Tom Christian
Radio Operator, "The Voice of Pitcairn" · 1935–2013
Who is Tom Christian?
Tom Christian MBE was born on 1 November 1935 on Pitcairn Island, a direct descendant of Fletcher Christian. At seventeen he traveled to New Zealand for three years of training as a radio operator, then returned home to become the island's chief, and for long stretches its only, radio operator, running station ZBP under the callsigns VP6TC and VR6TC from a small hut atop Spyglass Hill, Pitcairn's highest point. From the mid-1950s until his retirement in 2004, Christian served as the community's essential radio link to passing ships, medical evacuations, supply arrangements, and the wider world, a role that earned him the nickname "the voice of Pitcairn." He became one of the most recognized and sought-after contacts in the worldwide amateur radio hobby, profiled by National Geographic and People magazine, and for roughly forty years also served as the British Governor's appointed representative on the Pitcairn Island Council. He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1983 in recognition of his decades of service. Diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2009, Christian died on 7 July 2013 following complications from a stroke, remembered as the enduring bridge between Pitcairn's tiny, isolated community and the outside world.
Sources: The New York Times, obituary by Margalit Fox (2013) · The Telegraph, obituary (2013) · American Radio Relay League (ARRL), "Tom Christian, VP6TC/VR6TC, SK"