RAF KHORMAKSAR
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What film Herod?
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Nothing to do with CGI - strobe effect surely. In Westerns wagon wheels often went backwards, and once in a while front wheels would rotate one way and rear wheels the other.
KHORMAKSAR 1952 -- through the eyes of an 11-year-old
ABDULLAH the chowkidar guards the families’ gate from his little sentry box, leaving one section open for pedestrians and opening the other only for the gharri. Everyone likes Abdullah, who spent many years in India so we converse in a mixture of Arabic, Hindi and English. Dave and I greet him as we leave his gate onto the Sheikothman Road on our way to the pool, with Graham and Robert a short distance behind.
Along comes a camel cart, its driver asleep on top of his load. Dad says the Arabs have a special chewing gum called qat that makes them sleepy so the carters pull their dishdash over their heads and leave the camel to plod the 18 miles from Crater to Sheikothman or vice versa. It has been known for carts to be set onto reciprocal heading, so the driver awakes at his starting point. We choose the variation known as camel cart tennis, in which the cart is sent to and fro between the participants.
Dodgy things, camels, they will bite, kick or spit from both ends, so we’re careful as we walk alongside, bid it salaam, and gently pull on the rein. This one is quite amenable and is soon padding back towards Crater, and when it reaches Graham he turns it around again. Unfortunately this beast has a defective autopilot, and as we wait to turn it back it swings to the port, then starboard, then hard port. We watch in horror as the camel plods wearily through the pedestrian gate.
One wheel of the cart brings down the closed section of gate, the other topples Abdullah’s box which acts as a chock and brings it to a halt. A furious driver slides down from its side and begins to shout in Arabic, an equally angry Abdullah emerges from his wrecked box. We flee to the swimming pool and forget all about it.
On our return the good fairy had repaired both gate and sentry box, or so we thought. The angry shouting had awakened half the Patch, including our parents, who had to leave their afternoon naps and carry tools and timber half a mile from the hangars to repair the damage during the hottest part of the day. This is explained to us in a brief but very painful interview.
Another week of detention imposed for the camel cart affair, and I’m woken by a terrible racket from below. It’s very late, about 9.30 pm, and I peep down from the top of the stairs to see David’s parents with Mum and Dad. The air is thick with cigarette smoke, and they have a bottle of special Grown-up Cola that I’m not allowed, not that I’d want it anyway. I tried a sip of Dad’s once when he was at the bathroom and it’s foul, it’s nearly as bad as milk.
Mum is all giggly, the way she is at Christmas, and the two fathers are roaring with laughter over a big green folder which they pass to David’s mum, who reads it, turns bright red and collapses onto the sofa making a gasping noise. At once I recognise the symptoms. I’m about to go down and tell Mrs. Brindley I’m very sorry she has caught VD and I hope she gets better soon when, just in time, I remember the Official Secrets Act which declares VD as a State secret, or so we were told. I tiptoe back to bed and go out like a light.
I wake to the 0700 bugle calls from the Aden Protectorate Levies lines half a mile away. My parents are still sound asleep and I consider flinging their doors open shouting ‘Wakey wakey rise and shine’ the way Dad does with mine, but some sixth sense warns that this might not be the wisest course today. From the verandah I see Graham mooching towards our house, carrying his pet land crab Abdul in a shoebox as usual. We take Abdul everywhere except into the swimming pool because being a land crab he doesn't like water. Graham says his parents are still asleep too so we look around for something to eat. On the table beside the overflowing ashtray is the green folder they had last night. Inside we find a single typed sheet:
Station Routine Orders, RAF Khormaksar. Addendum ref. 234/52 It has been brought to the notice of the Station Commander that personnel have been interfering with camels on the Sheikothman Road. This practice will cease forthwith. Signed: Officer Commanding.
“What’s funny about that? Last week they give us a whacking for turning the camel, now they laugh about it”, says Graham. We commiserate on the problems of having grown-ups until Mum comes downstairs and we assure her that we are not hungry, we don’t mind having no breakfast. She looks guilty and says Graham can stay for breakfast, after which he can ask his parents if he can go to the Steamer Point lido, and here’s a shilling for the gharri. We can’t believe our luck.
As we pass Abdullah he says naughty boys, naughty boys, but his eyes are smiling. I lean from the gharri, put my hands together in Indian greeting and say Salaam, Abdullah sahib. Salaam, chota sahib, he replies, points at his gate and breaks into a roar of laughter. We wave to each other until the gharri goes out of sight. We’re friends again, the sun shines and all’s well in our happy little world.
