Inside this Edition

The Official Magazine of The UKMAMS Association
MV Hurst Point loading in Marchwood
Inside this Edition
Life on UKMAMS
Op Garren - Tsunami relief
E-Mails Letters & Notices
Membership News
People on the Move
From the 540
Spring 2005 Issue No. 52
And discharging in Salalah
Views expressed in this newsletter, unless otherwise stated, are not necessarily those
of the editor, the association committee or UKMAMS and are the personal views of the
authors. All contributions and correspondence for inclusion in “Team Brief ” should be
sent to:
The Editor, Team Brief, UKMAMS Association, PO Box 1126, Swindon, Wilts,
SN5 7WB.
E-mail: [email protected]
How quickly this time of year comes about, once again its time for the AGM. A postal voting slip
has been enclosed for those of you who cannot make it, and for those of you who can, don't
forget to return the slip with your details on so that a car pass can be issued. As you will see its
on Friday 27th May, the bar is open from 1930, so plenty of time to sink a few and catch up with
friends.
There has been much to keep RAF Lyneham in the news over recent months, starting with
the Tsunami relief operation (OP GARREN) which began in the new year. Flt Lt Conrad SteeleBenny has produced an article and some photographs of his, and his teams experiences in the far
east. Sadly, the other news was the loss of a C130, XV179 over Iraq, with all on board. I'm sure
you will join me in saying our thoughts will be with the family and friends of those killed.
You will see from the front cover that the shipping world is keeping me busy. Those pictures were
taken during the deployment of Exercise Magic Carpet - lets hope the recovery works just as
well!!!
Due to the lack of suitable RO-RO
berth in Salalah - MV Hurst Point
reverses up to the dockside to
"Medi Moor"
A procedure involving throwing
anchors out and various other
jigglings about to reverse the
ship up to the dock and get the
ramp down, allowing the wheeled
stuff out of the back.
Enjoy the Magazine - And don't forget to return your voting slip………………..Mick
2
Membership News and People on the Move
By Colin Allen
I am delighted to report and after a very disappointing response from members in the summer and
after a lot of arm twisting our Membership is on the move again and our numbers now stand at a
respectable 410. There is still a lot of work to be done but I am confident that the next couple of
months will see another increase.
This edition we welcome 5 new members, Flt Lt Jayne Lindley, Cpl Stephen Brunell, Mr Ken (Geordie)
Mason, Mrs Babs Sugg and our first foreign serviceman, Major Steven Shea from the US Army. Jayne
and Stephen are both employed on MAMF at UKMAMS. Geordie Mason left the RAF in August 1990
having served at JSATC Hendon Jan 85 to Mar 86, RAF Wildenrath from Mar 86 to Mar 1990 and RAF
Leaming from Mar to Aug 1990. He currently works as a Cargo services manager with Plane Handling
Ltd, Heathrow. Major Steven Shea has worked with UKMAMS in Iraq and is a friend of Wg Cdr Simon
Fletcher. Steven has enjoyed a varied and interesting career which has seen him employed at a
number of overseas locations including Ramstein from Jun 1998 to April 2001, Djibouti from Aug
2002 to Dec 2002 and Kuwait International Airport from Dec 2002 to May 2003. It was at Kuwait that
he worked as the MCT Commander alongside the UKMAMS Detachment. In addition to his overseas
tours he has been stationed at Fort Hood and is currently the Surface Mobility Officer, US Transport
Command, Scott AFB. Along with Flt Lt Joanne Tribble the RAFLO at Scott AFB they have formed the
first overseas chapter of the UKMAMS Association. Steve and his wife Maria celebrated the birth of
their third son; Colin, Thomas on the 9th November 2004. I am sure you will all join me in extending
a warm welcome to all our new members and in particular to Babs Sugg the widow of the late Gwyn
(Taff) Sugg. Taff was a much loved and respected Mover who is sadly missed by all his friends and
family.
Thanks to Tony Feast who is the ’Postie’ at RAF Lyneham, I now have Geoff Haines new address
and as luck would have it a couple of days after writing to Geoff I attended the ‘Burns Supper’ at the
WO and Sergeant’s Mess at Lyneham only to be confronted by non other than Geoff. He is living in
one of the old Married Quarters at Lyneham and is working for the British Rail response team. Lee
Butler has left his job at Heathrow, sold his flat in Reading and taken up employment in Iraq. After
10 years working in the Gulf, Keith Parker has returned home to Melksham and is working for the
Whitehall Garden Centre. Keith’s eldest son Scott is a research and development engineer with a
computer installation company. Scott married his childhood sweetheart, Tanya, from Keith and
Daphne’s Akrotiri days and 18 months ago they had a daughter, Tabina, who is now the apple of her
Grandfather’s eye and Daphne can’t pass a baby shop without buying clothes. Keith’s youngest son
Duncan is also doing very well in the Army, he is married and stationed at Colchester. He was the
first British Doctor into Iraq during the last Gulf War and by all accounts acquitted himself extremely
well.
Bob Turner was able to give me Dougie Murray’s address in Spain and Neil Harrison has spoken to
Stu Beange on my behalf and I am hopeful that both ex members will shortly re-new their
membership.
This month I need your help in trying to trace the following members, Andrew Chesney who was
living in Glenrothes, Fife. Graham Langfield who was in married quarters at RAF Wyton and was a
Sqn Ldr on the Typhoon Project. Ian Place who used to live at Headingly in Leeds and Barry
Hammond whose last known address was in Swindon. If anyone can help I can be contacted on
01793-703538 or e-mail to [email protected]
3
Steve Munday left the RAF some two and a half years ago from HQSTC and now works as a
Management Consultant for a company called Partnering Solutions Ltd based in Bedford. He does a
lot of work for the MOD especially at Wyton and Abbeywood in Bristol and manages to stay in touch
with what is going on as he runs into lots of people. Even on holiday in France last year who should
be staying in the same place but Chris Goss the Movements Trade Operational Sponsor. Like Steve,
Jerry Allen says there is no escaping the RAF and Movements, just the other day he was taking to
Pete Kettell (UKMAMS 82 – 85) and they were reminiscing about their tours on MAMS and whilst it
may not have been the most enjoyable it was certainly the most memorable. The following day he
discovered that the pretty receptionist at his gym was preparing to join the RAF. On quizzing her
further he found out that she had just started the selection process for 4624 R Aux AF Sqn. Yes, it is
a small world, as he discovered when he was miles from anywhere and 50ft up a tree in Cumbria on
a Tarzan Course he discovered that the bloke in the tree opposite him was an old friend from his
TSW Stafford days. Jerry is currently on the senior staff of Kenyon International Emergency Services
and whilst the Company’s HQ is in Houston he is lucky enough to be able to work largely from home.
Jerry is always delighted to hear from others on [email protected] .Gp Capt David
Blore is now the Chief of Staff at the European Air Group. David offers his congratulations on the last
edition of ‘Team Brief’ (a great read). Geoff Nolan is still with the UN having moved on from East
Timor earlier in 2004 to the UN Operation in Burundi. He is based in the capital, Bujumbura and
rejoices in the title Chief of Logistics Operations. Needless to say the job covers a multitude of sins
and is incredibly busy and varied as his team is in the process of establishing the UN Peacekeeping
Mission and supporting the forthcoming elections. But, he is always available for a beer should
anyone be passing through deepest Africa. If anyone wants to contact Geoff his e-mail addresses are
[email protected] or [email protected] . Rich Pratley has returned from Basrah to take up post as
the SAMO, Air Movs Sqn, RAF Brize Norton. Clive Bishop has joined the happy ranks of
Grandparents. His daughter Nicky gave birth to a son, Callum in Nov last year. Congratulations Clive
(and Camille).Martyn Skelton retired from the RAF in Dec 2001 and moved to Norway to live with
his partner. He says that it seems that the experts are absolutely right in saying that when you retire
you seem to have more to do than ever. Like myself Martyn has been very fortunate insomuch that
he didn’t need to take a real job when he left the RAF which has given him lots of time to finish the
many building projects in his house which was nothing more than a one bedroom apartment built
over a concrete basement. The property has been developed and extended and is now, more or less
a normal two bedroomed house with a den. He also put a balcony around the house, renewed the
kitchen and fitted new windows. His next project is to put an extra bathroom and a laundry room into
the basement. Not bad for an ex Mover!!! He currently attends day school to learn Norwegian and
has a small caravan, which is used to see as much of the country as possible and is also used to visit
Sweden each summer for their main holiday. He loves the walks and the cycle rides in the local
mountains and on occasions enjoys camping out although he doesn’t miss the cam cream and the
scrim nets. In the winter he drives into the mountains to ski at a couple of alpine centres. He lives by
the sea with many small islands all around and is hoping to purchase a kayak, ultimately he hopes
one day to own a small day cabin cruiser.
