
David served in
the British Army from 1968 until 2001 (with a break between
1993 and 1997) leaving at the rank of captain. He has
been involved in the radio industry in a variety of ways
since his teens. His first effort was at weekends in 1969
as a member of the team that launched London’s most
famous “Pirate” radio station, Radio Jackie.
In 1979, whilst serving in the army he produced (as a volunteer)
features for Radio 210 in Reading, Berkshire.
1982 saw him working as a volunteer for the British Forces
Broadcasting Service (BFBS) at their studios in Bielefeld
in Germany.

In late 1988 David contracted severe Guillain-Barre
Syndrome whilst serving in Germany and was sent back
to the UK where he spent the next year coping with the disability
and recovering and rehabilitating at RAF
Headley Court
in Surrey.
On his return to work in 1990 David planned and produced
coverage of the Junior Army’s 5-week mountaineering
expedition to Ecuador.

Coverage included daily “Live” reports from
over 21,000ft in the Ecuadorian Andes to Radio 210. Achieving
at that time the record for the highest outside broadcast
without the use of Oxygen
To see images of the Ecuador Expedition CLICK
HERE.
1992 saw David
undertaking his first Restricted Service License (RSL) “Punch
FM”, REME Radio, from Arborfield Garrison the first
military radio station in the UK and the precursor to Garrison
Radio operated on behalf of the UK MOD.
At the end of 1992 David was freelancing and producing the
weekday breakfast show for “Two Ten FM” in Reading,
weekend magazine shows with BBC Radio Surrey and project
production with BFBS London.
A contract position
with BFBS London during 1993 and 94 allowed David to devise,
manage and produce worldwide broadcasting for BFBS from
the “Royal Tournament” held at London’s
Earls Court, as well as producing and presenting the BFBS
World-wide sequence show “Late from London”
5 nights a week, where he interviewed high profile celebrity
guests.
He
also found time to present the weekend Breakfast sequence
on High Wycombes new radio station elevenseventy AM.
David
also produced the BFBS 50th anniversary outside broadcast
that covered some 4,000 miles over a 42-day period and delivered
daily reports back to the UK from locations that BFBS had
broadcast from during the allied advance into Southern Europe
IN 1944. The outside broadcast also broadcast BFBS programming
LIVE on FM temporarily to UK troops of the UNPROFOR in Split
(Croatia), Omis (Croatia) and those UK Troops who were serving
in the Front Line of operational service in Tomislavgrad
(Bosnia).
To see images of the BFBS station in Split CLICK
HERE.
To see images of the Route to Tomislavgrad CLICK
HERE.
To see images of the BFBS Airmobile Radio station
CLICK HERE.
In early 1995 David’s idea for Garrison Radio resulted
in him launching two BFBS stations broadcasting simultaneously
to Bordon and Tidworth garrisons using, once again, Restricted
Service Licenses. At the end of the year David left the
UK to spend 7 months as the Assistant Station Manager and
Breakfast Presenter with BFBS Falkland Islands.
On
return to the UK in mid 1996 David joined the commercial
arm of BFBS to manage Show FM, a mobile radio station broadcasting
to large, high profile outdoor events across the UK using
Restricted Service Licenses. David also became part of the
team to fight for the licence for the East Anglian Fenlands
and presented the Breakfast Show during two of the teams
trial broadcasts.
BFBS ceased its
commercial operations in 1997. Together with two businessmen
in Reading, David established Oracle Broadcasting Limited
as a company providing small scale broadcasting solutions
to potential commercial radio operators and to hopefully
win and operate the second commercial radio service for
Greater Reading.
He
therefore became the Station Manager and Programme Organiser
for Reading 107 a trial ILR station to Reading, Berkshire,
both in 1997 and 1998, using Restricted Service Licenses.
In January 1998
Oracle Broadcasting planned, organised and managed COLD
FM the British Forces Troop Information station broadcasting
for 6 weeks to the ACE Mobile Force in Norway.
In
mid 1998 David planned, organised and managed KIDDZ FM a
Restricted Service Licence youth broadcasting station operated
for young people and presented by a team of presenters and
producers aged 12-18. The station also supported Reading
Borough Councils annual Children’s Festival and was
regarded as a resounding success.
In
September 1998 David left Oracle Broadcasting for service
with the Territorial Army in Bosnia and Herzegovina where
he launched Oksigen FM the first truly multi-cultural youth
radio station in post war Bosnia, broadcasting 24/7/365,
training and managing a team of 14 local presenters in professional
western broadcast techniques and standards.

In April 2001, David persuaded DJ Boy George to volunteer
to come to Bosnia for the first visit by an International
DJ to the country since the war of the 1990's. This multi-cultural
event drew a crowd of thousands from all across the ethnic
divide and beyond.
Oksigen made significant inroads in promoting tolerance
across the multi ethnic divide in Bosnia and Herzegovina
and was viewed as the premier choice of listening for young
Bosnians across the North-West of the country.
In 2002, David left the army and became a UK Government
Information Officer staying in Bosnia
and whilst developing Oksigen FM, stimulated the establishment
of a multi-cultural website that operated outside the confines
of the International Community.
Bosnia Express grows from day to day and is
now a registered youth NGO of which David is a co-founder.
In mid 2005 David had developed Oksigen FM to a position
where it was able to transition from being under International
Community control into the local Bosnian media landscape.
In effect the local team took over all aspects of operation.
David
has in the past been a stringer on Bosnian issues for London
stations LBC 97.3 and LBC 1152AM,
Independent Radio News (IRN), BBC local Radio, BFBS, Today
FM (Dublin) and Global Radio News.
as well as reporting for the national Canadian CBC TV “News
morning” Programme.
In
October 2005 David joined the Canadian Forces, as a consultant,
with the brief to develop broadcasting solutions for Information
Operations that support Canadian troops deploying into conflict
and post conflict areas of the world.
The first solution is Rana FM, a station to support the
Canadian mission in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Rana
FM is achieving considerable success in it's first year
of operation.

David produces and presents regular Podcasts and Vidcasts
from his studio in Kingston, Ontario.
David
was awarded “The Queen’s Commendation for Valuable
Service” (QCVS) in the 1999 operational awards for
services to broadcasting in the former Yugoslavia
and
in the 2002 operational awards was admitted as
a Member of the British Empire (MBE) Military Division by
Her Majesty The Queen for bringing divided “post conflict
communities” together.
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