Radio enthusiasts make woman's return to island more memorable

Elsa Green, who left St Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean 62 years ago when she was a teenager, was ensured of a warm reception on her return to the island, thanks in part to the initiative of Newbury Weekly News chairman Jeremy Willis.
The newspaper’s managing director Adrian Martin mentioned in passing to Mr Willis - who is also the chairman of the Newbury and District Amateur Radio Society - that his mother-in-law – Mrs Green – was planning a return to St Helena.
The next day, as he attempted to tune in under unusual weather conditions, Mr Willis heard fellow amateur Bruce Salt appealing for radio stations in Europe.
Astonishingly, Mr Salt was transmitting from St Helena – 4,600 miles away.
Having established contact with Mr Willis, and aware of Mrs Green’s return to the island, Mr Salt said that her boat had arrived the same morning.
To help mark the occasion, Mr Salt contacted local community radio station Saint FM, which made contact with the Greens.
The station transmitted an in-depth interview with Mrs Green, her husband Ron and son Jeremy, having informed them of how their story had broken.
Commenting on the chain of events, Mr Willis said: “St Helena is a rare island to contact as there are only four active [amateur radio stations] on the island.
“It was one of those ‘Tony Hancock’ moments.”The chances of making radio contact with Mr Salt over such a distance were pretty slim and I am very grateful to him for making Mrs Green and her family’s visit such an occasion.”