Sam Heaphy tells me that the initial indications suggest that Derek Pilkington’s treatment has been
successful and he will not require an operation. In addition, I met Howie Bumford at the 60th
Anniversary of Movements Training Dinner on 10th Feb and although his recovery has not been as
quick as perhaps Howie had hoped for, I was delighted to see him looking so well. Until the next
time……………Bye for now………….….Colin.
4
OP GARREN – TSUNAMI RELIEF OPERATIONS
By Flt Lt Conrad Steele-Benny
UKMAMS Team Leader
The tropical island of Sri Lanka has a most interesting and volatile history, first populated by the
Sinhalese, it was eventually occupied by the Portuguese in the 16th century and by the Dutch in
the 17th century. Then, in 1796, it
was ceded to the British, becoming a
crown colony in 1802. Long known as
Ceylon, it became independent in
1948, with its name changed to Sri
Lanka in 1972. Tensions between the
Sinhalese majority and Tamil
separatists erupted into war in 1983
and thousands have died in an ethnic
conflict that continued to fester until a
cease fire was negotiated in 2002.
Sri Lanka is filled with amazing natural
beauty and man made wonders,
including some of the most impressive
temples seen anywhere in the world.
It’s one of those places I, like so many
others, have always wanted to visit on holiday. Unfortunately my first ever visit to Sri Lanka was
to deal with the results of the devastation caused by the one of the most powerful and destructive
earthquake-triggered tsunami’s (tidal wave) this century. Eleven countries were affected to
varying degrees with massive destruction of their coastal regions and a death toll that that rapidly
rose to over 150,000. Sri Lanka’s Eastern coastline received the brunt of several tidal waves that
levelled large areas, killed over 30,000 people and left thousands more homeless.
Relief efforts from around the world into the affected area started almost immediately and the UK
was no exception. An initial 6 man team from United Kingdom Mobile Air Movements Squadron
(UKMAMS) was placed on standby on the 28 Dec 04 in preparations for any UK response to the
disaster. This was later increased to
8 as the possibility of two locations or
a relay of aircraft into the area
became likely. On the 31 Dec 04 the
team was notified that two C130J
Hercules were scheduled to deploy
into Sri Lanka to deliver an initial load
of relief aid and the support vehicles
for PJHQ, in conjunction with this a
C17 Globemaster III would depart
Brize Norton to Indonesia with loads
brought in by C130K from Norway
and Denmark. Obviously there was
considerable media interest in these
events and a phone call, from the
local BBC Television station was
received by UKMAMS Ops less than
5
30 minutes after UKMAMS Ops were notified of the flights. Unfortunately the flights to Sri Lanka
were delayed due to unspecified political problems and we continued to wait.
A team of 4 UKMAMS personnel finally
boarded a single C130J bound for Colombo,
Sri Lanka early on the 2 Jan 04. The load
consisted of 3 vehicles for PJHQ and some
medical supplies. The route took us via
Cyprus and the United Arab Emirates. With
only brief refuel stops at each location and a
crew change in Abu Dhabi, UAE, the team
arrived early on the morning of the 3 Jan
04. With the assistance of the RAF Liaison
Officer (Flt Lt Randerson and FS Costello)
and the local handling agent we managed to
offload the equipment and get it through the
torturous customs procedures, which nearly
saw the medical supplies being thrown away
as they were not in cold storage. Some 5 hours later we finally set off from the airport to our
accommodation on the most hazardous bus ride I have ever experienced. It seems that traffic
control, indicators and only using the lanes marked on the road are all optional in Sri Lanka, chaos
reigned.
The next few days were spent working in conjunction with PJHQ to ensure that everything was
prepared should any RAF air transport assets be deployed into Sri Lanka. To give you some idea
of the scale of the operations at Colombo airport, on the 28 Dec 04 over 280 tonnes of relief
freight was delivered by civilian air transport. This figure increased everyday and on the 6 Jan 05
over 780 tonnes arrived. All this was passing through one unfinished building. A number of
options for RAF assets were explored, including shuttling fuel from Singapore and field cookers
from Deli, however, there seemed to be
no requirement for tactical airlift in the
Sri Lankan relief aid effort and the
UKMAMS team was recalled to the UK on
the 8 Jan 05.
The UKMAMS team in Sri Lanka were
disappointed not to have been more
involved in the relief operations but
appreciated the fact that they were able
to assist in some small way. The PJHQ
team in conjunction with members of the
3 Services continue to assist in the relief
effort in Sri Lanka and hopefully future
visits to the island will be in happier
circumstances.
The Sri Lanka Team
Flt Lt Conrad Steele-Benny
Cpl Steve Musson
SAC Ash Grainger
SAC Martin Eastaugh
6
FROM THE 540
By Ian Berry
1970 – 35 YEARS AGO…
JANUARY
Marseilles – Special. Sgt Rocky Knowles plus 3. Delivery of 2 Spey engines for the aircraft carrier
HMS Eagle.
Warton – Special. Flt Lt Roger Wood plus 6. Delivery of Lightning fighter to BAC on Belfast task
6792.
FEBRUARY
Wattisham – Special. Uplift of personnel and equipment of 23 Sqn (Lightnings) from UK to
Akrotiri utilising Argosy task 4536 and Britannia task 6485.
Punta Arenas – Special. Fg Off Paul Steiner plus 2. Delivery of a Royal Navy helicopter to Chile.
MARCH
Namao – Special. Flt Lt Edwards plus 5. Recovery of Harrier aircraft from Canada to Boscombe
Down on Belfast task 6766.
Ankara – Special. Plt Off Frank Holmes plus 5. Delivery of personal effects of Air Marshall Stack,
Air Marshall Sir Frederick Rosier and Air Chief Marshall Sir Augustus Walker from
Cranwell to Turkey on Argosy task 4408.
APRIL
Changi – Exercise Bersatu Padu.
Flt Lt Meikle, Fg Off Paul Steiner
plus 16. Deployment of 19
Infantry Brigade and Wessex
helicopters to the Far East.
Exercise Bersatu Padu
7
Coningsby – Special. Cpl Spiller plus 3. Positioning of support equipment of 54 Sqn
(Phantoms) at Gutersloh for the Hanover Trade Fair.
1975 – 30 YEARS AGO…
JANUARY
Woomera – Exercise Falstaff. Fg Off Jeremy Hidden, FS Terry Hoy, Sgt Ian Berry, Cpls Lionel
Earndon and Steve Broadhurst plus 1. Deployment of missile test equipment to
Woomera and recovery of Rapier trials equipment to UK on Belfast task 9891.
Kinloss – Special. Fg Off Don Fell, FS
Terry Alfonso, Sgts Syd Avery and Ian
Berry, Cpl GlynnJones and SAC Dinger
Bell. Rotation of pre-positioned Nimrod
support equipment at RNOAF Sola,
Oerland, Bodo and Andoya in Norway.
L to R: Don Fell, Dinger Bell, Glynn Jones, Terry
Alfonso and me in the front with my Sunderland
AFC bobble hat!
Andoya
FEBRUARY
Teheran – Flt Lt Simon plus 4. Recovery of tank engines from Iran to UK on Belfast task 9918.
Mayport/Sangster – Special. Fg Off Jerry Babington plus 3. Offload of spares for HMS Ark
.
Royal at Mayport and recovery of aerial survey equipment at Sangster in the
Bahamas
MARCH
Machrihanish – Exercise Busy Bee. Fg Off Ian Envis plus 3. Recovery of 15 Field RAF Regt
from Scotland to Wittering.
