Garrison FM was a network of radio stations in the United Kingdom serving

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

bases around the country between 2001 and 2013. The stations broadcast a mixture of music, news, and chat, their emphasis being to bring news of military-related issues to soldiers and their families, as well as the wider public in general. The stations' licences were taken over by the

British Forces Broadcasting Service The British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides radio and television programmes for His Majesty's Armed Forces, and their dependents worldwide. Editorial control is independent of the Ministry of Defence and the armed forces themsel ...

in 2013.

History

The network was founded in 2001 by former

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

disc jockey Mark Page, and came into being after an Army Communications initiative to establish a radio service for its troops in the UK. With a remit to provide news and entertainment to soldiers and their families, the station also enabled those posted on active service to stay in contact with their families. Garrison FM expanded to serve several military bases, including Catterick, Aldershot, Edinburgh and Colchester. On 26 January 2012, Garrison FM switched on two more transmitters in Inverness, making the city the second in Scotland to receive the service after Edinburgh. In 2012, the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

requested tenders for a ten-year contract to provide forces' broadcasting both at home and overseas. The contract was awarded to BFBS, the overseas incumbent, which from March 2013 took over all six Garrison stations, adding them to the four it already ran in Northern Ireland. BFBS continues to operate the six stations as part of their UK Bases network.

References

External links

Official website
archived in March 2013 British Army mass media Radio stations established in 2001 Defunct radio stations in the United Kingdom {{UK-radio-station-stub