The Reluctant Hero

Life Changing

BBC

Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.6 • 735 Ratings

🗓️ 28 May 2025

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Husband and father, Larry O’Brien, loved the freedom his job as a long-distance lorry driver gave him. But on March 6th 1987, that freedom was almost lost in the horror of the Zeebrugge ferry disaster, in which almost 200 people lost their lives. Larry – who could not swim – risked his own life to pull 30 people to safety. Almost 40 years later, Larry tells Dr Sian Williams why he never felt like a hero, how he came to terms with what happened, and why – after a career change into local politics – he decided to return to the road. Producer: Tom Alban

Transcript

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0:00.0	Before you listen to this BBC podcast, I'd like to introduce myself.
0:03.7	My name's Stevie Middleton and I'm a BBC Commissioner for a load of sport podcasts.
0:08.4	I'm lucky to do that at the BBC because I get to work with leading journalists, experienced
0:12.2	pundits and the biggest sports stars.
0:14.3	Together we bring you untold stories and fascinating insights straight from the player's mouths.
0:19.1	But the best thing about doing this at the BBC
0:21.6	is our unique access to the sporting world. What that means is that we can bring you podcasts that
0:27.3	create a real connection to dedicated sports fans across the UK. So if you like this podcast,
0:33.0	head over to BBC Sounds where you'll find plenty more. BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.
0:40.7	You're about to listen to the latest series of life-changing.
0:44.6	Episodes will be released weekly wherever you get your podcasts,
0:48.4	but if you're in the UK, you can listen to the latest episodes first on BBC Sounds.
1:02.7	Hello. The job of a journalist is to hear from those who are caught up in events that most watch from a distance.
1:08.5	When the story is over, it might fade from our collective consciousness. Some stay.
1:14.5	One of those is a disaster that happened nearly 40 years ago when I was a young reporter.
1:20.5	If I say the name, The Herald of Free Enterprise, I bet a number of you will remember it too.
1:26.2	It was the name of a ferry which capsized after water flooded through its open bow doors,
1:29.5	killing nearly 200 passengers and crew.
1:35.4	As in all horrific news stories, though, there are moments when those caught in extraordinary circumstances rise to the occasion and perform an act of astonishing selflessness.
1:42.3	My guest is one of those people. He's Larry O'Brien, a lorry driver who was on that ferry on the night of March 6, 1987, as it headed out from the Belgian port of Zabrugger. And he joins me now. Hello, Larry.
1:57.9	Hello, how are you? I'm good. How are you? Not so bad.
2:01.6	Well, before we get back to what happened that evening, I'd like to know a little bit about you back then.
	...

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