Juba – Special. Flt Lt Barry Shevlin plus 5. Recovery of 11 Field Sqn Royal Engineers from
Southern Sudan to UK.
APRIL
Leeuwarden – Sqn Exchange. Fg Off Don Hunter plus 6. Rotation of Dutch Starfighter Sqn and
43 Sqn (Phantoms) between Leuchars and Holland.
8
Belize/Norfolk – Flt Lt Allan plus 4. Recovery of 4 Sioux helicopters from Belize and delivery of
Royal Navy freight to Norfolk, Virginia.
1980 – 25 YEARS AGO…
JANUARY
Not much to extract from this month’s 540 apart from the following; On 1st Jan this year Cpl Gus
Cobb was awarded a Commendation by the AOC No 38 Group for his fine service to the Squadron
and in particular for his part in the Managua incident last July. (Attempted Hercules Hijacking). Cpl
Cobb is now serving in Belize.
The Sqn’s 9 Mobile Teams range from Team A to Team N, but omitting D, E, G, I and K which in
recent years were disbanded due to manning shortages. It has been decided that from this date
Teams F, H, J, L, M and N shall be restyled D, E, F, G, H and I respectively…
FEBRUARY
Campbell AF – Exercise Trumpet Dance. Flt Lt Al MacBean plus 2. Deployment of elements of
UKLF to Fort Campbell.
Wattisham – Exercise Fork Barge/Flush Beam. Deployment of 23 Sqn (Phantoms) to Akrotiri and
recovery of 56 Sqn (Phantoms) to UK.
MARCH
Mombasa – Operation Agila. Flt Lt Ian Drake plus 3. Providing movements support in Kenya for
Op Agila aircraft staging through.
Norway – Exercise Hardfall/Clockwork/Anorak Express. FS Liam Devlin, Charlie Grant and Sgt Ian
Thomson. To provide Movements support at Bergen, Trondheim and Fornebu respectively. (n.b.
Sadly only the former of these three SNCOs is still alive.)
APRIL
Kinloss – Exercise Maple Flag. Fg Off Martin Gannon plus 5. Deployment of 1 Sqn (Harriers) from
Wittering to Kinloss for exercise work-up.
Coltishall – Exercise Catherine Wheel. Flt Lt Peter Burch plus 8. Deployment of Jaguar personnel
and equipment.
1985 – 20 YEARS AGO…
JANUARY
Karachi – Special. FS Brian Clarke plus 2. Deployment of Royal Navy Engineering Team plus
spares to Pakistan to carry out an engine change on the frigate HMS Nottingham.
Muscat – Exercise Rocky Lance. Cpl Brian Harper plus 2. Deployment of 1Bn Scots Guards to
Oman.
9
FEBRUARY
Offutt AFB – Exercise Red/Green Flag. Fg Off Rich Green plus 2. Recovery of personnel and
equipment of 57 Sqn (Victors) from Nebraska to UK.
Seattle – Exercise Trumpet Dance. Fg Off Simon Baxter plus 2. Deployment of 1Bn Royal
Anglians to USA.
MARCH
Homestead AFB – Exercise Rum Punch. Fg Off Andy Kime plus 5. Deployment of 42 Sqn
(Nimrods) to Florida in support of torpedo trials. (n.b. Homestad AFB was
destroyed by Hurricane Andrew in the 90s)
"Hotel" team March 1985
After the Ex Rum Punch
deployment the team went on to
Patrick AFB to complete the
AUTEC detachment, operating an
Andover (The Princess) between
Patrick AFB, Cape Canaveral and
Andros.
L to R. Sac John Farrelly,
FS Don Milburn, Cpl Paul
Rackley (MAMS Eng), FO
Andy Kime and SAC Mick
Cocker
Missing from the picture, presumably checking the Bacardi was the right temperature, was Sgt
Dave Roberts.
Nellis AFB – Exercise Green Flag. Wg Cdr Bob Dixon plus 5. Recovery of 9 Sqn (Buccaneers)
from USA to Honington.
APRIL
McChord AFB – Exercise Trumpet dance. Fg Off Chris Goss plus 2. Recovery of 1Bn Staffords
from USA to UK.
Seeb – Exercise Sandy Wanderer. Fg Off Dick Page plus 2. Recovery of elements of UKLF from
Oman to UK.
1990 – 15 YEARS AGO…
Sadly there is insufficient information on tasking this quarter to write about from the 540. The
compiler was Flt Lt Eric Gill.
10
1995 – 10 YEARS AGO…
JANUARY
Rzeszow – Exercise Braze Hussar. FS Yogi Rowlands plus 2. Deployment of elements of UKLF to
Poland.
Gioa del Colle – Operation Deny Flight. WO Ian Berry, FS Steve Beaumont, Cpl Al Stacey.
Maintaining the Movements detachment in Southern Italy.
FEBRUARY
Belize – Exercise Native Trail. Flt Lt Maggie Streeter plus 2. Deployment of elements of UKLF to
Belize for Jungle training.
Trieste – Operation Deny Flight. Flt Lt Wardle plus 5. Changeover of personnel from HMS
Invincible.
MARCH
Kristiansund – Exercise Strong Resolve. Sgt Steve Burke plus 2. Recovery of Royal marines from
Norway to UK.
Slovenia – Exercise Green Bird. FS Tony Geerah plus 2. Deployment of IFOR personnel.
APRIL
Luanda/Mbele – Operation Chantress. Flt Lt
Neil Jones, FS Tony Geerah & Ray Ralph, Sgt Tim
Pyne plus 8. Support to the UN operation in
Angola.
SAC Neil McKenzie with LSW in Angola
Fire engine at an unknown airfield in Angola
Akinci – Exercise Distant Thunder. Fg Off Lee Matthews, FS Clive Bishop plus 4. Deployment of
23 Sqn (Tornadoes) from Leeming to Turkey.
11
2000 – 5 YEARS AGO…
JANUARY
Bucharest – Exercise Eastern Climb. Flt Lt Clulo, FS Jim Buchanan, Cpl Kev Skinner, SACs Matt
Rayner, Caven & Whittingham. Deployment of Royal Marines and two MK7 Lynx
helicopters to Romania.
Edmonton – Exercise Snow Train. Sgt Viv Neary-Phillips, Cpl Best, SAC Walker. Deployment of
1Bn Royal Scots to Canada.
FEBRUARY
Salalah – Exercise Magic Carpet. FS Neil Baldock, Cpl Craig Heath, SACs Mufford & Poat.
Recovery of personnel and equipment of 101 Sqn (VC10), 4 Sqn (Harriers) and 54 Sqn
(Jaguars) from Oman to UK.
Bardufoss – Exercise Snow Falcon. Sqn
Ldr Rich Fogden, Flt Lt Atkinson, FS
Tony Geerah and SAC Davies.
Deployment of 1 Sqn (Harriers) from
Wittering to Norway.
Troops disembark in Bardufoss
MARCH
Hoedspruit AB – Operation Barwood. Deployment of 33 Sqn (Pumas) support equipment to
South Africa for relief flights into Mozambique.
Tonopah AFB – Exercise High Rider. Sgt Taff Kelly, SACs Booth, King & Sansome. Deployment
of Tornado F3 personnel and equipment to Nevada.
APRIL
Solenzara – Exercise Jagged Corse. Flt Lt Tim Benjamin, Sgt Alec Ross & SAC Hudson.
Deployment of 54 Sqn (Jaguars) from UK to Corsica.
Brindisi – Operation Turner. FS Steve Gelder and Cpl Paul Crake. Collection of UN vehicles and
freight from Italy for on move to Sierra Leone.
12
ADEN memories
From ex SAC Christopher "Ned" Nethercoat
An old mover - from the mid nineteen sixties.
My nine year old boy recently developed an interest in aircraft, so I started looking on the internet
to find him a Blackburn Beverley to look at. Without much success at first, until then I found the
Blackburn Beverley Association site. Of course my lad is mainly into the more glamourous
Spitfires and Hurricanes, but when he saw a photo of a Beverley, downloaded from the B.B.A.
site, he did at least say it was "cool".
