| DATE | EVENT | Relevant pages of Pirate Radio Hall of Fame |
| 11th JANUARY | Radio London's mv Galaxy washed inside the three mile limit in a gale. The station remains off the air until the ship can be towed back into international waters. | Press cutting Press cutting |
| 20th JANUARY | Radio Caroline South ship, mv Mi Amigo, washed up on Essex coast and badly damaged. Towed to Amsterdam for repairs. | The North Sea fights back Press cutting Rob Olthof's photos |
| JANUARY | Radio Essex becomes the first 24 hour station in Europe. | |
| 12th FEBRUARY | Radio Caroline South returns to air on reduced power from rented ship, the mv Cheeta II. | Caroline rides the Cheeta Press cutting |
| 13th FEBRUARY | Lifeboat attends Caroline South where DJ Graham Webb has been taken ill. | |
| 23rd FEBRUARY | Dunbar lifeboat called to assist Radio Scotland. The ship's engineer Dick Harvey is suffering from severe stomach pains. | |
| APRIL | Radio Scotland launches a monthly magazine. | The launch of 242 magazine. |
| APRIL | Radio Scotland's Comet is towed to a new west coast anchorage in the Firth of Clyde. | Leon Tipler's tape archive |
| 27th APRIL | After a couple of weeks of testing on various frequencies, Radio Caroline South returns to the air from the mv Mi Amigo. Now with a new 50 kilowatt transmitter, it is operating on 1187 kHz, referred to as “259 metres”. | The Admiral comes aboard Robbie Dale’s photos Keith Hampshire’s photos The Mi Amigo is back |
| 3rd MAY | Radio England and Britain Radio start test transmissions from the mv.Olga Patricia on 845Khz, 355 metres, and 1331 kHz, 227 metres, respectively. | Launch press release Press cutting Ron O'Quinn's photo album Radio England memories |
| 4th JUNE | Radio 270 starts test transmissions from mv.Oceaan 7 off Scarborough on 1115 kHz. Regular programmes commence on the 9th June. | Guy Hamilton’s photos Roger Scott’s photos David Sinclair’s photos Radio 270 Memories Leon Tipler's tape archive Hal Yorke’s photos |
| 18th / 19th JUNE | Swinging Radio England, on the 18th, and Britain Radio, on the 19th, begin regular transmissions. They have swapped frequencies. | Jack Curtiss’s memorabilia Radio England photos |
| 20th JUNE | Shivering Sands fort is taken over by raiders and Radio City is silenced. | Radio City raid |
| 21st JUNE | City owner Reg Calvert is shot dead by Major Oliver Smedley, former chairman of Radio Atlanta. | Press cuttings |
| 26th JUNE | The boarding party leaves Shivering Sands. At 10pm Radio City returns to the air. | |
| AUGUST | Three offshore DJs accompany The Beatles on a tour of the United States. | The Beatles' final US tour |
| AUGUST | The Dutch station Radio Veronica moves to a new ship, mv Norderney. | |
| 20th SEPTEMBER | Caroline North DJ Mick Luvzit gets married live on air. | George Hare’s documents Mick Luvzit’s photos Manfred Sommer’s scrapbook |
| 21st SEPTEMBER | Radio 390 is prosecuted under the Wireless Telegraphy Act for broadcasting inside the UK territorial limit. | Press cutting |
| 28th SEPTEMBER | Radio Essex faces a similar charge. | Press cutting |
| 31st OCTOBER | Radio Caroline North starts evening test broadcasts on 1169 kHz, referred to as “259 metres”. The normal daytime shows continue on “199”. | |
| 13th NOVEMBER | Radio England closes down. It is replaced by the Dutch language station Radio Dolfijn. | Look Boden's photos |
| 25th NOVEMBER | Radio 390 is fined £100 in a Kent court and closes down. | Press cutting |
| 30th NOVEMBER | Radio Essex is fined £100 in an Essex court. It files an appeal and carries on broadcasting under a new name, Station BBMS (“Britain's Better Music Station”) | |
| 11th DECEMBER | Radio Scotland receives a summons for broadcasting inside territorial waters. | |
| 13th DECEMBER | Radio 390 loses its appeal. | |
