harrym, (Your #6359)
Just a few odd words of comment:
"Habbaniya, a long-established RAF base in the Iraqi desert": my friend Niel Ker, after completing his stint in Paris on the Russian Language Course, found himself doing a tour there, mostly monitoring Russian football results on the radio (or so he said).
"dreaded paratroop “buckets”: the trick was to get aboard first and kip down on the pile of mailbags at the back of the cabin.
"Now I have always had great respect for the “Sally Ann": So had my Dad in WW1, as they were always the first to get a good canteen going where it was most needed behind the Lines in France.
"too many...smells": We always said that the only thing mysterious about the East was where all the smell was coming from ! (You got used to it after a year or so).
Danny,