My intention was, to try to find a Beverley aircraft to show him over - and I now learn there is one
left, but only one, and apparently not for long - unless something is done to save it, as the
present host museum has gone bankrupt. The hope is, I hear, to now acquire it for the Yorkshire
Air Museum, but it's going to take a lot of cash. Disappointingly, the RAF Cosford Aerospace
museum does not feature the Beverley at all - not a picture or a mention anywhere. Yet, as we all
know, the Beverleys were the workhorses and tactical transport mainstay of their era, and
certainly of most of the airborne transport ops in Aden. I became a big fan of those great
lumbering beasts - despite their looks, I always felt very safe in them and they were so perfect for
their roles, it several times happened that we had an engine cut out, but the pilots always
continued on the mission. I don't think the C130s were nearly so versatile, or so well-fitted for
tactical supply in difficult terrain, as were the Bevs.
A
Here's another..
Beverley unloading at Mukeiras
As it happens I have hardly given a thought to my RAF days
for many years, and haven't ever had any contact with
anyone at all from those times, but I was really pleased to
find the Blackburn Beverley and UK MAMS sites, and having
done so - was then inspired to put together these
memories. Modern Air Movements types, and other RAF
personnel, may not even have heard of the Blackburn
Beverley (derived from the WWII Lancaster bomber) and/or
of the Aden campaigns, but those of us involved at the
And this is me and my family, taken in 2001
time, the aircraft was terrific for its role and, compared with
Civvy Street or Blighty, those really were quite exciting
times. So I hope these pages may prove to be mildly interesting to any younger visits to this
site, and maybe also touch off a few remembrances for those old farts, like me, who were around
at the time.
13
I was in the RAF from 1964/69 - the most
interesting times of which were when I was at
RAF Khormaksar, in Aden, where I was an
S.A.C. on one of the 6-man, Mobile Air
Movements Squadron teams based there. As
it happens I was also one of those remaining
there till the very l
ast day of the withdrawal, and actually on the
very last aircraft out.
The MAMS role was to go with the aircraft to
ensure the aircraft were loaded effectively and
safely - i.e. with their payloads distributed safe
to fly, and restrained against the right G
factors, with any hazardous cargo properly
secured, and ready for a quick turnaround, often in ill-equipped and hostile conditions.
Two or three people from the MAMS detachment would go out on just about every air transport
operation or exercise that took place - that involved the movement of troops, supplies, equipment,
machines, arms, munitions and casualties - to anywhere and everywhere in the Arabian Peninsular
and in East Africa. Mostly on Blackburn Beverley's, but also on Argosy's, if the airstrip would take
them, especially the R/S/M coastal route stations. 84 and 30 squadron were the Bevs, and 105
squadron (I think) the "flying pigs".
Each MAMS team had two SNCOs and a junior officer in charge, and on anything more than a
"milk-run" trip, one at least SNCO would go also with us. The SNCOs, were no doubt also involved
in planning and admin functions that we erks knew nothing about, and at least one would come
with us on anything out of the ordinary, but for the bread and butter milk-runs (such up country
re-supplies, or Federal Republican Army troop movements) it was usually just two of us, and a
corporal at most, getting up in the very early hours for a pre-dawn take-off, and back before the
heat got too much and affected the flying.
As well going all over South Arabia several of our teams also had quite long detachments to
Embakasi (in Kenya) and in Ndola and Lusaka (in Zambia) because, following Rhodesia's
declaration of Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the British Crown, the British had
undertaken to keep landlocked Zambia supplied with oil, whilst trying to embargo supplies into
Rhodesia. I did two quite long stints at both Nairobi (Embakasi) and at Ndola. In Kenya we were
sending the loaded aircraft out and in Zambia we unloaded them an send them back empty.
At Ndola we were turning round the Argosy's, Britannias, C130s, and assorted other aircraft (like a
Carvair, and others I now forget), all laden with either 45 gallon steel drums, or huge great rubber
drums of oil - that had come overland to Nairobi from Dar es Salaam. At Ndola the airport itself
was protected by a flight of UK Javelins - (from whom I am not sure). The "Movements office"
was a ten-foot square tin-roof hut, that we shared with the local Flying Doctor service, and once
when off duty, we were roped into going out deep into the African Bush to help recover a wrecked
light aircraft, and we met with mud-hut villagers who had never seen white people before.
My usual "oppo" on almost all of these trips was a chap called Barry "Geordie" Fisher, an ex-boy
entrant. Barry and I were never really close friends around the billets and at MAMS HQ, (I was
always bit of loner anyway ) - but Barry and I shared a lot of experiences together and came to
rely on and trust each other on the job - and I think we worked well as a team. Two other
rankers I remember well, who did the same Movements course as me were Rod Packman and
Alan Howe, with both of whom I shared a room. There was also a third team, (we were "Charlie"
team) but my memory is getting a bit rusty for names and details that far back, it was over thirty
years ago.
I think the most satisfying thing for all of us, was that, after a short while, even though every task
was a bit different, nobody ever had to tell us what to do. We knew from experience what
14
needed to be done and how - and even though as lowly airmen and not much more than boys in
years - we each became confident enough to organise and manage teams of FRA soldiers and
locals to do the back-breaking work, and those flight crews that knew us did not interfere. The
further away from home station you got the less emphasis there was on rank or status, and the
more there was on what you knew and were capable of doing.
In Zambia, for example, there were some occasions when things were so busy, that I singlehandedly marshalled in some of the arriving aircraft, managed the entire unloading of the oil, and
back-loading of the empties, with only the help of a score of native labourers - whilst another
airman or corporal, Barry, or John Moreland, would be doing the same elsewhere on the pan. On
both ends of the oil-lift we all took a competitive pride in our turn-around times, including
refuelling, that could sometimes be a quick twenty-five minutes.
All the MAMS regularly went to a lot of interesting and exciting places including hundreds of
sorties and detachments up-country, to Wadhi Behan, Ataq, Mukalla, Muqueiras, Dhala etc., that
became almost everyday trips. 90% of the trip on Bevs - Dhala in particular was a very tricky
place to get into with sheer, steep cliffs at the end of the runway - and only the Bevs with their
reverse pitch thrust could do it. Very occasionally, we were turned back from a flight up country
because the pilot got a radio report that there were armed "dizzies" awaiting us in the hills. The
intelligence came from SAS and "political officers" who were dotted about the countryside around
our bases. Geordie and I, with Corporal John Moreland, (later replaced by Frank Dutton (thanks
Barry) , also went on many re-supply trips along the coast route to Riyan, Salalah, Masirah Island
and up to Sharjah - in what was then known as the Trucial Oman States..
At Riyan, where an old Dakota did get in every now and then, we once did a grain supply trip and
I vividly remember about ten or twelve locals, led by an old chap whose knee joint was bent
sideways, unloading the sacks on their bare shoulders and chanting "Al Hamdu Lilla", incessantly
as they worked. On this particular trip the Beverly captain had agreed to backload a huge volume
of personal effects for the (British) Colonel of the Hadramat Bedouin Arab Legion, who was due to
return to the UK after eight years in post. We loaded up his stuff and he thanked us all and gave
everyone a Legion head-dress (kuffia and aqual) as a souvenir, and off we took. Two day later
we learned he has been shot dead - by his own driver -on the grounds that he was abandoning
the men who need his continued leadership. The other team's members would have done very
similar trips, but, of course, I only know about where we went and what we did, but Rod and
Alan's stories, and those of Gordon and his mates, would be just as varied.
Funny thing about most of those desert Arabs, they could very generous, loyal and hospitable, but
they were also capable of deliberate cruelty and were merciless to their enemies. At Habilayn, an
upcountry desert camp and airstrip, near the Yemen border, I heard a story that says something
about the way of life for some of the very poorest of those local people. An Arab came into the
camp to ask for medical help for someone who had fallen into a well nearby. The man was asked
where the casualty was now, and he said "still in the well, since yesterday". "But why didn't you
tell us sooner?" he was asked - to which the answer was "I wasn't coming this way till today!" .
