8 Sqd Venom crash in Oman 50 years ago
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8 Sqd Venom crash in Oman 50 years ago
I posted the following in the Military forum, and got no reponses, although there were over 200 visits. I wonder if it is OK to repeat it in the History threads. It seems to me that this 50th anniversary merits a mention.
On 30 August 1958 Flt Lt Owen Watkinson of 8 Sqd RAF based at RAF Sharjah lost his life in the crash of his Venom on the plateau of Jebel Akhdar in Oman. The remains of his aircraft and his grave are still up there at 2000m (see my record at http://l.garey2.googlepages.com/home and http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=319277).
As I shall be in Oman on the 50th anniversary, 30 August 2008, I am hoping to lead a small group back up to the crash site, and I wonder if anyone on this forum has any memories of or insight into this sad event.
I should especially like to hear from any former colleagues or more recent members of 8 Sqd, or indeed from Omani colleagues.
Laurence
On 30 August 1958 Flt Lt Owen Watkinson of 8 Sqd RAF based at RAF Sharjah lost his life in the crash of his Venom on the plateau of Jebel Akhdar in Oman. The remains of his aircraft and his grave are still up there at 2000m (see my record at http://l.garey2.googlepages.com/home and http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=319277).
As I shall be in Oman on the 50th anniversary, 30 August 2008, I am hoping to lead a small group back up to the crash site, and I wonder if anyone on this forum has any memories of or insight into this sad event.
I should especially like to hear from any former colleagues or more recent members of 8 Sqd, or indeed from Omani colleagues.
Laurence
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Yes, that is the one.
(see my record at http://l.garey2.googlepages.com/home and http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=319277).
(see my record at http://l.garey2.googlepages.com/home and http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=319277).
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Laurence
your best contact - if I can find an address for you - would be a chap by the name of Colin Richardson, an old SOAF hand who was IIRC, also on 8 at the time.
He was instrumental in procuring a memorial plaque which was unveiled in Muscat in December 2005 by the UK CDS. As a (less old) SOAF hand myself, I was privileged to be at the unveiling.....
I have a picture of the plaque somewhere, I'll try and post it....
Teeters
Edited to add:
Colin wrote a book about Masirah - "Masirah - Tales from a Desert Island" which was published by Pentland Press. If I can't find an address, they may be able to help.
your best contact - if I can find an address for you - would be a chap by the name of Colin Richardson, an old SOAF hand who was IIRC, also on 8 at the time.
He was instrumental in procuring a memorial plaque which was unveiled in Muscat in December 2005 by the UK CDS. As a (less old) SOAF hand myself, I was privileged to be at the unveiling.....
I have a picture of the plaque somewhere, I'll try and post it....
Teeters
Edited to add:
Colin wrote a book about Masirah - "Masirah - Tales from a Desert Island" which was published by Pentland Press. If I can't find an address, they may be able to help.
Last edited by teeteringhead; 23rd Jun 2008 at 10:48.
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Thanks Teeters.
Yes, I know Colin, and have his book! I have even visited his home/farm/airstrip. I told him about my proposed trip to Jebel Akhdar. He was a friend of Owen Watkinson on 8 at the time of the crash. In fact, in the Al Mahatta Museum, that is on the site of the former RAF Sharjah, there is a copy of a letter from Colin saying something like Sharjah was the worst place on earth: dust, sand and heat. Not good for Venoms, nor for their crews. I did not know about his plaque though!
Laurence
Yes, I know Colin, and have his book! I have even visited his home/farm/airstrip. I told him about my proposed trip to Jebel Akhdar. He was a friend of Owen Watkinson on 8 at the time of the crash. In fact, in the Al Mahatta Museum, that is on the site of the former RAF Sharjah, there is a copy of a letter from Colin saying something like Sharjah was the worst place on earth: dust, sand and heat. Not good for Venoms, nor for their crews. I did not know about his plaque though!
Laurence
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Laurence
I've had to severely "Photoshop" the image - the original was not clear. But I guess it's a challenge to record shiny brass plaques in the dark of an Omani night....
Here goes:
I've had to severely "Photoshop" the image - the original was not clear. But I guess it's a challenge to record shiny brass plaques in the dark of an Omani night....
Here goes:
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Thanks for the photo of the plaque Teeters. I did not know about it, but it is a great idea. Where in Muscat is it?
Are you in Oman still? Would you be around the Nizwa area on 30 August?
Laurence
Are you in Oman still? Would you be around the Nizwa area on 30 August?
Laurence
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Yes, brakedwell. In fact only an hour ago I was rereading your posts resulting from the Sharjah thread (eg post 21):
http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthr...irfield&page=2
I shall give your regards to the Saiq plateau in August.
http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthr...irfield&page=2
I shall give your regards to the Saiq plateau in August.
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Laurence
the plaque is at the Christian cemetary in Muscat. 'Fraid I don't live/work in Oman, 'tis only a place I visit on holiday these days!
I enjoyed the links which led me to Sharjah - RAF Sharjah was my first ever RAF squadron posting in the (very) early 1970s ..... and I suppose that's where my love for that part of the world started... I hadn't seen Sharjah for probably 30-odd years - the Google Earth imagery was barely recognisable - I guess the creek was the only bit that hadn't changed!!
