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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Episode Eleven: In this episode we hear stories from Engineers of the New Zealand Army who served in Italy. The Engineers performed a myriad of important tasks that kept the Army moving forward, from building bridges over rivers and canals were previous bridges had been blown by the retreating Germans; to mine laying and mine clearing; to building …

In this Courage And Valour “Extra” episode Dave Homewood has a brief chat with artist Kay de Latour, who is the daughter of Italian Campaign veteran Eric de Latour. She lives very near to Cassino in Italy where her father fought, and she’s very involved with keeping the memory of the war veterans there alive through her art, her Legato exhibitions,…

In this episode of Courage And Valour, the veterans of the New Zealand Infantry Battalions talk frankly about the life of an infantry soldier in the front lines, and behind the lines, in WWII, both in Egypt and in Italy. This is a collection of memories, reminiscences and anecdotes from those men who were there at the sharp end. The detailed accoun…

This episode covers the New Zealand Infantrymen of the 2nd NZ Division who had been sitting for months at the Senio River. We follow their story as they break out north in the spring offensive, rolling north up through the top of Italy all the way to Trieste, where the war ended. But the kiwis found themselves facing another very potential enemy in…

Following the victory in taking the vital city of Florence from the Germans, the New Zealand Division rested and re-equipped at Impoli for a short period. They also took on reinforcements here. Then when ready again for action the Div moved back east across the Appenines to rejoin the fight. Now they were formed into the Canadian Corps, with their …

In this Courage And Valour “Extra” we hear the vivid memories of 24 Battalion soldier Pat Green recalling not only his first battle but his first wound in battle too, in the first battle of El Alamein in September 1942. This story is pieced together from several memories that came out over several recordings, but show how strong they remain in Pat’…

The Rubicon is an important river in Italian history, and during the Italian Campaign the 2nd New Zealand Division found themselves in battle to cross the Rubicon, on their way north towards Florence. In this mini-episode we hear from two 21 Battalion mates, Ted “Bluey” Homewood and Charlie Honeycombe, remembering the battles around that area. Dura…

In this episode we hear from a reinforcement joining the fight, and we follow the New Zealand infantry as they move northwards up through Italy towards the important city of Florence. They encounter the formidable Paula Line, a series of defences around Florence that included the stronghold villages of San Michele and La Romola. Featuring in order …

In this episode we continue with the story of the New Zealand infantrymen after they were moved out of Cassino township, following the battle and stalemate they’d endured there. Following a brief respite to recover, they were moved into the mountains to the Belvedere-Terelle line, where they were to push the Germans out of the area around the villa…

In this episode pick up the story continuing on from episode four, joining the kiwi veterans again just following the massive bombing and artillery barrage that flattened the ancient town of Cassino in March 1944. When the dust settled and night fell the infantry of the 2nd New Zealand division was ordered to move up into the rubble that had been t…

In Episode Four of Courage And Valour, we hear from veterans of the 2nd NZ Division who fought in the campaign at Cassino. This town was considered the gateway to Rome, if the Allies could take it they would open up the road (Route 6) and the railway link all the way to Italy’s capital city. The Allies needed to capture Cassino, the Germans needed …

In this third episode in the Courage And Valour series we hear from veterans of the New Zealand Infantry remembering their part in the battles to take the German regional headquarters and the nearby village of Castel Frentano, and their attempt to also capture the stronghold village of Orsogna. As well as battling the Germans, these kiwi troops had…

Episode Two: In this episode we hear veterans talking about the New Zealand Division’s preparations in Egypt, for the impending invasion of Italy, and then their arrival on Italian soil. They tell of the further training near Taranto and Bari and then moving up to the front line, where the 2nd NZ Division went into action, crossing the freezing and…

Episode One: In this first episode we hear veterans of the New Zealand Army remembering the days when they first joined up, and their training at home, their garrison duties and courses undertaken, and all that went into preparing them for war later in Italy Featuring: Jack Cumming (22 Battalion) Pat Green (24 Battalion) Norm Harris (24 Battalion) …