I heard another horrific story that an British Army patrol came across a screaming Arab child that
was tightly bandaged over the eyes, and when the wrappings came off - they realised that some
insects or worms had been positioned under the bandages. Of course it could have been a native
cure, but the patrol suspected that the intention was to blind the child so it could be sent out
begging. Kinder that hot needles I sure you will agree.
I did three quite long stints at Habilayn, where the enemy "blindicide?" rockets were coming in
several times a week. There were about 300 or more army chaps there, including SAS, supported
by just a BASO and 2 RAF erks at any one time, handling Bevs, Andovers (I think), Wessex,
Scouts and Sioux helicopters, Twin-pioneers and Beavers, with occasional Dakota visits, and also
the odd Hunter strikes called up when a gang of "dizzies" had been spotted. Being on 24 hour
15
call-out, we never did regular guard duties, or had to carry the old 303s, because whenever we
were sent anywhere dodgy we strutted around with .38 Smith & Wesson pistols, or sterling submachine guns much of the time, and felt we were really into something. With good reason
sometimes, because at Habilayn we came under "dissident" fire on many nights, mostly sporadic
rifle fire, but also from rockets sometimes - which the British Army returned with mortars and
G.P.M.G.s, and occasionally our 105s would open up, if they had a target, it could certainly get
quite noisy, and a bit scary too. Especially if you were in the "shitehouse" at the time, which was
mostly used after nightfall, as it was both very exposed, and rather too stinky during the day.
Once, when we were attacked, really quite fiercely, I recall several of us were cowering in our
sanger dugouts, the tent shaking so much that one of our chap shouted it was "rubble falling on
us, and we'll get a direct hit in minute". But not so - it was just a chap called "Skegs" Curran, who
was so scared we couldn't get him to move into the "sanger" and so he was hiding under a
bed, with his legs kicking against the walls of the tent! But they did kill some of us sometimes The cookhouse got it once, which was just twenty yards from where we slept.
I well recall another incident, at Habilayn, when a bunch of Marines had been brought up country,
for the experience of it, and somehow an anti-tank weapon they were being shown (which I think
was normally detonated from a protective pit in the ground) went off by accident and killed nine
or ten of them by the blast. I'd seen the flash and bang from our side of the camp, and minutes
later we could just make out people scurrying around unusually. We alerted a Wessex crew, who
were on standby in the next tent, and as soon they found out what had happened I went with
them to the gun-site about a mile way from the camp.... they were all dead and laying just as
they fell. Funny thing was I lifted three or four of them myself, I remember it was as if they
weighed no more than sleeping children - must be the adrenalin. After they were checked over by
an M.O., the bodies were brought out onto the strip again and lined up on their stretchers, in the
heat of the Aden sun, and impromptu guard of honour was formed. It was brought to attention,
by some hairy-arsed RSM, whilst the bodies were loaded into a Wessex, to go back down to
Khormaksar. Then, as the last one went in, a bugler played the Last Post. The remembrance of
that moment still gets my neck hairs going even now.
My team also so did one long trip down to Lethoso and Botswana, in two Bevs, for their
independence celebrations, with a glorious few weeks living off the hog at the George Hotel,
Manzini, in Swaziland. As far as I remember the route was via Mombasa, Lourenco Marques, to
Matsapa? then on to both the capitals for their respective Independence Days, with a contingent
of UK bandsmen and foreign office on types on board, flown in to mark the occasion. I also
somehow got to see something of Madagascar on the return trip - I think because we could not
get into Lourenco Marques. I also remember a couple of trips to a place called Assab, by the Red
Sea, when we were picking up foodstuffs that had be dumped there and collected, for some
political because the Suez Canal was impassable, (I think) but I forget the exact reason.
Another time, at short notice, we had to take a squad of FRA (Federal Republican Army) soldiers,
(our side) and some British soldiers chaps, to bail out the local pro-British Sheik on the Island of
Socotra, who was being got at by some "dizzies" who had sailed out from the mainland. We
landed and all spread with guns at the ready, to protect the aircraft, while some young officer, led
his platoon and their FRA backup into the nearby township. An hour later, without a shot being
fired they emerged with prisoners in tow - the captives and the FRA seemingly on the best of
terms, the prisoners made a pile of their weapons and we took them all back to the mainland. I
heard later they'd been beheaded, but I don't know if it was true.
Several times we got to fly and work on a Belfast, especially towards the end, when a lot of stuff
was going up to Bahrain, but in general most of the shorter sorties were in Beverley aircraft. Of
course whilst we "blue jobs" were swanning around in aeroplanes, the real everyday action was in
and around the strategic centres and townships, such as the notorious Crater District, where the
army patrols would be getting shot at many times every day, especially in the last months
16
But it was not always like that. At the start of my tour at Aden we used to be able to go
swimming in the sea to Elephant Bay, beyond Steamer Point, but later as things got tighter we
were recommended not to go far at all. On one of my rare later recreational visits downtown,
along the Maalla shopping strip (later known as the Murder Mile), on my 21st birthday, our own
small group was sniped at from a nearby building - that made it memorable.
I think, towards the end were supplemented by some UK MAMS chaps, the names escape me
now, but I do remember, coming in from off a Beverley flight, and on opening the clamshells and
lowering the ramps - seeing a gang of pasty-faced, white-kneed newcomers waiting there.. On
asking a rather plump chap among them to put the pegs into the anti-tip strut for me, I was met
with a torrent of "who the F--- do you think you are.." type abuse. That was my first meeting
with Jimmy Hill, (who l later found out was a very experienced air mover already) and J.H. did not
take kindly to being told what to do. Jimmy and I were both posted to Benson, and he often
pulled my leg about that incident.
After the close-down of Khormaksar, when Aden became the Peoples Republic of South Yemen,
Barry, me Rod and Allan ended up spending a further six months in Bahrain. From there making
two or three trips into Jeddah and Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia, taking in radar cabins, and up to
Kuwait a coupe of times and into Teheran once, I forget why. And once we took part in a
exercise on Yas Island in the Gulf, that was early-aborted, because the paratroopers and other
soldiers taking part could not cope with the 140 degrees heat.
But by then I was ready to come home. It was not the same at Muharraq, it was more humid,
there was less to do, and there was not the sense of purpose that we felt in Aden. Also whilst in
Aden the MAMS teams were the envy of many on the camp, because of the variety in our roles,
and because we were we excused parades and guard duties and worked unusual hours. Up at
Muharraq we were just incomers - with no privileges, living in the transit billet, and resented a bit
by some of the movers already there - can't blame them, we got all the interesting jobs and must
have seemed a bit cocky.
Khormaksar was for a while, the busiest airport in the world, because it was also a civil airport and
a route station to the Far East for civil and military aircraft of several countries and governments.
I remember a few very tense hours once when an Air India passenger jet could not get its landing
gear down, and so it stacked around for hours, to use up its fuel, before a crash-landing without
wheels. It was smoky, but fairly quiet as it slid along on its belly, but it ran out of runway and
went through the perimeter fence in the sea (maybe that was the plan) and came to rest twenty
yards out into the shallow water. I was there with a fire crew, and, miraculously, nobody was
hurt, except the pilot who was only bruised - but he did a terrific job to get them down so safely.
In the last few weeks of RAF Khormaksar we were all very busy bringing back stuff from up
country for shipping anything worth taking, back to the UK or up to RAF Muharraq. But to see
that great hive of activity being so rapidly run down and stripped of everything useful, first by us,
and then by the locals, was more than a little sad. My understanding of the politics of it is still a
bit hazy but, though an orderly one, it was still an ignominious withdrawal. We'd been forced out
by sustained terrorist activity by FLOSY and the NLF, but as soon as the British did leave the
place, it quickly descended into inter-factional fighting and chaos. Despite that, such is the way
of international politics, that I found myself, whilst then stationed up in Bahrain, going back to
Aden again, in a C130, not long after we were kicked out, supplying the new government with JP
trainer aircraft and parts!
And perhaps my only personal small claim to a place in history derives from those few weeks,
when as the very last RAF serviceman out of Aden - just one step ahead of a Major Gen Philip
Tower, who was C. in C. Middle East, I was also the very first uniformed serviceman (as far as I
know) to set foot in Aden again - on the first flight back. When we were not sure it if was safe to
land or not, but as soon as we stopped moving, and the side doors opened, I jumped out, in
order or to claim that dubious distinction before anyone else could do so.