| 18th DECEMBER | Radio Caroline North changes frequency. It is now broadcasting on 1169 kHz, “259 metres”. | Nick Bailey's photos Tony Prince's photos Bob Read's photo |
| 25th DECEMBER | Station BBMS closes down and never returns to the air. The equipment is moved to another fort, Roughs Tower, but not used again. | |
| 31st DECEMBER | 11.30pm: Radio 390 returns to the air after conducting a survey which indicates that its fort is outside the territorial limit. | Press cuttings |
| DATE | EVENT | Relevant pages of Pirate Radio Hall of Fame |
| 17th JANUARY | Station BBMS loses its appeal. | |
| 9th FEBRUARY | Radio City is fined £100 in Rochford Magistrates Court. The station closes down at midnight. | Radio City Story City mast dismantled Press cuttings |
| 22nd FEBRUARY | Radio 390 is back in court. It is found guilty but appeals and continues on air. | Peter Berkeley's photo album Graham Gill’s photos & script Roger Scott’s photos David Sinclair’s photos |
| 28th FEBRUARY | Britain Radio closes down following part of the aerial mast lost in a storm. | |
| 11th MARCH | Peir Vick Ltd., the sales company of Radio Dolfijn and Britain Radio, goes into voluntary liquidation owing more than £100,000. | Press cuttings |
| 13th MARCH | Radio Scotland is fined £80 for broadcasting inside the three mile limit. Station goes off the air until the ship can be moved to a new position. | Press cuttings |
| 15th MARCH | Radio 355 replaces Britain Radio. | Tom Collins’s photos Martin Kayne’s photo North Sea boat trip The Radio 355 Story |
| 1st APRIL | April Fool's Day broadcast from Radio London as “Radio East Anglia”. | Radio East Anglia |
| 8th APRIL | Radio Scotland (and Ireland) returns to the air from a new anchorage off Ballywalter, Northern Ireland. After three weeks, the ship returns to Scotland. | Press cuttings |
| 8th MAY | Radio Scotland drops anchor in a new position off Fife Ness. | Ben Healy’s memorabilia Radio Scotland DJ photos Voyages of Radio Scotland |
| 3rd JULY | Singer José Feliciano performs live on Radio 355. Later a knife-wielding crew-member has to be restrained and removed from the ship. | José Feliciano on Radio 355 |
| 28th JULY | Radio London announces it will close on 14th.August. 5.10pm: Radio 390 closes down, after losing its appeal. |
Closing the pages of Eve Press cuttings |
| 5th AUGUST | 12 midnight: Radio 355 closes down. | |
| 14th AUGUST | 3pm: Radio London closes down. 12 midnight: Marine Offences Act becomes law. Radios 270 and Scotland close down. Only the two Caroline ships remain on the air off Britain. |
No Man Will Ever Forget Press cuttings More press cuttings The Comet in harbour Morris Brown's photos Robbie Dale correspondence Carl Mitchell’s papers |
| 21st AUGUST | Sunk Head fort, previously used by Radio Tower, is blown up by a team of Royal Engineers. | Press cutting |
| 1st SEPTEMBER | The Marine Offences Act is extended to cover the Isle of Man under an Order in Council. Caroline North continues. | Martin Kayne’s Caroline photo Jason Wolfe’s photos Mike Wright’s photos |
| DATE | EVENT | Relevant pages of Pirate Radio Hall of Fame |
| 2nd MARCH | After closing down at 10pm, the Caroline North ship is boarded. | |
| 3rd MARCH | 5.20am: Caroline South is put off the air in the middle of a record by a similar boarding party. The two ships are towed to Holland by the tugs Titan and Utrecht. | Caroline towed away Press cuttings George Hare’s documents Rob Olthof’s photos Manfred Sommer’s scrapbook Chris Vermeulen’s photos |
These dates have come from a number of reference books, including From International
Waters by Mike Leonard, Offshore Radio by Gerry Bishop,
Pirate Radio Then And Now by Stuart Henry and Mike Von Joel,
Pop Went The Pirates by Keith Skues, and
When Pirates Ruled The Waves by Paul Harris. The books do not always agree. If you spot any mistakes,
please get in touch.
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