Robert Peacock is a recreational diver of some 50 years' experience, 40 of which have been spent studying the Goodwin Sands and its many wrecks of various descriptions. His explorations over and around the Sands inspired him to attain a master's degree in maritime archaeology to better advance his research activities and understand the nature, history and context of the vessels and artefacts discovered.

In this podcast he discusses issues around the identification and preservation of HMS Stirling Castle, a 1679 warship lost to the Sands in 1703 and rediscovered in 1979, the German Dornier 17 bomber raised in 2013 after 70 years submerged, and the Seehund midget submarine identified as U5377.

This is an interview conducted as part of the Goodwin Sands Oral History Project, a podcast series which speaks with those who have grown up within sight of the Sands, who make their living upon or around them, or who have been creatively inspired by the air of uncanny mystery they invoke. The Goodwin Sands are a pair of large sandbanks of the south-east Kent coast which offer both shelter and a dangerous hazard to unwary shipping or those caught in storms, and are the site of great historical importance and maritime archaeology.

This podcast project was undertaken as a response to an application to dredge the Goodwin Sands for aggregates and building materials to expand Dover Harbour, a proposition vehemently opposed by local residents and the Goodwin Sands Conservation Trust, who have created this podcast series. It is hoped that through hearing the voices of the people connected with the Sands their cultural status might be raised and further industrial interference might be avoided in the future.

Credits:

Presented and interview conducted by Joanna Thomson, co-founder of the Goodwin Sands Conservation Trust.

Production, editing, sound design, and music by Ben Horner.

For more about the Goodwin Sands Conservation Trust please see https://goodwinsands.org.uk/, and please see https://theaudiosphere.com for more on our producer.

Episode 11: John Nichols (part 2)

John Nichols is the chairman of Thanet Fisherman's Association, and Vice-Chairman of Kent and Essex Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority. He has spent his life as a commercial fisherman working out of Broadstairs, Ramsgate, Folkestone, Scarborough, and Whitby.

In this second part of the interview with John he discusses his work with Trinity House in the automation project to modernise the light vessels in the Channel and the North Sea, including those guarding the Goodwin Sands. He talks about his working relationship with the light vessel men and bartering supplies with them, and recounts a dramatic story illustrating just how hard it can be to change a (nautical) light bulb.

This interview was conducted as part of the Goodwin Sands Oral History Project, a podcast series which speaks with those who have grown up within sight of the Sands, who make their living upon or around them, or who have been creatively inspired by the air of uncanny mystery they invoke. The Goodwin Sands are a pair of large sandbanks of the south-east Kent coast which offer both shelter and a dangerous hazard to unwary shipping or those caught in storms, and are the site of great historical importance and maritime archaeology.

This podcast project was undertaken as a response to an application to dredge the Goodwin Sands for aggregates and building materials to expand Dover Harbour, a proposition vehemently opposed by local residents and the Goodwin Sands Conservation Trust, who have created this podcast series. It is hoped that through hearing the voices of the people connected with the Sands their cultural status might be raised and further industrial interference might be avoided in the future.

Credits:

Presented and interview conducted by Joanna Thomson, co-founder of the Goodwin Sands Conservation Trust.

Production, editing, and sound design by Ben Horner.

The music is "Relic #14" and "Mobius" by Silicon Transmitter, used under Creative Commons licence.

For more about the Goodwin Sands Conservation Trust please see https://goodwinsands.org.uk/, and please see https://theaudiosphere.com for more on our producer.

John Nichols is the chairman of Thanet Fisherman's Association, and Vice-Chairman of Kent and Essex Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority. He has spent his life as a commercial fisherman working out of Broadstairs, Ramsgate, Folkestone, Scarborough, and Whitby.

Here he talks about his childhood, as he puts it, "making a nuisance of himself" at Ramsgate harbour helping the boatmen moored there, building his own boat as an apprentice shipbuilder in Whitstable, and taking visitors on trips to the North Goodwin Light Vessel and the Goodwin Sands. He also mentions his part in the rescue of the Ross Revenge, Radio Caroline's broadcast ship.

This is part one of a two-part interview conducted as part of the Goodwin Sands Oral History Project, a podcast series which speaks with those who have grown up within sight of the Sands, who make their living upon or around them, or who have been creatively inspired by the air of uncanny mystery they invoke. The Goodwin Sands are a pair of large sandbanks of the south-east Kent coast which offer both shelter and a dangerous hazard to unwary shipping or those caught in storms, and are the site of great historical importance and maritime archaeology.