17
After my tour I heard it said that there were many more incidents of bombs, explosive sabotage,
snipings, etc in the Aden campaign, than any other "peacetime" engagement, including N.
Ireland. Though far fewer fatalities than N.I., but of course as the "enemy" had a different skin
colour, and we lived largely behind barbed wire, security was easier to maintain. So, having had
all this excitement, (I was still only twenty one) it was bit of a come-down to to end up at
RAF Benson, in the Ops Centre, doing Argosy "trim sheets!
J4276154 SAC "Ned" Nethercoat C.
People.
The names I recall were Flying officer Nigel Sanders, Pilot Officer Paul Stamp, and Flying Officer
Jock Drysdale, (who all tended only to turn out only on the longer or more interesting trips!) and
the O/i.c. was a very tetchy Flight Lieutenant Mcleod, known to all as "Black Mac", because of the
sweetness of his temper in the mornings. One of the two sergeants was Tony Lamb, another was
John Mathews, (who became very keen on the Nairobi night life) and there were at least a couple
more whose names I will need a prompt on. Two flight sergeants I do remember were "Chiefy"
Pollock, who taught us all the words to the songs "The West Claire Railway" and "The Wild
Rover", which we would often belt after a few Tiger beers, and a very softly spoken Southern
Irishman known as Paddy Guerrin. I think a later replacement for one of them was a Flt Sgt
Belcher. I also recall, again with the benefit of a prompt, a Gordon Gourdie, who was a skinny
Scots chap, who used to wear his flying suit all the time, often with a red baseball cap, and
Gordon often carried a big knife, strapped to his flying suit. And there was a Corporal Ross
McKerron, who was something on the RAF mountain rescue team. My two closest mates at
Khormaksar, not on MAMS, but with whom I hung around off-duty, were a Corporal Dick Lynn
(who I knew from my days at RAF Cosford) a very big chap, whose hobby was football refereeing,
and and SAC John Cosgrove.
My postings 1964/69
RAF Innsworth - square-bashing
RAF Kirton in Lindsey -Supplier A. training
RAF Cosford - permanent staff at S.C.A.F.
RAF Abingdon - Air Movements training
RAK Khormaksar in Aden - MAMS service
Raf Muharraq in Bahrain - MAMS service
RAF Benson - Load Control in Ops Centre.
Demobbed July 1969
18
E-MAILS, LETTERS AND NOTICES
The Editor, Team Brief, UKMAMS Association, PO Box 1126, Swindon, Wilts,
SN5 7WB.
E-mail: [email protected]
An interesting coincidence in this edition:- A letter and photo of Bill Girdwood from Barry
Tappenden, and a letter and article from Bill Girdwood himself. A bit more from Rip Kirby and
John Guy answers the question of why the Officers Movements Course photo’s started with such a
high number. (Letter below)
Hi Mick,
I was a student in 1968 at RAF Abingdon (No.101 Senior Air Movements Course).
The students included Officer's, WO's and SNCO's which is the answer to your question.
Regards,
John Guy
Retired Mover
Hi Mick
Thanks for my copy of issue 51. I don't know if a copy of the attached was ever been
published but it might bring back some memories for the old guys. If my memory is correct the
course was at Abington from 27th Jan to 27th Mar 1969. I'm the ugly guy middle row seventh
from the left.
A bit of my history, Air Movs Sqn's at Wyton, Akrotiri, Brize Norton, prior to these postings a
supplier, demob in 76, various jobs but for the last nine years earning a very good living as a pipe
fitter for a local company in Doncaster.
19
Now for some help please if you can, being an ex brat of the 46th entry out of Hereford
62/63.over the years we been having great reunions but out of 51 brats on the pass out photo 10
cannot be found. Does anybody know where the following can be found please, John Bridges,
John Berry, Bunny Hair, Irving, Paul Jarvis, Kerr, Jeff Norman, Dave Roach, Allan Rockey, and
Terry. Any help would be much appreciated however small a lead it is.
If you are ever stuck for articles and are interested I have written a small article complete with
photos about my tour at Kuching back in 65/66.This was first published on the OBA'S Site. Trouble
is it runs into 11 pages long but I am sure you have a very good editors pencil.
Cheers
Robbie Taylor
All articles gratefully received Robbie, long or short.
Terry Mulqueen has pointed out my error in the last edition…apology’s to all those
who expected the info but didn’t get it…….details below.
Dear Editor
I am intrigued by the mention and mail from one Alex Mabon, you see we both must have joined
up about the same time and were at El Adem at the same time, but I just can"t place the name.I
would love to obtain his book, but unfortunately you didn't mention the title or anything of Alex's
where abouts. Can you or maybe the man himself enlighten me, you see I think I may have
caused a little of the old "mayhem" at both Lyneham and El Adem, so I might recognize some
passages in the book. I await with anticipation.
Terry Mulqueen .
PS. We live half of the year in the good ole U.S.A.now so I hope I hear before our next departure
about March "05.
Mick,
Many thanks for email. Please pass on my email details to anybody interested in the book. I
remember Terry. It will be good to communicate with him. For the next edition of the magazine
perhaps you could mention the following details.
"The Lads from the Ferry" by Alex Mabon ISBN No. 1-843861-29-1 published by Vanguard press
Price £ 7.99. Obtainable from all good book stores or from www.amazon.co.uk
Anybody wishing a signed copy can receive one from me.
The book has just finished number 4 in the Christmas charts in the Highland region having been
beaten by Michael Palin, The De Vinci Code, and a John Grisham novel. I am well pleased with the
performance. The sequel is due out in May.
Best wishes for 2005
Regards
Alex Mabon
20
Good morning,
I am hoping this note is getting to the right person, or can be passed along if needed.
My name is Andrew Kay and I am an ex-mover from a long time back (1973 -1979). A friend and
another ex mover sadly passed away last week and I thought I would try to let any of his old
friends that might remember him know about this sad event. Dennis Hartill was a instructor at
the old Air Movements Training School (as it was back then) and was one of my instructors during
by basic movements operators course and also when I returned for my advanced course. I later
worked with him for over 7 years in Oman when we were both in the Air Movements section at
Seeb in the Sultan of Oman's Air Force (SOAF), now RAFO.
Sadly Dennis passed away last week. Although I have lived in the USA for the last 17 years, I still
kept in contact with him through a close friend that lived near him. He underwent quadruple
heart bypass surgery about 14 years ago, and never fully recovered from it although he managed
to make a stop at the local pub in St. Juste (Cornwall) a couple of times a week.
I am sure a few of the old-timers will remember him and raise a glass in his memory.
kind regards,
Andrew Kay
By pure coincidence, Andrew and Dennis are in the photo on the back page - No 10 Movements
Operators Course….Mick
To The Editor,
Just browsing through some old photos
trying to relive a few great experiences I
had with MAMS FEAF & FEAF MAMS, 1964
-67. I was SAC Barry Tappenden, young,
wet behind the ears, but with the help of,
what I now consider the best bunch of lads
I have every encountered, survived my 39
years in the mob. To name a few, Bob
Turner, Ray Scott, Rab Devlin, Bill
Girdwood, Derek Hartland.
I retired some 4 years ago and I am
working for the Bedford Borough Council
as the Mayor's Officer/ Sergeant at Arms
(and a few little extras thrown in.)
Anyhow just to let you see Bill in Saigon,
Bob Turner in Bario, always said he had a
big weapon! and Ray escaping the crazed
Chef! (Photo’s right and next page)
I also enclose a membership form, that I
came across when I took the Mayor to
Coventry, some of the old buggers may
want to sign up to it.
My very best regards
Barry
Flt Lt W. Girdwood from the Mobile Air
Movements Squadron, based at Seletar,
being greeted on arrival in Vietnam.
21
Dear Editor
Just a brief note for the UKMAMS Newsletter to let you know that I'm still breathing. I'm
still with the UN, having moved on from East Timor earlier this year after to the UN Operation in
Burundi (ONUB). I'm based in the capital, Bujumbura and rejoice in the title of Chief of Logistics
Operations. Needless to say, the job covers a multitude of sins and is incredibly busy and varied
as we are in the process of establishing the UN peacekeeping mission and supporting the
forthcoming elections there. Of course, I'm still available for a beer if anyone happens to be
passing through deepest Africa. Seasons greetings to all.
