Richard’s company of Fusiliers were protecting civilians in Gorazde, one of several Bosnian Muslim e…

In 1942 the island of Malta was awarded the George Cross by King George 6th to recognise the population’s bravery and defiance during the Second World War. They refused to surrender despite continuous bombardment by German and Italian forces throughout The Siege of Malta. As well as The George Cross, a number of civilians were also awarded the Geor…

15th April 1942, Valetta, Malta. Between 1940 and 1943 the combined air forces of Italy and Germany launched twenty-six thousand aerial sorties against Malta. The island was part of the British Empire at the time, but Germany and Italy wanted to take this perfectly placed strategic location in the middle of the Mediterranean for themselves. A susta…

Until recently, WO2 John Thompson was Britain’s most decorated Royal Marine Commando. He was mentioned in dispatches in recognition of his gallant and distinguished service in Iraq and later received the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross following a Taliban ambush in Afghanistan. In this bonus episode with Jess Bracey and Darren Coventry, Tommo explains …

10th January 2007, Helmand Province, Afghanistan. By the time Corporal John Thompson made his way to Afghanistan in 2006 for Operation Herrick 5, he had already been mentioned in despatches in recognition of his gallant and distinguished service in Iraq. But that wasn’t the end of his bravery. Three years later in Afghanistan a Taliban ambush saw h…

Tea & Medals is back for Series 2! But before we get stuck into more stories of gallantry and bravery, we find out more about our host Darren Coventry, whose military career spanned more than 1700 days on operation, including several tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq. Podcast producer Josella Waldron asks Darren about his connections to the sto…

Arriving just two days after John L. Smith and VMF-223, the pilots of the 67th Fighter Squadron quickly learned their P-400 Airacobras were woefully inadequate for the air to air mission. Unable to climb quickly or high enough to intercept the Japanese Zeros and Betty bombers, the P-39 variants were pressed into an air to ground role. From Septembe…

In part 5 of 5 in the Guadalcanal series, 1st Lt Jefferson DeBlanc of VMF-112 becomes the first Marine to achieve 5 victories on a single mission. This episode covers DeBlanc's combat experiences from November 1942 through January 1943, his Medal of Honor mission and recovery following his shootdown, as well as the conclusion of the Guadalcanal cam…

What drives the market for buying and selling medals? Is it an honourable desire to preserve history, or simply economics? In this episode, medal expert Mark Smith tells Darren about the keen medal collecting community, as well as the honours that can be bestowed by our allies.

1993 saw a big shake up to Britain’s military honours. A new look established equality across the ranks and a new medal filled a void in the hierarchy of gallantry. In this episode medal expert Mark Smith introduces Darren to the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross. They’re very rare, on account of the medal’s relative youth, and the circumstances for whic…

The George Cross is on par with the Victoria Cross in the table of Gallantry, so how do they differ? The answer may not be as straightforward as you think. In this episode, medal expert and military historian, Mark Smith, guides Darren through the subtle differences between these top tier awards, and provides the context to its institution by King …

More Distinguished Flying Crosses were issued in the Second World War than any other award. In this episode, medal expert Mark Smith introduces Darren to some of his favourite DFC recipients, from the aviators known as ‘The Few’. Their daring dogfights in the Battle of Britain secured air superiority over the German Luftwaffe, resulting in Adolf Hi…

When did Britain start awarding medals to women? At their introduction, Britain’s military honours were exclusively for men. In this bonus episode military historian Mark Smith introduces Darren to the trailblazing women of the Nursing Service, who did their duty with no medallic recognition, and reveals which campaign rang the changes.…

The First World War saw the advent of the Royal Air Force, and with a new service came more medals and tough decisions about who gets what. So how are those decisions made?In this bonus episode expert Mark Smith talks Darren through medal admin and the hoops that have to be jumped through before one can be awarded.…

The original statute for the Victoria Cross stated that the honour couldn’t be bestowed posthumously, but that’s not the case today. Public pressure led to the re-writing of the statute, all because of the actions of two young officers at Rorke’s Drift. Mark Smith tells Darren of their bravery in this bonus episode, and introduces a new medal to th…

3rd April 1982, South Georgia, South Atlantic.The Falklands War wasn’t just about the Falkland Islands. There’s another British Overseas Territory a thousand miles away which has its own story to tell about that particular conflict…And who better to tell it than Keith Mills, then a Lieutenant in the Royal Marines, who at just 22 years old was sent …

Queen Victoria wanted a new medal for her soldiers and sailors. It would be an award for the bravest of the brave, something that would only be presented to those who had shown extreme bravery in the face of the enemy.In this bonus episode Darren asks medals expert Mark Smith to tell him the story of the Victoria Cross.There’s also a preview of epi…

24th July, 2005, Al Bayaa District, near Baghdad, Iraq.Captain Pete Norton was used to dealing with explosives. By the time he deployed to Iraq he had spent more than 20 years working in bomb disposal. He was so well known for his cool head and unflappable nature he was given the nickname “Perfect Pete”.But one night investigating the scene of a de…

Queen Victoria was dismayed to discover there were no medals for those who fought for Britain in the Battle of Trafalgar or those who fought with the Duke of Wellington in the Peninsular.In fact, she was so unhappy, she invented two new medals herself.In this bonus episode Darren talks to medals expert Mark Smith about Queen Victoria’s important ro…

1st June 2007, Basra, Iraq.RAF Helicopter Pilot Flight Lieutenant Michelle Goodman and the rest of her Merlin crew were used to flying into dangerous places. They were part of an Incident Response Team (IRT) which picked up seriously injured soldiers and took them to hospital for treatment. But one night in Basra proved to be like no other when the…

