During a tour flying Twin Pioneers on 152 Sqn in Bahrain in 1959/61, I regularly flew into Saiq, which is 6000ft up on the Jebel Akdhar. I recall one trip in 1960 with an RAF Padre from HQRAFPG, Bahrain. The plan was to recover the remains of the Venom pilot, Flight Lieutenant Owen Watkinson, and fly him down to Muscat (Bait al Falaj) from where he would be interred in consecrated ground on a small island off the Oman coast. Local tribesmen guided us to a small cave which had been blocked off with stones/boulders for two years. It had been opened up that morning for the padre's visit and he was inside for about fifteen minutes. When he came out he said the body must remain were it had been laid to rest with obvious care and respect. To the locals, he was an honourable foe who had died bravely.
This photo of 8 Sqn Hunters was taken during the great Sharjah flood in February 1961 when the airfield was 100% sand surfaced and beer was cheap!