Geoff Nolan
Dear Mick,
OK, OK, OK!! I have put off writing this for years because it is probably extremely dull for your
young, full-blooded readers. However, there are some of us still around who were directly
involved, and I can assure you that it was far from dull at the time.
Please only print if you consider it of interest to the readers of Team Brief. You have my full
support in editing it down to whatever size you like. To all my friends and enemies, I send my
very best wishes; it is sad that I live far too far away to ever get to 'Meet and greets' but I
normally make the trek down to the Movements Officers reunion, although I missed this year
because I was abroad.
They really were the best of times, you know!
Fondest,
Bill Girdwood
22
OPERATION HILLCLIMB
By Bill Girdwood
In 1964 I was posted to FEAFMAMS. Soon after arriving at Seletar, I was detached to FEAFOC
(Far East Air Force Operations Centre) for a 3 month stint as the tame Movs tasker. All tasks for
any airlift requirement came in to the centre for resolution and air transport tasks often involved
MAMS personnel, hence our presence in the centre team.
In early December 1964 a task was quickly passed by the operators to me for resolution. It
involved building a radar station on top of a hill in Penang, off the north western coast of Malaya.
I glanced at it, laughed and put it in the pending tray. It was at the height of the Indonesian
insurgency and we were very busy, so that was my excuse for not looking at it again until a quiet
period the following weekend.
The Royal Engineers and MPBW (Ministry of Public Buildings and Works) needed to get
approximately 3800 tons of building equipment and a complete TPS34 Radar station to the top of
Penang Hill. There was no road access, so they thought that a helicopter lift was the answer. In
those days an average lift was less than 3000lbs, hence the hollow laugh which the operators had
given this task.
I found out from the local area maps that there was a funicular railway from the foot of the hill to
a point about 3 miles short of the top. Additionally there was a tarmac road, although very
narrow and windy, linking the top station to the top of the hill. Perhaps a surface Movs task was a
possibility.
On the Monday I went to see Mov 1, Sqn Ldr Ray Smith, later to be DDMov1 (RAF), who was very
doubtful but agreed to an on-site recce. Together with Supply2, Sqn Ldr Alf Beale, later to
become D Mov(RAF), I went up to RAAF Butterworth on the RNZAF shuttle from Changi and then
over to the island of Penang. What a magnificent place it was then. We went to see the very
large and intimidating Sikh manager of the Penang Hill Railway who was very co-operative and
took us up the hill to see the terrain. Having walked the site for the project, we got permission
from the state government to go ahead and from the railway authorities to undertake ‘minor’
mods to one of their trains.
Back in Changi, agreement was sought and given for contracts to be let and I chose an operation
nickname from the authorised list – it just happened that ‘hill climb’ was available! OC FEAFMAMS
agreed that I could nominally be appointed the project planning officer and someone else was
detached to the FEFOC desk.
Over the next 6 months the detailed plans were completed and on 7 October 1965, a MAMS team
left on detachment to Penang, comprising Derek Hartland, Derek Smith, Bob Turner, Rab Devlin,
Flint McCullough, Bill Holder and myself. Over the next 12 months or so, we became the first and
perhaps the only ever funicular qualified movers and, judging by the large number of high ranked
visitors, an oddity which would not have been misplaced in the local zoo rather than comprising a
detached military unit!
After getting our basic kit up to Penang, by air and train, we set up our detachment HQ with the
locally based 3rd RGJ at Crerar barracks on the island. We had been authorised to task 8 Sqn
RAAF, Hueys based at Butterworth, direct, by-passing FEFOC and thus were able to get up to the
top of the hill to assess the requirements for moving items from the railway to site. We got
agreement that our first task was to move the materials necessary for the engineers to build a
23
proper hard helipad, as every time it rained our grass/mud pad went black for hours/days except
in emergency. We also had to modify the funicular luggage wagon, which was attached to the
front of the passenger carriage, to take our vehicles up to the top. This was made no easier by
having to transfer from one train to another half way up, because each half was on a separate
cable track! Additionally we could only start work after the last public train of the day had
departed, because of insurance problems, which was 21.30hrs!!
So the first few weeks were spent preparing a landrover and a rough terrain fork lift carrier and its
trailer, so that we could move cargo from the top railhead to the site, and moving the odd bits
and pieces, mainly underslung, on our Hueys. Next we started shovelling aggregate into the rail
wagon. Did I mention that they only had one wagon??!
The move of building materials took up most of our time, together with a couple of Malay
labourers, for a while, but as the different bits of hard standing were completed on site, so we
could look to airlift bits of the TPS34 as and when it arrived ex USA.. At this stage the Ops staffs
decided that they could not wait for the radar to become operational and needed the FEAF based
‘mobile’ type UPS1 in place in the interim.
The radar was in Singapore and was not airportable which dictated that either it came up selfmobile by road, or it was loaded onto a train, reducing the road movement from the nearest
station to about 5 miles instead of 450! A total of twenty two trucks between 3 and 10 tons were
involved. We returned to Singapore and loaded the vehicles on to a train at Keppel station yard
and the train travelled slowly back up to Butterworth station yard, where we were waiting to
offload it. Turner wanted to clutch all the largest and heaviest trucks and was anxious to board
the ferry with a view to it sinking I think! We each moved trucks for several days, finally
assembling them on an old parade ground which we were going to use for load prep.
Now the really hot work started and we were wearing only KD shorts and desert boots. The
regimental Colonel, one Col Edwin Bramell who was later to be CDS and is now Lord Bramell, sent
his adjutant to tell me that he did not expect officers to be semi-naked in his garrison and would I
put a shirt on. Being the soul of tact, I sent him a message that when I came under his command
I would send him a postcard and we heard nothing further. Additionally, we got very good
support from the support platoon of the RGJ who provided manpower when we most needed it. I
am sure that the Colonel knew nothing of this.
We had to get a 66 Sqn Belvedere for a couple of weeks to complete this phase of the task and it
duly arrived, about 2 weeks late if I remember correctly. The lifts were very dicey because no load
plans existed for the UPS1 by Belvedere!! We made them up as we went along and had no
major catastrophes, although we did have to jettison one load in the sea. This was a 22 foot long
girder which was very difficult to sling, but its replacement went up safely. The aircraft captain
was one Flt Lt Bill Russell, a gifted pilot and the most experienced Belvedere jock in the RAF.
Without his expertise and pragmatic approach, we could never have done it. The radar was up
and running ahead of time and all this while, Bill Holder tractor movements continued to move
loads up via the railway and the MPBW builders, mainly Chinese women, carried on
humping………well, you know what I meant!
After a break in Singapore, back at base, we returned to receive the new and shiny TPS34 which
had arrived at Butterworth by chartered DC6. Each of the different modules was assembled on a
skip, to which one could attach wheel sets to move the skips around. We only had a couple of
wheel sets so were somewhat limited and the skips had no brakes. Moving them around on site
was an exciting time for all. If they were not bottoming out on the hilly terrain they were sliding
down towards the newly constructed sewerage farm, with Bill Holder or Derek Smith screaming to
everyone to get out of the way. The rough terrain fork lift brakes were really never designed to
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hold a trailer weighing up to 30cwt on a one in five hill! Nevertheless, we prevailed and after
what seemed only a few weeks but was in fact nearly a year, the new CO of RAF Western Hill, as
the new station was named, arrived and made his presence felt by giving orders to FEAFMAMS
personnel who were less than happy. We sorted that out and he had the grace to apologise and
say that he had misunderstood our role.
And so we came to the official opening: I think it was a bigwig from HQFE – an admiral perhaps?
– and we were not invited! Nuff said. We did have the honour of being offered the first glass of
water from the on-site production facility. For some reason none of the lads was keen when they
found out that it was recycled sewage from the site, but after the chief sewage engineer had a
glass, yours truly obliged everyone by trying it. Apart from Turner, Devlin, Holder, McCullough
and Smith reminding me that the toilets catered for all ranks plus the coolies and waiting hopefully
to see me fall over, it tasted fine.