Who invented medals? When did Britain start awarding them to soldiers? In this bonus episode Darren talks to medals expert Mark Smith about the beginnings of Britain's military honours system. There's also a sneak preview of episode two featuring the first female recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross.…

8th April 2004, Basra, Iraq. Corporal Chris “Barney” Balmforth wasn’t expecting any dramas as he and the rest of B Troop Queen’s Royal Hussars carried out their regular training and mentoring session at al- Jamiat police station. But when “something special” arrived in the back of a pick-up truck, everything changed. Chris recalls how one bizarre i…

What does it mean to be brave? So brave that you’re invited to Buckingham Palace to receive one of the UK’s highest military honours.Former soldier Darren Coventry talks to men and women who have done just that. He makes them a brew and they tell him the stories behind their medals, which are never quite as straightforward as they seem. Darren also…

Conclusion of Captain Joe Foss' story. Following their defeat in October, the Japanese gear up for another push to take Guadalcanal. The fate of the island will be decided over the course of several days of intense air and naval action from 12-15 November. Once again, the flyers of the Cactus Air Force will be in the thick of the action. Selected r…

On October 9th, 1942, VMF-121 arrived on Guadalcanal in the midst of a major Japanese offensive to take back the island. Over the next two weeks, Captain Joe Foss would rack up 16 of his eventual 26 aerial victories while surviving 2 shootdowns, a near death hypoxia event, and a battleship bombardment. This episode is Part 1 of 2 on Captain Foss an…

While not a Medal of Honor recipient, Marion Carl was twice decorated with the Navy Cross during a combat career that spanned Midway to Vietnam. This episode looks at the life of one of the Corps most accomplished aviators. Along the way, I’ll touch on the Marines at the Battle of Midway, Guadalcanal living conditions, the Coastwatchers, a test pil…

Major John L. Smith was the Commanding Officer of VMF-223, the first fighter squadron to operate off Henderson Field on Guadalcanal. Facing almost daily Japanese raids, 223 fought from the 20th of August, 1942 until relieved on the 13th of October, 1942. Major Smith would leave the island as the Corps leading ace with 19 kills and the Medal of Hono…

Part 4 of 4 on the B-17 Flying Fortress and the 8th Air Force. Brigadier General Frederick Castle was the commanding general of the 4th Combat Bomb Wing. On 24 December 1944 he led the 8th Air Force's largest strike of the war in support of ground forces fighting the Battle of the Bulge. Hit by enemy fighters, he would stay at the controls of the w…

The only fighter pilot to be awarded the Medal of Honor from the European Theater of Operations, Maj James Howard took on 30 plus Luftwaffe fighters while protecting 8th Air Force bombers over Oschersleben, Germany on January 11th, 1944. This episode covers the development of the P-51 Mustang, from it's beginnings as a British program to it's arriv…

Addendum to the 8th Air Force B-17 series, this episode covers the early history of 8th Air Force Fighter Command focused on the introduction of the P-47 Thunderbolt in 1943. Selected Readings: Wolfpack Warriors: The Story of World War IIs Most Successful Fighter Outfit by Roger Freeman Thunderbolt! The Extraordinary Story of a World War II Ace by …

Part 3 of 4 on the B-17 Flying Fortress and the 8th Air Force. 1st Lt William Lawley is the aircraft commander of a B-17G on February 20th, 1944, day 1 of "The Big Week". This episode takes us through the battle for air supremacy over Europe in late 1943/early 1944 including the Schweinfurt/Regensburg mission into the heart of Germany in August, th…

Part 2 of 4 on the B-17 Flying Fortress and the 8th Air Force. 1st Lt Jack Mathis was a bombardier with the 303rd Bomb Group killed in action on 18 March 1943. He was the first recipient of the Medal of Honor in the 8th Air Force and in the European Theater of Operations. This episode also covers Carl Norden and his Norden M-series bombsight, a cor…

Part 1 of 4 on the B-17 Flying Fortress and the 8th Air Force. Staff Sergeant Maynard Smith was a ball turret gunner and the first enlisted aircrewman to receive the Medal of Honor for a May 1st, 1943 mission to St Nazaire, France. This episode covers the development of the B-17 from the prototype Model 299 to the B-17F, the early days of the heavy…

This podcast covers the men and machines behind the Aviation Medals of Honor from World War 1 to Vietnam. This episode is just a brief introduction to my background as a Marine attack pilot and my intent with the podcast. I can be reached at: aviationmoh@gmail.com Semper Fi, Kelly "Beavis" Ramshur Recommended reading: Above and Beyond: The Aviation…

What can you say about Becky Adlington? An incredible inspiration that shot to fame in the Beijing Olympics 2008 winning double Gold in the 400m and 800m, breaking a 19 year old World Record in the latter event.Becky tells us how hard she worked and the determination she had to succeed - whilst always managing to keep her feet on the ground. I thin…

Karl's story is one you don't want to miss out on. He shows that you don't need to be a superstar at 15 years old to make it at the elite level. Karl played rugby at School but nothing serious and actually played football whilst at University in Coventry. It was when doing his PGCE in Bedford that he picked up a Rugby Ball again purely to keep fit …

I was lucky enough to watch Rhys Williams' career close up as I was at Loughborough University with him. Rhys has recently finished his career as an athlete when he hung up his spikes in June this year - but what a career it has been.The Cardiff AAC athlete and son of rugby union's JJ Williams has achieved the feat of becoming European Champion at …

Number 7 in our first season of Podcasts could only be my favourite number 7 of all time - Matt Le Tissier. I grew up watching incredible goal after incredible goal from this Southampton FC Legend. We talk about growing up on an Island and the importance of having older brothers to bring up his level. Listen to how Matt developed his talent through…