A RADIO DJ from Bicester will be helping to raise money to keep the show on air by presenting six special shows.

Martin Kinch, along with Mark Withey, will be celebrating 70 years of official UK charts to raise money for the Stoke Mandeville Hospital Radio, which is run by volunteers for the hospital in Aylesbury.

Monday, November 14 this year will mark 70 years since the first UK singles chart was published by the New Musical Express in 1952, and the very first number one was Al Martino’s ‘Here in my heart’ which remained in the top position for nine weeks.

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Mr Kinch joined the Hospital Radio station in January 1979 just a few weeks after the station was first launched and presents an oldie show every Monday evening at 6pm.

He said: “When I first started, the only way people could hear us was through plastic tubes coming out of the wall in the wards, now, thanks to years of fundraising and hard work by our dedicated team we broadcast on 101.8 FM and also online, we also have our own app which can be downloaded onto phones and tablets.

“Stoke Mandeville Hospital Radio is a registered charity so as well as celebrating 70 years of the UK single charts we also want to raise much needed funds to help keep the station on air.

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“There is a ‘Donate’ button on our website where people contribute.”

To donate visit: smhr.co.uk

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Read more from this author

This story was written by Gee Harland. She joined the team in 2022 as a senior multimedia reporter.

Gee covers Wallingford, Wantage and Didcot.

Get in touch with her by emailing: Gee.harland@newsquest.co.uk

Follow her on Twitter @Geeharland

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