Growing up in Aden

jeff is happy to be contacted if only just to talk about times in Aden. Please email him at:jeff_glasser@btinternet.com

My father served in Aden 1959-1960ish, as a Sgt. Chef. I do'nt recall which ranks mess he was with. My mother and I joining him in 1960.
My first recollection is of the door of the Britannia opening on arrival at Khormaksar, and being hit by the blast of hot air entering the cabin! we had been warned, but nothing could prepare you for that, especially as I was still in my heavy school uniform.

The passing through customs etc. is a vague memory, as was the trip to our 'new' home in a ground floor flat in Crater. After the initial culture shock, we settled in, and in the evening spent a fascinating couple of hours in the local Bazaar. Strange, but even after 48 years I can still remember the noise and the smell!

I believe 'prickly heat' was given as a welcome present on arrival, and as a bonus to this I also managed to get an ear infection of such severity, that I'm still paying for it to this day. This I'm sure was picked up whilst swimming at the Steamer Point Lido. It was'nt always fish that kept you company there! ( good money could be made by us kids returning the beer bottles from the tables )

Even with these minor set backs, I loved wandering around the streets of Crater, and never once felt threatened, maybe this was because being only 12, I was'nt aware of the dangers. My parents probably hoped I'd get sold into the white slave trade anyway!

The shopping trips to Steamer Point were always good, mum and dad would leave me in "Bicagee Cowagees Emporium" where I would check out all the latest model aircraft and Hornby trains etc.( The spelling of the shop may not be correct.) and generally annoy the staff. I would usually get the old man to buy me something (after much haggling with the Indian shop keeper!) Then back to Crater on the Arab bus. What amazing transport they were! especially in the hands of a 'Qat' chewing madman who could select all the gears,but not always in the right order. Coming down the pass out of Crater could be exciting to say the least.

I was told that 'Abdul' ( it was always an 'Abdul', Ali,or 'Ahmed') the driver believed that if the brakes failed, it was o.k. for him to bail out, as Allah would steer the bus to safety, and if not, and it crashed killing all on board, then that was o.k. too, as it was Allah's will! Do'nt you love the logic of that!! Next to the photo of Nasser stuck above the driver ,would be the legend 'no spitting'. I could'nt relate to the two being alongside one another, surely the picture of the great Arab leader would'nt bring on a mass spitting epidemic by the bus's passengers?! Though they had this as an art form re distance and quantity.

If we were really flush, then it would be a taxi, fond memories of Borgward Isabella's or a Mercedes, also with 'Abdul' up front with a face full of 'Qat' looking like a be-turbanned hamster!

I disliked the school in Steamer Point, ( I disliked the new one on Khormaksar even more. )not that we did much school work, if you were lucky, your class room looked out over the harbour and much time was wasted watching Her Majesty's ships entering and leaving, as well as the Merchant ships from all over the world. Whenever a cruise ship came in, the prices of goods for sale in the shops would go sky high. ( remember when we had a Navy, both Royal and Merchant. ) I would in later years ( 1965-67 ) see Aden from that side after joining the merchant Navy. I would be asked by officers ( I was a steward ) to go ashore and get stuff, as I could haggle with the best of them, and I knew my way around. A good way to get an afternoon off. It felt a bit edgy around '66-'67 though, and I was glad of the military presence on the streets. I did make the mistake of following an armed and very nervous soldier who informed me, after turning rapidly around on hearing my footsteps, in no uncertain terms that to creep up on him was inviting certain death! etc. etc.

