Aboard the Galaxy this week

According to my 1966 diary, Monday, June 20th was designated Kenny Everett Orange Juice Day. I also noted that Dave Dennis and Kenny Everett were "having a riot at about 8.45." Unfortunately, I added no further enlightenment about either of these events!

However, in an event that made the national news, the station had been invaded on June 19th by 4 students dressed as frogmen! 32 students set out at midnight in a flotila of small boats to take over the Galaxy and broadcast from Radio London, as part of a rag week charity stunt. They swore that the intended raid had been meticulously planned, but only four of them made it to the ship. They managed to climb aboard, but rather than 'taking it over' they were sent packing.

When the students' 'meticulous' plans went badly wrong , it resulted in a very busy night for the Walton Lifeboat crew, who also had to rescue two Swedish crew members from Caroline's temporary ship Cheeta ll. They had been out fishing in a small boat when the steering failed and they started drifting. With the fishermen safe, the lifeboat went out again and rescued four members of the student raiding party and their vessel 'Bags of Wind'. Despite the night of mishaps, the students threatened to return.

The students are named in the EADT feature as Ross Forsyth of Maidstone, Tony Cobb of Barnes, Peter Roberts and Phil Willimot. If any of you, organiser Robert Bucke, or anyone else involved in the raid are reading this, we'd love to hear your account of events of the night of Sunday June 19th 1966.

(Daily Mail clipping courtesy of Hans Knot)

Daily Mirror clipping courtesy of Mike Barraclough	East Anglian Daily News clipping, courtesy of Brian Nichol, Felixstowe and Offshore Radio Facebook group. Click to see a legible version.