Tributes paid to BFBS host Glen Mansell

BFBS Radio presenter and manager Glen Mansell has died after losing his battle with cancer at the age of 56.

Glen served as a Technician in the Royal Air Force, and then brought his love of radio to BFBS Cyprus in the 1980’s. His long career saw him on the air daily with many milestones shared with his audience.

When Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait in 1990, Glen was a part of the BFBS team broadcasting from Saudi Arabia, to British forces in the Gulf. And another 90’s conflict made Glen something of an iconic figure amongst the military community when he took ownership of “Calling the Balkans” on Sundays between 1994 and 2002, connecting friends and families with HM Forces serving in the former Yugoslavia. The show came from barracks and installations all over Germany, and from Balkans locations too.

In 2002 Glen moved to BFBS Radio 2, bringing a special blend of music, speech and current affairs knowledge.

Glen spent the last four years managing BFBS in the Falklands, still broadcasting a daily music sequence, before returning to the UK earlier this year.

Nicky Ness, Controller of BFBS: “Glen’s courage and determination is inspirational, his skill on-air something much admired by his colleagues, the voice of wisdom and a guiding influence within the organisation. He will be very sadly missed, but many stories, anecdotes and stand-out programmes live on in his legend. BFBS has lost a special colleague and an outstanding broadcaster, the forces audience a true friend.”