This podcast project was undertaken as a response to an application to dredge the Goodwin Sands for aggregates and building materials to expand Dover Harbour, a proposition vehemently opposed by local residents and the Goodwin Sands Conservation Trust, who have created this podcast series. It is hoped that through hearing the voices of the people connected with the Sands their cultural status might be raised and further industrial interference might be avoided in the future.

Credits:

Presented and interview conducted by Joanna Thomson, co-founder of the Goodwin Sands Conservation Trust.

Production, editing, sound design, and music by Ben Horner.

Additional music, "Magnetostriction" by Silicon Transmitter, used under Creative Commons licence.

For more about the Goodwin Sands Conservation Trust please see https://goodwinsands.org.uk/, and please see https://theaudiosphere.com for more on our producer.

David Skardon is a fisherman and boatman who grew up in Brewer Street in Deal in the 1940s and 50s, son of a fishmonger. As a child he would help the local boat owners wind their boats up to the beach on the winches for a penny and tuppence a week (a good wage given that Wagon Wheels were a ha'penny at the time).

David talks about his childhood on Deal beach and how it forged for him a life on the water, how at fourteen he was the youngest ever holder of a boating licence, why his grandfather's boat was seized, sawn in half and turned into two garden sheds, and how in 1978 he borrowed a tractor and outran the police with it in an effort to save the Deal boats from being smashed in a vicious winter storm.

This is an interview conducted as part of the Goodwin Sands Oral History Project, a podcast series which speaks with those who have grown up within sight of the Sands, who make their living upon or around them, or who have been creatively inspired by the air of uncanny mystery they invoke. The Goodwin Sands are a pair of large sandbanks of the south-east Kent coast which offer both shelter and a dangerous hazard to unwary shipping or those caught in storms, and are the site of great historical importance and maritime archaeology.

This podcast project was undertaken as a response to an application to dredge the Goodwin Sands for aggregates and building materials to expand Dover Harbour, a proposition vehemently opposed by local residents and the Goodwin Sands Conservation Trust, who have created this podcast series. It is hoped that through hearing the voices of the people connected with the Sands their cultural status might be raised and further industrial interference might be avoided in the future.

Credits:

Presented and interview conducted by Joanna Thomson, co-founder of the Goodwin Sands Conservation Trust.

Production, editing, sound design, and music by Ben Horner.

For more about the Goodwin Sands Conservation Trust please see https://goodwinsands.org.uk/, and please see https://theaudiosphere.com for more on our producer.

David Brocklehurst MBE is the chairman, historian and a volunteer at the Kent Battle of Britain Museum in Hawkinge near Folkestone. He began working at the museum aged just ten years and, after a short stint in civil engineering early in his career, took over running the museum full time when founder Mike Llewellyn stepped down due to ill health. Twenty-six RAF squadrons were posted to RAF Hawkinge at different times during the Second World War, but the museum focuses particularly on the 1940 conflict, paying tribute to the 2,938 pilots and aircrew known as The Few through a multitude of artefacts and exhibits both from the conflict itself as well as the 1969 film.

In this episode David talks about the Battle of Britain in relation to the Goodwin Sands – the German Dornier 17 bomber which was lifted from the Sands which is now held at RAF Cosford museum, the difficulties in identifying the planes that crashed on the Sands (sometimes due to the bureaucracy involved), and notable pilots for whom the Sands might be their final resting place.

This is an interview conducted as part of the Goodwin Sands Oral History Project, a podcast series which speaks with those who have grown up within sight of the Sands, who make their living upon or around them, or who have been creatively inspired by the air of uncanny mystery they invoke. The Goodwin Sands are a pair of large sandbanks of the south-east Kent coast which offer both shelter and a dangerous hazard to unwary shipping or those caught in storms, and are the site of great historical importance and maritime archaeology.

This podcast project was undertaken as a response to an application to dredge the Goodwin Sands for aggregates and building materials to expand Dover Harbour, a proposition vehemently opposed by local residents and the Goodwin Sands Conservation Trust, who have created this podcast series. It is hoped that through hearing the voices of the people connected with the Sands their cultural status might be raised and further industrial interference might be avoided in the future.

Credits:

Presented and interview conducted by Joanna Thomson, co-founder of the Goodwin Sands Conservation Trust.

Production, editing, sound design by Ben Horner.

The music is "Nebula Soundscape" by Universfield, used under Creative Commons licence.

Please visit the Battle of Britain Museum's website: https://www.kbobm.org/

For more about the Goodwin Sands Conservation Trust please see https://goodwinsands.org.uk/, and please see https://theaudiosphere.com for more on our producer.