Khormaksar was wonderful after Crater, and I believe we were lucky in getting one of the old Married quarters, very cool even without air conditioning. The name of the road escapes me, but we were only a short distance from the main gate, ( was'nt there a store just inside the gate that sold everything, called " The Blighty Shop? ) and across the road was the football pitch which consisted of baked hard sand. On the one occasion that we had an enormous storm in the night this became a huge lake. (for a very short time)

I joined the Khormaksar model aero club, or was allowed to hang around getting high on balsa glue and dope is more like the truth! This Temple to Balsa wood was situated in front of the photo units' building. They had an errant model aircraft attack their door and windows on more than one occassion!
I can only remember a couple of names, Ken, an excellent modeller with a superb moustache, 'Moonman' so named because he was so thin and white when he arrived, he glowed in the dark! and took ages to tan. Richard, ( 'Dick', ) I can't remember his surname, a nicer chap you could'nt find, sadly his very young daughter drowned not long after he got back to England, I believe he was based at Tangmere. this would have been around 1961. Lastly, there was Sgt. Whitley, I hope that's correct, another nice chap. He would tear around on an old motorcycle he'd inherited as a box of bits, this was only assembled when other members moaned that it took up valuable space in what was a glorified shed. Fond memories of Sundays after lunch sitting in there listening to and pretending to understand the innuendos on 'Beyond our Ken,' 'The Navy lark', and, was it called 'Forces Favourites'?
When a '3 tonner' could be scrounged we would take models out to the old airstrip at Sheik Ottoman and fly/lose them. I can still remember the deafening silence there.

We ghastly kids, mostly offspring of N.C.O.s, would wander virtually unchallenged around the camp, and only rarely got turfed away from the flight line and hangars, I managed to climb all over a bunch of visiting Vampires or Venoms, I think they were Rhodesian airforce, the mechanic working on them taking no notice of me at all!
Though a friend and I did get dragged home to a massive bollocking from our parents, after being caught in the aircraft scrap dump by the 'Choki da', Our fathers obviously being bollocked in turn! Helluva toy box though.

For a young lad who had, and still has, a love of all types of aviation, but especially older military stuff, Aden was a wonderful place, of course, I did'nt have to work in it, always busy with aircraft day and night. ( who could forget the massive Globe Masters lit up like xmas trees, and the dear old Beverley struggling for most of the afternoon to get airborne, then hardly moving when it did! I can remember being able to see the tail of one stuck up in the air after it crashed a few miles from Khormaksar. Trips to Mombasa in an Aden Airways' Argonaut, still deaf from the Merlins several days after. The marvelous sound of a Shackleton going overhead, and the squealing brakes of Meteors taxiing. Not quite so welcome by the 'patrons' was the sound of a Sycamore overflying the Astra cinema during the evenings film. ( we youngsters would watch the 'x' films scrunched up in the louvered gaps in the walls.) Who remembers singing along with the Sugar Puff's train during the adverts! and during boring moments in the film, just staring at the night sky and counting the huge shooting stars.

I loved my short stay in Aden, but then, as I said, I did'nt have to work in the heat and dust. I've added a few remaining photos that I still have, they seem to disappear over the years.
I hope someone may recognise something or someone.
I did have one close friend whilst there, a Richard Parry, his parents were close friends of mine, they did visit us when we came home, ( to Norwich) but as is usual with the military we lost contact.

Jeff Glasser.

Beverley 1960-61	Twin Pioneer 1960-61	Display Line	Apron, Khormaksar, 1960-1961
Crater 1960	Me, flat, Crater,1960.and ginger the cat.	Mum&me, Elephant Bay. 1960	Self, (reading Beano)and my mum, Steamer Point, Aden, 1960
Sgt, Jim Glasser, Aden 1960.	Sgt. Jim Glasser, Aden, 1960(2)	Sgt. Jim Glasser, Dance, Aden,1960, (unknown woman).	Sgt. Jim Glasser, flat, Crater,1960.
Sgt. & Mrs Parry. Aden,1960.	Sycamore, Aden,60-61.	Sycamore, Aden, 60-61.	U.S.A.F. C.118. Aden.'60-61.
Valiant,Aden 60-61.	Victor, Aden, 60-61.	Victor, Aden, 60-61.	View from flat, Crater, me with Arab pals!
Vulcan, Aden. 60-61	Vulcan, Aden, 60-61.	Vulcan etc. Aden. 60-61.

Back to Aden Index