And one can hardly think of Saiq without thinking of the "twin town" of Firq ... but that's another thread I guess.
Enjoy your trip
Teeters
the plaque is at the Christian cemetary in Muscat. 'Fraid I don't live/work in Oman, 'tis only a place I visit on holiday these days!
I enjoyed the links which led me to Sharjah - RAF Sharjah was my first ever RAF squadron posting in the (very) early 1970s ..... and I suppose that's where my love for that part of the world started... I hadn't seen Sharjah for probably 30-odd years - the Google Earth imagery was barely recognisable - I guess the creek was the only bit that hadn't changed!!
And one can hardly think of Saiq without thinking of the "twin town" of Firq ... but that's another thread I guess.
Enjoy your trip
Teeters
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Thanks teeters. I shall try to get to see it.
Sharjah is quite a surprise these days. Unrecognisable, except for the bits of RAF Sharjah that still exist l.garey - RAF Sharjah, Al Mahatta Museum
Sharjah is quite a surprise these days. Unrecognisable, except for the bits of RAF Sharjah that still exist l.garey - RAF Sharjah, Al Mahatta Museum
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On the 8th of August 2008, 8 Squadron will be holding a BBQ & Dining In Night at their present base. I'm sure the Squadron will take time to remember those who died whilst serving on the Mighty Eight. Having followed this thread, I'm so appreciative of the efforts to visit the grave of someone who lays buried so far away from home.
Thank you
Thank you
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Jebel Akhdar, 30 August 2008
As I said when I started this thread, I spent the weekend 2000m up in the Jebel Akhdar mountains in Oman, on the Saiq plateau, to commemorate exactly 50 years since Owen Watkinson crashed there on 30/8/1958. It was odd that we were 8 people up there, including Owen from 8 Sqd, and it was 30/8/08. Lots of 8s.
The site is still much as I knew it 5 years ago, although the new road makes access much easier and there were too many local tourists jumping up and down on the engine casing for my liking. The nose cone has now disappeared, and graffiti is beginning to appear.
We took the opportunity to try to trace the line from the initial impact of the Venom before it dropped into the hollow where it lies today, with Owen's grave alongside. Indeed there are hundreds of pieces of aluminium in a line northward from the final resting place for about 500m, and also fragments of engine casing and armoured glass. Not far away is a large pile of rocks under which Owen was apparently buried initially by the local villagers before being reinterred where he is now alongside his plane. It is said that when the British authorities wanted to move his body to the cemetery in Muscat the locals objected, preferring to keep him where he is.
In view of the super new road up to the plateau there are many more people visiting the site, and I fear that what is left of the Venom will soon be degraded even more.
RIP Owen, in the very beautiful place where you have been already for 50 years
We also had a look at what is left of Saiq airstrip
http://www.pprune.org/aviation-histo...airport-4.html
The site is still much as I knew it 5 years ago, although the new road makes access much easier and there were too many local tourists jumping up and down on the engine casing for my liking. The nose cone has now disappeared, and graffiti is beginning to appear.
We took the opportunity to try to trace the line from the initial impact of the Venom before it dropped into the hollow where it lies today, with Owen's grave alongside. Indeed there are hundreds of pieces of aluminium in a line northward from the final resting place for about 500m, and also fragments of engine casing and armoured glass. Not far away is a large pile of rocks under which Owen was apparently buried initially by the local villagers before being reinterred where he is now alongside his plane. It is said that when the British authorities wanted to move his body to the cemetery in Muscat the locals objected, preferring to keep him where he is.
In view of the super new road up to the plateau there are many more people visiting the site, and I fear that what is left of the Venom will soon be degraded even more.
RIP Owen, in the very beautiful place where you have been already for 50 years
We also had a look at what is left of Saiq airstrip
http://www.pprune.org/aviation-histo...airport-4.html
Last edited by l.garey; 31st Aug 2008 at 11:35.
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Venom on Saiq plateau
Further to my earlier posts about the Venom that crashed in Oman, I have been trying to find information from the various serials on plates on the engine and different parts of the wreckage, but to no avail. Can anyone out there help with this? I add a photo of another piece that I found in the wreckage trail, mentioned above. Anyone recognise it?
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8 Sqn Venom at Saiq, Oman
I visited Saiq last month as part of a wider tour of Oman and the UAE. I was last there in November 1970 (together with Teeters) flying the venerable Wessex with 78 Sqn from Sharjah.
To say the place has changed in 45 years is more than an understatement! For a start, I stayed in a very comfortable 3* hotel above Al Ain village and could just see the red lights around Saiq airstrip only a km or so away. A few hundred metres away is the vast building site of what is to be a 5* resort hotel.
When I visited Owen Watkinson’s grave and the wreck of his Venom in 1970, I walked there from Saiq with some chaps from Hereford. As Laurence Garey commented in an earlier post, “it was a very beautiful place”. Then, there were pieces of rusty shrapnel and other detritus of war lying around the whole area. And there was silence.