Ian Goodban began his career with the Royal Navy and then worked as a hydrographic surveyor before becoming a teacher, publican, and member of the UK Coastguard. He spends many hours scouring the beaches adjacent to the Goodwin Sands for interesting items and historical artefacts as well as fishing and cockling. His experience and trained eye have led him to recover some amazing artefacts such as a whale jawbone, 300-year-old glass onion bottles (some even complete), and a Second World War Dornier aero propellor blade.

In this episode he discusses the techniques he uses when beachcombing (and how a lot of it is down to luck), the processes that must be followed when recovering items from the beach, and how items found on the beach can only ever tell part of their story.

This is an interview conducted as part of the Goodwin Sands Oral History Project, a podcast series which speaks with those who have grown up within sight of the Sands, who make their living upon or around them, or who have been creatively inspired by the air of uncanny mystery they invoke. The Goodwin Sands are a pair of large sandbanks of the south-east Kent coast which offer both shelter and a dangerous hazard to unwary shipping or those caught in storms, and are the site of great historical importance and maritime archaeology.

This podcast project was undertaken as a response to an application to dredge the Goodwin Sands for aggregates and building materials to expand Dover Harbour, a proposition vehemently opposed by local residents and the Goodwin Sands Conservation Trust, who have created this podcast series. It is hoped that through hearing the voices of the people connected with the Sands their cultural status might be raised and further industrial interference might be avoided in the future.

Credits:

Presented and interview conducted by Joanna Thomson, co-founder of the Goodwin Sands Conservation Trust.

Production, editing, sound design by Ben Horner.

The music is "She Comes Through the Fog" by Haunted Me, used under Creative Commons licence.

For more about the Goodwin Sands Conservation Trust please see https://goodwinsands.org.uk/, and please see https://theaudiosphere.com for more on our producer.

David Garrod had a 29-year career at the Post Office, four years of which were spent as a community relations officer. This role involved working with local charities around the country offering help and resources to raise funds for worthy causes.

Here he discusses working with the Goodwin Sands Potholing Club, a local charitable organisation which raises funds to support recreational activities for young people. In this case, with the help of volunteers, David set up a Post Office counter and postbox on the Sands and had the service officially allocate them a full UK address and postcode. Visitors to the temporary Post Office were able to purchase commemorative covers from the counter and send postcards and mail from the sandbank in the North Sea.

This is an interview conducted as part of the Goodwin Sands Oral History Project, a podcast series which speaks with those who have grown up within sight of the Sands, who make their living upon or around them, or who have been creatively inspired by the air of uncanny mystery they invoke. The Goodwin Sands are a pair of large sandbanks of the south-east Kent coast which offer both shelter and a dangerous hazard to unwary shipping or those caught in storms, and are the site of great historical importance and maritime archaeology.

This podcast project was undertaken as a response to an application to dredge the Goodwin Sands for aggregates and building materials to expand Dover Harbour, a proposition vehemently opposed by local residents and the Goodwin Sands Conservation Trust, who have created this podcast series. It is hoped that through hearing the voices of the people connected with the Sands their cultural status might be raised and further industrial interference might be avoided in the future.

Credits:

Presented and interview conducted by Joanna Thomson, co-founder of the Goodwin Sands Conservation Trust.

Production, editing, sound design by Ben Horner.

The music is "Free Floating" by Jon Shoemaker, used under Creative Commons licence.

For more about the Goodwin Sands Conservation Trust please see https://goodwinsands.org.uk/, and please see https://theaudiosphere.com for more on our producer.

Dan Sinclair is a handyman in Deal in Kent and is also a volunteer and helmsman for Walmer RNLI lifeboat station having joined nearly 20 years ago at the age of 18. Walmer RNLI station operates two classes of lifeboat, a D-class IB1 and a B-class Atlantic 85 rigid inflatable, and is the only remaining station of the three historical sites along this stretch of coastline (Kingsdown and North Deal being the others).

Dan discusses why he joined the service, the importance of teamwork as a lifeboatman, his commitment to education for those using the sea for commercial and leisure activities, and one particular rescue where he was alerted to a capsized vessel by a member of the public who was found knocking on the station door.

This is an interview conducted as part of the Goodwin Sands Oral History Project, a podcast series which speaks with those who have grown up within sight of the Sands, who make their living upon or around them, or who have been creatively inspired by the air of uncanny mystery they invoke. The Goodwin Sands are a pair of large sandbanks of the south-east Kent coast which offer both shelter and a dangerous hazard to unwary shipping or those caught in storms, and are the site of great historical importance and maritime archaeology.

