The Royal Anglian Regiment
in Aden
These pictures were sent
to us by Alan Cole 1st East &
Royal Anglian Regiment
Journey to Aden
The Royal Anglian Regiment
in Aden
These pictures were sent
to us by Alan Cole 1st East &
Royal Anglian Regiment
Journey to Aden
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Along
with Michael Fairweather, we had just left boy service with the Infantry
Junior Leaders Battalion (IJLB), at Oswestry, when we reported to the depot
of The East Anglian Brigade, in Bury St Edmunds, for duty. Our posting
was to be Aden, where the Battalion was already stationed, as the move
of the main party had been completed by 26th January 1964, leaving from
Felixstowe and already taking part in operational duties. Our departure
was to be on the maiden voyage of the LSL Sir Lancelot, a flat bottomed
vessel, and would take two weeks to arrive, leaving on 8th June 1964, travelling
through the Bay of Biscay (now that was exciting) on to Malta, where we
were permitted to visit the island for a few hours before continuing on
to Port Said, Egypt, and then onto Aden. Each day we had to undertake
acclimatization drill on the helicopter deck and remain on deck apart from
meals for most of the day. The journey wasn't without its mishaps,
as it was the maiden journey and there was the odd break down but nothing
too serious.
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Our Regiment
was on a permanent tour of duty and this was to be our base until
leaving on 24 October 1965, when the temperature was 120F degrees in the
shade! Only about half of our time was actually spent in the Waterloo
Barracks with the balance spent up-country. Even when we had returned
to barracks we were consumed with I. S. duties in and around Aden.
There was the occasion when 7 Platoon was occupying the Sheik Othman Police
Station. Patrols were sent out of the station and Sgt. John Smith (7 Pl.
Sgt.) was hit in the face with a rocket launcher during an attack, removing
part of his jaw, whilst Pte. Elba-Porter (signaller) suffered injuries
and still managed to maintain communications with a replacement radio,
whilst Pte. Kent rendered first aid to the platoon sergeant and saved his
life.
Cordon and searches was a regular
feature of our role looking for weaponry. One of the not so pleasant
memories I have of a cordon and search is when the Aden policewomen strip-searched
the local village women, and all before breakfast, in front of us!
Initially, our work day was 7 am until 12 noon due to the over bearing heat; a wet heat, necessitating drinking two gallons of water a day, taking salt tablets and paludrin (anti-malaria) tablets on a daily basis. Whilst we were in Aden, the Regiment amalgamated from the 1st East Anglian Regiment to The Royal Anglian Regiment, the first regiment of the British Army to become one of the larger new regiments. The difference in cap badge sizes was significant. Duties in Crater were numerous
as were the roads leading into and out of the capital. During the evenings,
curfews after 6 pm were a regular feature, though the locals did try it
on to sell their soft drinks. We always managed to get ice cold drinks
free of charge, for all the patrol to turn a blind eye. We would have found
it hard to justify any other action apart from when we knew trouble was
afoot.
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The Battalion
had been involved from the early days when the fighting had been
fierce and media reports at home were almost a daily feature. Many
a parent worried for their son's future with injuries being reported regularly
on television.
My first trip to the Radfan
was to Monk's Field, living under camouflage netting for about 8 weeks
or so. It was during this time that a monsoon broke filling a wadi, rough
dimensions 100 feet across and 60 feet deep, within 30 minutes, washing
amphibious vehicles down stream. Scary, especially for those out on patrol
who were sending up very signals and were marooned on a hillock.
Weapons were lost and vehicles were in a right state. As for those, including
me, in Monk's Field camp, the only real shelter we had was our mess tins
and these became somewhat dented by the enormous hailstones. It had
to be seen to be believed.
Our next move was to Table Top. We moved out of Monk's Field after dark and walked throughout the night to take over the duties from the resident unit already at Table Top, which if I remember correctly, the unit was the Grenadier Guards. It was here that each night, regularly at 6 pm that we came under fire, so much so that you could set your watch by the event. Each day one of our duties was to clear the makeshift runway for landmines and then the roads leading into and out of the venue, which was shared with an artillery unit. A frequent sight to be seen would be when the RAF Hunters would make their strikes on the mountainsides. When the hostilities had
receded, it was decided to send medical patrols around to the local villages,
and it was now that our people needed to be strong, especially when we
saw children with gangrene limbs.
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RAF Makerious
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This
position was close to the Yemen border, with a makeshift airstrip for transport
planes to land on, and potholes caused some anxious moments. Mostly
this camp was used for training purposes by us and had a small shop just
outside of the gate, which was regularly shot up at nights.
I will always remember the journey
to the camp as it was by 3-tonner truck, especially going up the Laurabena
Pass. Steep drops and stupid Arabs speeding down in the other direction;
they were mad. Apart from seeing the many vehicles that simply hadn't made
the journey, even some of our own vehicles had mechanical problems. |
Thumier
7 Pl at Thumier Tony Kent BEM, Alan Cole Mick Hurren and George Long |
Thumier
was the camp most only passed through since it was the main base serving
all units as the Headquarters. In some cases, it was really only
a halfway camp, as travel through the wadis wasn't easy and took a long
time, because there were no roads as such.
When I was on Camel's Hump,
I had the pleasure of performing as the Battalion relay station as 7 Platoon
signaller. I was the only sub-station in touch with all others so,
it was "through me" as they say. |
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This town holds many memories for me, not all good, and was often referred to as the golden mile. The cafés were OK but the Supply Depot was amongst the back streets. Fresh bread was nice when on guard duties but the exposure to attack was another story also, sadly, Maala was also known as the cemetery where many British soldiers were laid to rest. Maala, was home for many families and it was here that I met with a young lady socially. We were going for a trip out one afternoon, on the back of an open-top sports car, and as I got in, the seam of my trousers leg broke almost to my crotch. The girl just said, "Mum will fix it", so whilst repairs were made I was sitting in dad's dressing gown - embarrassed. |
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Steamer Point
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This
is the town where most of the passengers from the ships came to break their
journey and to spend and it was frequently a cause of amusement for many
a serving soldier in Aden. Bargaining was how goods were purchased
and tourists were rather short on skills. As for the soldier, we would
name our price and then tell the tourist, "I wouldn't pay that", and walk
away, with anxious stallholders eager to be rid of us so that they could
make exorbitant profits - we knew we would get our price even if we did
go back later.
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Aden Airport |
'B' Coy March Past |
Slave Island near Malla |
Shark nets at the Lido |
Ski-ing at Elephant Bay |
Also See
The
Crater to The Creggan
The Royal Anglian Regiment
In Aden
By Michael Barthorp
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