Tea & Medals

By BFBS RadioHistory

Tea & Medals episodes

March 25, 2022 John Thompson CGC: Royal Marine Gun Battle
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 his company of Royal Marines fight for their lives in a gun battle lasting four hours.
John tells Darren about what it was like to fight the Taliban deep inside enemy territory and how his actions lead to him receiving the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross. When John completed his military service, he was officially Britain’s most highly decorated Royal Marine.
Contributors:
John Thompson CGC, Ads Lison
Presented by Darren Coventry
Written and produced by Darren Coventry and Josella Waldron
Edited by Andy Prada
Sound Design by Terry Wilson
Original Music by Will Farmer
Executive Producer Alex Griffiths
47 min
March 21, 2022 Meet the Host: Former British Army WO2 Darren Coventry
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 stories, with a look back at Series 1 and a look ahead to Series 2.

33 min
September 29, 2021 More Tea: Investing in History
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.
6 min
September 15, 2021 More Tea: New Bling for the 90s
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 which they can be awarded. Nevertheless, Mark has a remarkable story of a deserving recipient.
8 min
September 01, 2021 More Tea: For Gallantry
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 George VI in 1940.
7 min
August 18, 2021 More Tea: Many Medals for The Few
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 Hitler abandoning his plans for an invasion on British soil.
6 min
August 04, 2021 More Tea: Gongs for the Girls
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.
10 min
July 21, 2021 More Tea: Meeting the Standard
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.
7 min
July 07, 2021 More Tea: The Gap Filler
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 the mix, the Military Cross.
9 min
June 30, 2021 Keith Mills DSC: South Georgia Invasion
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 to the tiny island of South Georgia to sort out a problem with some Argentinian scrap metal workers.
What started out as a diplomatic incident soon became a full Argentinian assault and Keith was forced to lead his detachment of 22 commandos in a battle that was impossible to win.
Darren Coventry talks to Keith about the difficult decisions he made that day, along with former Royal Marines Bob Ashton and Steve Holding who witnessed the bravery that would lead to him receiving the Distinguished Service Cross.
Contributors:
Keith Mills DSC
Bob Ashton
Steve Holding
With thanks to Falklands Radio for the use of their archive recording of Governor Rex Hunt.
Credits:
Presented by Darren Coventry
Written and produced by Josella Waldron and Simon Thornton
Edited by Andy Prada
Sound Design by Mark Pittam
Original Music by Will Farmer
Executive Producer Alex Griffiths
53 min