This podcast project was undertaken as a response to an application to dredge the Goodwin Sands for aggregates and building materials to expand Dover Harbour, a proposition vehemently opposed by local residents and the Goodwin Sands Conservation Trust, who have created this podcast series. It is hoped that through hearing the voices of the people connected with the Sands their cultural status might be raised and further industrial interference might be avoided in the future.

Credits:

Presented and interview conducted by Joanna Thomson, co-founder of the Goodwin Sands Conservation Trust.

Production, editing, sound design by Ben Horner.

The music is "Relic #4 (Version 2)" by Silicon Transmitter, used under Creative Commons licence.

For more about the Goodwin Sands Conservation Trust please see https://goodwinsands.org.uk/, and please see https://theaudiosphere.com for more on our producer.

Episode 4: Colin Varrall

Colin Varrall works for South East Coast Ambulance Service and is an RNLI volunteer and local historian from Deal who has studied the many lifeboat stations along the south-east corner of Kent, many of which have now closed. The Walmer lifeboat station, of which Colin has been a member for 20 years, was established by the RNLI in 1856 after hundreds of years of local fishermen and boatmen independently coming to the aid of stranded sailors caught in bad weather or running aground on the Goodwin Sands.

In this interview Colin discusses his own personal career path and how he came to volunteer with the RNLI, the kinds of emergencies the Walmer lifeboat is called to attend, and some of the history surrounding the endeavour of saving lives off the Kent coast. He also talks about the work of the notable James Hall OBE, a Deal GP who took it upon himself to treat unwell soldiers and sailors moored off the coast in the natural anchorage of the Downs during the Second World War, visiting 280 ships and attending to over 700 patients in the course of his work there.

This is an interview conducted as part of the Goodwin Sands Oral History Project, a podcast series which speaks with those who have grown up within sight of the Sands, who make their living upon or around them, or who have been creatively inspired by the air of uncanny mystery they invoke. The Goodwin Sands are a pair of large sandbanks of the south-east Kent coast which offer both shelter and a dangerous hazard to unwary shipping or those caught in storms, and are the site of great historical importance and maritime archaeology.

This podcast project was undertaken as a response to an application to dredge the Goodwin Sands for aggregates and building materials to expand Dover Harbour, a proposition vehemently opposed by local residents and the Goodwin Sands Conservation Trust, who have created this podcast series. It is hoped that through hearing the voices of the people connected with the Sands their cultural status might be raised and further industrial interference might be avoided in the future.

Credits:

Presented and interview conducted by Joanna Thomson, co-founder of the Goodwin Sands Conservation Trust.

Production, editing, sound design and music by Ben Horner.

Additional music, "Through the Fog" by Maserpan, used under Creative Commons licence.

For more about the Goodwin Sands Conservation Trust please see https://goodwinsands.org.uk/, and please see https://theaudiosphere.com for more on our producer.

Tom Brown was a fisherman who in 1979, alongside a local marine archaeological group, discovered the wreck of the Stirling Castle, a 70-gun Royal Navy vessel built in 1679 and wrecked on the Goodwin Sands in 1703. He was a fisherman who operated along the Kent coast with his trawler Chilandra.

Here he describes discovering the wreck among a multitude of "fastenings" (seabed obstructions), the nature of the movement of the sands on the Goodwins which uncover and re-cover wrecks over time, and the historical practice of "huvelling" (plundering wrecked vessels and selling the spoils to visiting ships) which was a staple of the Deal boatmen's income from the 17th to the 19th Centuries.

Tom passed away shortly after this interview was conducted.

This is an interview conducted as part of the Goodwin Sands Oral History Project, a podcast series which speaks with those who have grown up within sight of the Sands, who make their living upon or around them, or who have been creatively inspired by the air of uncanny mystery they invoke. The Goodwin Sands are a pair of large sandbanks of the south-east Kent coast which offer both shelter and a dangerous hazard to unwary shipping or those caught in storms, and are the site of great historical importance and maritime archaeology.

This podcast project was undertaken as a response to an application to dredge the Goodwin Sands for aggregates and building materials to expand Dover Harbour, a proposition vehemently opposed by local residents and the Goodwin Sands Conservation Trust, who have created this podcast series. It is hoped that through hearing the voices of the people connected with the Sands their cultural status might be raised and further industrial interference might be avoided in the future.

Credits:

Presented and interview conducted by Joanna Thomson, co-founder of the Goodwin Sands Conservation Trust.

Production, editing, sound design and music by Ben Horner

For more about the Goodwin Sands Conservation Trust please see https://goodwinsands.org.uk/, and please see https://theaudiosphere.com for more on our producer.