Last month I spent an afternoon walking through those wonderful terraced villages Al Agar, Al Ain and Al Sharaijah just below Saiq that I photographed from a Wessex 45 years ago. No enormous changes there other than the fact that many of the lower terraces are no longer irrigated or worked. But, the falaj are still running and there were a fair number of village people cultivating and tidying up among the roses in the terraces closest to the villages.
Now there is a superb 3-lane road up to the plateau. There are numerous buildings in various stages of construction around the area and the grave now sits within a few metres of a road with street lights. The engine and the wing wreckage have been moved next to the grave and the whole lot is now securely fenced. I was unable to find out who holds the key to the enclosure or who is responsible for the safekeeping of the grave or the wreckage. However, despite Laurence’s concern that it would be degraded, looking at my photos from 1970, the engine and wing do not appear to have been badly damaged or vandalised. It was interesting that my guide, and a number of others who visit the area regularly, had no idea of the history and thought it was the wreck of a helicopter. Now that more people have easy access to the Saiq area, it would be nice if the plaque in Muscat could be replicated at Saiq with a very short history.
Some photos to follow when I have mastered how!
To say the place has changed in 45 years is more than an understatement! For a start, I stayed in a very comfortable 3* hotel above Al Ain village and could just see the red lights around Saiq airstrip only a km or so away. A few hundred metres away is the vast building site of what is to be a 5* resort hotel.
When I visited Owen Watkinson’s grave and the wreck of his Venom in 1970, I walked there from Saiq with some chaps from Hereford. As Laurence Garey commented in an earlier post, “it was a very beautiful place”. Then, there were pieces of rusty shrapnel and other detritus of war lying around the whole area. And there was silence.
Last month I spent an afternoon walking through those wonderful terraced villages Al Agar, Al Ain and Al Sharaijah just below Saiq that I photographed from a Wessex 45 years ago. No enormous changes there other than the fact that many of the lower terraces are no longer irrigated or worked. But, the falaj are still running and there were a fair number of village people cultivating and tidying up among the roses in the terraces closest to the villages.
Now there is a superb 3-lane road up to the plateau. There are numerous buildings in various stages of construction around the area and the grave now sits within a few metres of a road with street lights. The engine and the wing wreckage have been moved next to the grave and the whole lot is now securely fenced. I was unable to find out who holds the key to the enclosure or who is responsible for the safekeeping of the grave or the wreckage. However, despite Laurence’s concern that it would be degraded, looking at my photos from 1970, the engine and wing do not appear to have been badly damaged or vandalised. It was interesting that my guide, and a number of others who visit the area regularly, had no idea of the history and thought it was the wreck of a helicopter. Now that more people have easy access to the Saiq area, it would be nice if the plaque in Muscat could be replicated at Saiq with a very short history.
Some photos to follow when I have mastered how!
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Thanks for this update Grizzlie. I am very pleased to hear that the Venom and Owen Watkinson's grave are now protected. Last time I was there (in 2008, see my post 15, above) I was sad to see people jumping on the wings, and that the new road to the Saiq plateau had enabled anyone to get up there easily, and had opened up building sites for housing. It is amazing to read that there will soon be a new hotel. There was just one modest one when I was last there. I presume that the site of the crash is still army ground (a firing range), across which I was able to trace the wreckage trail with bits of aluminium and perspex still visible. What used to be a secluded, almost inaccessible and rather barren (but beautiful) place is now becoming a suburb (not quite, I admit) of Muscat.
Your say that your guide thought it was a helicopter: interestingly on my first visit to the plateau in 2003 I stayed at the then only hotel, where the only information I could get as to the crash site was there there was a wrecked helicopter just up the road: in fact there WAS a wrecked Huey on the army base not far from the Venom. For my account, and some pictures see:
https://sites.google.com/site/lgarey/jebel-akhdar
Your say that your guide thought it was a helicopter: interestingly on my first visit to the plateau in 2003 I stayed at the then only hotel, where the only information I could get as to the crash site was there there was a wrecked helicopter just up the road: in fact there WAS a wrecked Huey on the army base not far from the Venom. For my account, and some pictures see:
https://sites.google.com/site/lgarey/jebel-akhdar
Fascinating Grizzlie, the world moves on regardless.
It would sadden me to go back and spoil my 55 year old memories of a beautiful, unspoilt and inaccessible Jebel Akhdar
Muscat in 1959/61 was fascinating too. (Cue for photos!)
Looking towards Bait
Muscat 1960
Muscat Harbour Forts
It would sadden me to go back and spoil my 55 year old memories of a beautiful, unspoilt and inaccessible Jebel Akhdar
Muscat in 1959/61 was fascinating too. (Cue for photos!)
Looking towards Bait
Muscat 1960
Muscat Harbour Forts
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Venom Crash 9 April 57
Hi
Trying to find info re a Venom Crash 9 Apr 57. My Uncle - Fg Of Walter 'Wally' Price crashed and was killed at Lanzarak. Does anyone have anymore info they could add please.
Trying to find info re a Venom Crash 9 Apr 57. My Uncle - Fg Of Walter 'Wally' Price crashed and was killed at Lanzarak. Does anyone have anymore info they could add please.