GRANBY: The Storm in the Desert

A brand new podcast following former soldier and BFBS video producer, Darren Coventry as he talks to men and women who have received the UK’s highest military honours has been released.

How dangerous was it to fly a tornado in the skies above Kuwait?
What goes through your mind as you put a gas mask on in the desert?
How did it feel to be under permanent threat of a Scud missile attack?
Listen as the decision makers, military commanders and ordinary soldiers, sailors and airmen all reflect on their roles in the 1991 Gulf War, 30 years on.

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It’s August 1990. The Berlin Wall has fallen and the Cold War has come to an end. British troops stationed in Germany aren’t expecting to go into battle, but in five months’ time they will be involved in the biggest build-up of military hardware since the Second World War.
Listen as the decision makers, military commanders and ordinary soldiers, sailors and airmen all reflect on their roles in the 1991 Gulf War, 30 years on.
This is an original podcast series from BFBS.
Presented by Jade Callaway.
Produced by Jade Callaway and Jess Bracey
Sound design by Joe Carden
Edited by Josella Waldron
Sir John Major spoke to Laura Makin-Isherwood, Forces News
Major General Patrick Cordingley and Lord King spoke to Claire Sadler, Forces News
Archive:
Berlin 30: The Fall of the Wall (BFBS Radio 2019)
The Gulf War: How did the British Army Prepare (BFBS TV 1990)

Thousands of British troops are heading to the Gulf to fight Saddam Hussein’s forces.
But getting “desert ready” is no easy task when you’ve spent the 1980s preparing to defend Europe from Soviet invasion.
There are tanks to prepare, aircraft to paint, uniforms to buy and everyone needs to be vaccinated to protect them from diseases such as anthrax and bubonic plague.
On top of all that there’s a LOT of training to do.
Listen as the decision makers, military commanders and ordinary soldiers, sailors and airmen all reflect on their roles in the 1991 Gulf War, 30 years on.
This is an original podcast series from BFBS.
Presented by Jade Callaway.
Produced by Jade Callaway and Jess Bracey
Sound design by Joe Carden
Edited by Josella Waldron
With thanks to Tim Cooper, Emma Davies, James Hirst, Laura Makin-Isherwood and Claire Sadler at Forces News
Archive:
The Gulf War: How did the British Army Prepare (BFBS TV 1990)

Thousands of British troops are primed and ready to fight Saddam’s forces in the gulf.
The training is done and now it’s time to wait.
It’s a bit boring though, especially as smartphones haven’t been invented yet. So to lift morale they read their blueys from home, eat their NAAFI chocolate and tune in to their very own radio station.
Listen as the decision makers, military commanders and ordinary soldiers, sailors and airmen all reflect on their roles in the 1991 Gulf War, 30 years on.
This is an original podcast series from BFBS.
Presented by Jade Callaway.
Produced by Jade Callaway and Jess Bracey
Sound design by Joe Carden
Edited by Josella Waldron
With thanks to, Simon Guettier, Rory Higgins, BFBS Archivist Alan Grace and Claire Sadler at Forces News.
NAAFI By Land & Sea (Copyright Sue A Lowe)
Archive:
The Gulf War: How did the British Army Prepare (BFBS TV 1990)
The Prime Minister speaks to Forces Families in Germany (Simon and the Squad, BFBS Radio 1991)
Interview with John McCullough from the BFBS Archive
BFBS Announcer: Richard Astbury