A look behind the scenes at the Ross Revenge

Stepping on board the Ross Revenge which is being restored at Tilbury docks in Essex by the Caroline Support group, you’re in an enthusiast’s dream

Along the corridor we’re taken past a tiny room which we’re told was where the news came from.

Then it’s up a steep staircase to the studios.

Black and white photos of some of the station’s most well known DJs are on the wall of the compact room where shows came from in the 1980s until the vessel ran aground on the Goodwin Sands in 1991.

The turntables, reel to reels and cart machines take you back to an era of radio before it went digital.

There may not be anyone behind the microphone today but those who are lovingly restoring this ship hope one day they will be broadcasting regularly from here once again.

This was Radio Caroline’s home from 1983 after a three year gap following the sinking of the Mi Amigo.With a 300 ft mast it made a wonderful statement that Radio Caroline had returned bigger and better.

There are no CDs in the music library here. Hundreds of vinyl records line the shelves and they look well used, dating back to Caroline’s early days of the 1960s.

These days Radio Caroline can be heard across the world via the internet, with DJs broadcasting from a studio on land but the dream is to put the ship back on air on AM.

They want a permanent AM channel serving Essex. On the day we were filming, engineers were busy installing a new, donated 100ft mast on the ship’s deck.

The affection for Radio Caroline lives on and those who are involved in it do so because they love it.

As the 50th anniversary of its first broadcast is celebrated, the message is clear that Radio Caroline is by no means over.