We all returned to Seletar and have gone our separate ways, but some of us have never lost
touch. It may not have been the most exciting or dangerous of tasks but I defy anyone to find
one as unusual or as magnificently concluded. But then you wouldn’t expect anything else from
FEAFMAMS!!
Now………………..more news of the outside world from Rip Kirby
Greetings earthlings.
Yes, it is time for some more periodic ramblings from one of HMs finest (ex) baggage stackers and
military genius. On this occasion I thought that you might like a view from the world of
commercial aviation, as compared to the RAF. If you answered yes: please read on, if no: feel free
to turn the page.
As you might know, I am currently gainfully employed by Servisair (or CircusAir by our
detractors) at Inverness as a Ramp Agent. Our rivals: British Airways handlers here weren’t
recruiting at the time I was looking and are probably too wise to employ a time expired old geezer
like me. Now, Ramp Agent is just a posh name for traffic monkey. But unlike TG 18 (Movs),
civilian handling agents provide many more services than just flinging bags around. I have been
back to school to learn the black arts of ground power, toilet & water servicing, ac start ups, tug
driving/pushbacks, and de-icing (when required…which is usually 11 months a year here in the far
north !). About the only thing we don’t do is wave at taxiing planes with day-glo coloured table
tennis bats, put the petrol in or fix them with band aids. Also covered on my induction course
were equal opportunities, health & safety and manual handling. Aviation has apparently overtaken
the building industry as regards work related injuries. From talking to colleagues it transpires
these subjects are relatively new to the company and gaining in importance (though there are
employees who are very resistant to the new regime). So, perhaps surprisingly, the Forces appear
to be way ahead on these matters. As you may guess, attributes from my former life stood me in
good stead with quickly getting to grips with the new environment.
A RAF Mover can really shine and progress fast in this job, coming ready equipped so to speak
with (hopefully) commitment, good time keeping and forward planning skills as well as the basic
logistics know how. Whilst not wishing to be too disparaging to some of my current colleagues, I
have to say that they could learn a lot from JSP 327 & AP 3150. (You’re a sad man, Kirby, if you
still remember those manuals … or were they vehicle chocks !). Watching them watch a plane
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land & taxi in before realising all the steps are at the wrong height, or get halfway through loading
before wondering if the distribution (same as used on the previous flight) is correct for this one
can be most amusing. Or frustrating if you are on the same team and haven’t managed to do the
prep yourself. Sadly, the job pays peanuts so sometimes you get monkeys. Doubt if I could live
solely on these wages, unless moving up to the Dispatcher or Management levels. But it tops up
the service pension nicely, and I wasn’t planning on doing it forever.
That said: we have a pretty good crew here (some real characters), get by ok, and (nearly)
always get the flights out on time. The shifts aren’t too bad: 4 days on two off, averaging 40hrs a
week, but some early starts or late finishes. All those 0430 wake up calls for wheels @ 0500 as a
MAMS Commando were good experience for this job. It’s also interesting to see that the problems
encountered in the brightly coloured airline world are often identical to those I experienced
working with camouflaged transporters. Personnel shortages: trying to turn-round a full pax (on &
off) Airbus in 20 mins (the requirement by an airline founded by someone called Stelios) with 4
guys (including 1 non driver) cannot be done I assure you. Equipment shortages; one of only 2
noddy tugs here off-road awaiting spares for 4 weeks and just 3 sets of steps to sometimes share
between 4 concurrent ac turn-rounds. Thank goodness for planes with their own front air-stairs, I
say. Inverness is one of the fastest growing airports in UK: the current infrastructure was built
when there were just a couple of internal UK 737s per day. Now you can add another scheduled
737, two Airbuses, 2-3 146s and a ½ dozen Jetstream puddle jumpers on an average day. Plus
numerous international charters ranging from MD80s to Fokker 100s. Sometimes we are even
graced by a visiting Giant Lockheed Hercules Transport Aircraft, for example Red Arrows or
Falcons support for a local jamboree. So: busy busy busy – doing more & more with the same
amount of guys and kit (sound familiar to you ?) is the order of the day. The management assure
us that there is light at the end of the tunnel (now where have I heard that before ?). A new or
extended terminal, more ramp space and extra ACHE are all on our Xmas wish list. Particularly
nice would be some sort of transfer loader for when other stations forget that we normally only
loose load bags here and send us a plane with ULDs on. Fingers crossed it’s only happened once
(so far). And flow clashes are often the norm: unlike the self proclaimed ‘Home Of Air Transport &
AAR’ base in Oxfordshire we cannot tell the airlines to change their timings to suit us. Sorry ‘bout
the dig BZZ, couldn’t resist it.
Now, a Logistics Article would not be complete without statistics would it ? For those interested:
passenger movements here are expected to reach 500,000 this year. Not bad for a wee provincial
airport where we still chase sheep off the runway before each landing. So: talking of passengers –
where would we be without them eh ? Probably less stressed than dealing with only cargo I can
tell you. Still, they do cause much merriment at times. I’ll start to close now (hurrah, I hear the
cry) with a few amusing anecdotes. How about the traveller who got on the wrong plane (and
fortunately got off again in time). Whilst passenger services might be said to be at fault for not
giving her clearer boarding directions: if you knew you were flying with British Midland (red white
and blue colours) why would you walk out to an orange and white plane with EasyJet helpfully
written on the side. Or the chap who, having shown his passport as ID at initial check in, promptly
put it in his hold bag…..which then had to be retrieved from the ac so he could get through to
departures. Fortunately the flight was tech u/s (yes, we get those too) at the time so it wasn’t too
much hassle. Then there was the most unusual Special Dietary Notification: “passenger X has a
phobia of onions“. Finally, the Pressing The Wrong Button Numpty Award goes to……a recent BMI
captain. Whilst waiting for the plane to taxi out we got a call to standby to put the steps back on
as a passenger was ill. Turned out the captain had inadvertently played an emergency
announcement tape through the cabin and Mrs Miggins took a funny turn. Fortunately the
stewards calmed her down (probably with a large G&T) and the flight departed without further
ado. Hope these made you smile.
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So there it is: a little insight into commercial vs military air transport. Sounds similar ? – yes.
Would I job swap back ? – no. Despite the hassle and free peanuts it’s still better than doing it in
an obscure desert lugging a rifle around. So if you fancy a change: a ramp agent post will become
available here in the Highlands on the 1st November. Me ? I’m off on the piste again – migrating
south again to winter in the Alps working for a ski travel company. Thanks for listening. Regards
to all. And for those in harms way (Friday night in Gander ?) – keep yer ‘eads down.
Here's a couple of pictures
sent in by Steve "Spider"
Jolley. I believe they were
taken in Basra (I'm sure
someone will correct me if
I'm wrong) when he flew in
with an IL76. Pictured left
with SAC Tony Stubbs and
a couple of others in the
truck I can't make out,
and below with FS Steve
Joyce, who by coincidence,
is pictured on the last page
while an AC on his
Operators course in 1973.
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No 10 Movement Operators Course - 10 Oct to 4 Dec 1973
Back Row - AC Jennings, AC Corbyn, AC Verth, AC Kay, AC Graham, AC Fryett
Middle Row - AC Joyce, AC Griffiths, AC Leonard, AC Casey, AC Liggett, AC Witham,
AC Anderson, AC Barter, AC Avison, AC Irving
Front Row - AC Tesch, Sgt Fell (DS), Sgt Husband (DS), FS Pike (DS), Sqn Ldr Harries (OC),
Flt Lt Cox (DS), Sgt Potts (DS), Sgt Hartill (DS), Sgt Cormack (DS), AC McLeod
No 5 Movement Controller Course -31 Jan -6 mar 1973
Back Row - SAC's Whitton, Sked, Ralls, Crossfield, Cpl Evans, SAC's Bradley, Jones, Muir,
Griffiths, Sadler
Front Row - Sgt Sugg, Sgt Harris, Flt Lt Cox, Sqn Ldr Harries, FS Janman, Sgt Hartill, Cpl
Scott
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