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Sorry, The Last Post, again
Hello All
I gather the aforesaid prog, has provoked some debate in these forums.
I am late to it having come first via Martin Lewis Money saving forums. A brief and unsuccessful, look around FaceBook, and then following a pm on the Martin site, over to Arrse. A helpful ex pongo there directed me over here.
I'll keep it brief. As a single airman, Khormaksar, stores, on a two year tour, 64-66, I suppose there is a very good chance that I never went to Little Aden, and so could not have discovered this mythical RMP base?
I remember Steamer Point, The Lido and Malla Strait, and still have the Omega Constellation purchased from Bhots.
Perhaps I do need to trawl back through the posts since the programme started, but if anyone can confirm any military units based in Little Aden, and the BP club, I would be interested to hear.
All the Best
Dave
I gather the aforesaid prog, has provoked some debate in these forums.
I am late to it having come first via Martin Lewis Money saving forums. A brief and unsuccessful, look around FaceBook, and then following a pm on the Martin site, over to Arrse. A helpful ex pongo there directed me over here.
I'll keep it brief. As a single airman, Khormaksar, stores, on a two year tour, 64-66, I suppose there is a very good chance that I never went to Little Aden, and so could not have discovered this mythical RMP base?
I remember Steamer Point, The Lido and Malla Strait, and still have the Omega Constellation purchased from Bhots.
Perhaps I do need to trawl back through the posts since the programme started, but if anyone can confirm any military units based in Little Aden, and the BP club, I would be interested to hear.
All the Best
Dave
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Mine was ADN 4728 Chevrolet (4.0 litre straight 6) coupe, bought from Mr T.M Jude on the 23 Feb 1963, cost me my EAS 100 Rolex,who ran Judes bookshop near the Rock hotel, have the insurance sheet in front of me (The New India Assurance Co Ltd for Shihab Insurance and Trading Agencies (Aden) Ltd, my licence cost me EAS 5 to the Chief of Police at the driving centre opposite the Shinaz/Shalimar roundabout !, the car ended up sinking into the soft sand on Khormaksar beach after my farewell p1ss up in Crater, must still be there under the sand somewhere, just left it, was gone the following morning covered by the oggin, such was life then, easy come - easy go.
Mine was a Morris Minor 1000 with a black body and white roof. The driver’s door lock never worked and the windows tended to drop down over bumps. I can’t remember where I bought it from or what happened to it when I was tourex. I do recall it was stolen from under our block of flats the night before my family arrived on a BOAC trooping charter, which was very inconvenient, although it was recovered in it’s original delapidated state a few days later.
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Oh, come on! SOMEBODY ask the producers. I'm not doing it again. I got you the film clip of how they did the VC10
For those interested in the costumes, uniforms etc.
The Last Post: the story behind the retro British military wives? costumes
What I noticed about the cars in Aden were where the chrome strips on the bodywork had been removed. In those days the strips were attached by metal clips which started the holes to rust as soon as they were inserted. In Aden with high temperatures and humidity this effect would have been accelerated so they took them off so the holes wouldn't rust so much.
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I recall our Air Troop commander at Little Aden walking to his VW Beetle after work when there was quite a loud Bang! and the rear window was thrown to the rear. It was the only time I heard him swear!!
What I noticed about the cars in Aden were where the chrome strips on the bodywork had been removed. In those days the strips were attached by metal clips which started the holes to rust as soon as they were inserted. In Aden with high temperatures and humidity this effect would have been accelerated so they took them off so the holes wouldn't rust so much.
I have come across a Royal Air Force Khormaksar station magazine from the early 60's. Culling my bookcase, so available to first comer. Consists of 70 pages of history, comment and adverts. Stn Cdr is one Gp Capt AC Blythe DFC.
Mog
Mog
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At Khormaksar 66-67 there was a white Fiat 500 known as "The people's car" It was rentable to non car owners for nothing apart from filling the petrol tank. There were explicit instructions for use, including amorous encounters for the fortunate, stating that the handbrake must be applied during Ops. The only position possible for Ops in a Fiat 500 is standing up in the sun roof. After surviving a rocket attack the car was awarded the GSM and the ribbon was applied from the front to the rear bumper over the top, leaving the aperture of the sun roof free for Ops.