A group of sailing, folk music and old-time radio enthusiasts in the UK has put out the call for recordings of the BBC radio series The British Seafarer: A history in 26 parts in the words of those who have made the history. The documentary series was broadcast in 1980, 1981, and 1982, but has never been aired again.

The British Seafarer was composed and directed by Michael Mason, in collaboration with the National Maritime Museum. Mason debuted his popular approachable documentary style with a program about the Bayeux Tapestry and went on to produce such popular series as The Long March of Everyman and Plain Tales from the Raj.

The preservation group, “a loose collective of sailing and folk enthusiasts,” has noted that radio productions from our not-so-distant past are disappearing, and strives to search out recordings in private hands to make digitized copies that can be made available to libraries and interested enthusiasts. This is done on an amateur basis, using their own funds and computing equipment.

If you own a recording of an episode of The British Seafarers, please contact Mr. Chris Brady, who has been spreading the word of this latest project. If you know of someone who recorded BBC radio programs in the 1980s or collected recordings of them, please let them know of this appeal.