RADIO VERONICA 1960-1974
The Norderney, a ghost ship?
Have a look at LINKS page 2 and you'll find out what this photo is all about.
On Links 2 also great photos from Lightvessel Borkum Riff 4 in Borkum harbour Germany.
Just imagine living in Holland early 1960 and tuning into either Radio Hilversum 1 or 2, state controled,
all talk, well maybe popular music for one hour every week. For those who wanted music all day long
AFN was the only alternative and at night Radio Luxemburg. Hard times for music lovers.
But all that changed on April 21 1960 as Hollands most popular radiostation started broadcasting music
all day long on 186 mtrs mediumwave from the former lightvessel Borkum Riff some 4 miles off the coast
of Scheveningen. 186 mtrs mw wasn't the right place to be so on May 19, 1960 Veronica was heard
on 192 mtrs medium wave, 2 kw of power. Radio Veronica's message was light and popular music, the
commercials paid the bills for the next 14 years. Programmes were recorded in landbased studios, the news
came live from the radioship. The station was an instant succes from day number one and loved by her
Dutch and Flemish listeners. Radio Veronica, your host on the coast, het station waar muziek in zit.
Lets have a look at the two ships Veronica used between April 21 1960 and August 31 1974.....
This is the German lightvessel Borkum Riff 3 in 1911, notice the central mast, 38 metres high, a radio
ship in 1911? Well in a way she was, connected to the mast was the aerial for wireless telegraphy on
300 mtrs medium wave and 600 metres long/medium wave. The ship was anchorred some 30 miles north
of the waddenisle Borkum. The crew onboard in 1911 couldn't have dreamed of the fact that between 1960
and 1964 their Borkum Riff was still on air but instead of morse tones she played the popular tunes of
the 60s
In 1925 the central mast was removed and replaced by a new lighttower. The aerial was now the T type
between the front and the backmast.
For those who can read German there is a superb book called Feuerschiff Borkum Riff by
Gregor Ulsamer. ISBN 3-8007-1648-8. Apart from the above two photos there are dozens of
other great photos from the 4 lightvessels called Borkum Riff and the full story of the ships, wireless
telegraphy and the coastalstation Nordeich Radio.
April 1960, new name, new mission.
One of Veronica's recording studio's early 60s in Hilversum.
Veronica used paneloperators, her deejays had an easy ride.
In November 1964 the days for this beautiful vessel were counted, she was to be replaced and her
final destination was a scrapyard in Zeebrugge Belgium. All that's left of the Borkum Riff 3 is the
ships bell, someone in Loosdrecht Holland is the lucky owner of this piece of history.
It's hard to imagine, but this is Radio Veronica's vessel number two, a North Sea trawler called
Paul J Muller, 44 mtrs long and built in 1949 at the Deutsche Werft AG Finkenwerder Germany.
Renamed Norderney in 1956 and rebuilt into a radioship in 1964 in Zaandam Holland. For this
purpose the ship's bridge and engine were removed and two wooden masts with a height of 25 mtrs
were built on the ship.
Fitted out with a T aerial and two 10 kw mediumwave transmitters, a more spacious studio to play
the programmetapes and a newsreaders studio, nothing reminds of her fishing days.
Paneloperator Adriaan Bouman in the Hilversum studios in the 70s. Cartmachines were now used
for commercials and jingles. Radio Veronica's paneloperators gave the station its specific and happy sound.
Sunset 4 miles off the Scheveningen coast in early 1973. The single wire T aerial now replaced by a
5 wire T aerial. Veronica moved from 192 mtrs mediumwave to 538 mtrs mediumwave on September
30 1972.
Where is the deejay?
The late Jose van Groningen, Veronicas transmitterengineer in front of one of the two Continental Electronic
10kw mediumwave transmitters onboard the Norderney.
During the summer of 1973 and 1974 I made several trips to the ship. A must for offshore radio anoraks.
This is as close as we got, no visitors allowed. The crew onboard threw potatoes, we threw flowers.
The Green box on deck is the aerial feed through. This photo also shows the sofisticated anchor system
used on the norderney.
During the summer months there was a Sunday afternoon liveprogram from the ship presented by deejays who
used to record their programmes on land. Jose van Groningen is paneloperating this program in the summer
of 1972.
I wonder who built this beautifull model of the Norderney.
One of the last trips I made to the Veronica vessel in the summer of 1974. Time was running out for
Radio Veronica.