Re the Lightnings - I wonder if they were either Saudi or Kuwait aircraft as I don' think the RAF ever took Lightnings to Aden. Anyone know better?

Pretty sure they're CGI.

I would agree. Why did they not research it more accurately and produce a line of Hunters as I believe 43 Sqn RAF were based at Kormaksar from 1963 to 1967 with Hunters FGA9s?

Plus a BOAC VC10 with a probe ! can remember (1963 ?) when the BOAC VC10 came out to then go on to Nairobi to do "hot and high", got a ride K/Sar to coast near Karachi and return, luxurious after flogging around by Argosy and Bev, Paul H.

8 Squadron (Hunters) was THE resident fighter outfit at Khormaksar. The Lightnings might be real as there were several in South Africa which were flying until relatively recently. I suspect the VC10 could be a museum piece with the BOAC blue faded by the African sun.

Agreed. The missiles are positioned too high up the fuselage compared to the real thing, and, whatever they are, Firestreak or Redtop they ain’t!

You are right. They only had one T5 and that crashed!

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c6...psb4mppbzt.jpg
Another point of accuracy, two of the medal ribbons worn by the incoming and outgoing Captains do not seem to match the period. In the scene of the farewell party they seem to be wearing the same medal ribbons but in reverse order. The left hand ribbon is possibly a GSM (1918) i.e. pre 1962 GSM and could indicate service in Malaya or Cyprus which does match. The right hand ribbon looks to be the UN Korea Medal (1950-1954). However the middle ribbon looks like the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal? Surely not.

The pre 1962 equal width purple green purple GSM looks a strange colour, service in the Arabian Penninsular would also tie in with his age. He would also be entitled to the thin green wide purple thin green post 1962 South Arabia GSM, although I can't remember when they started dishing them out :8

With a UN Korea medal surely he would have had a Queen's Korea Medal?

The "Easy Three" as they were known for service in Korea would have been the pre 62 GSM, the Queen's Korea medal and the U.N. Korea medal as sported by Prison Officer McKay in porridge. The Radfan or South Arabia bars were on the post 62 CSM and tankertrashnav will probably affirm or correct this statement.

I qualified for the post 1962 GSM South Arabia bar due to my time on 105 in 1964 - 66 and the Arabian Peninsular bar on the 1918 GSM when on 152 in 1959 - 61

The ribbons are GSM 1918-62, Coronation Medal 1953 (the QDJM ribbon is based on this) and the UN Korea.

The 1953 Coronation medal should be at the end as it comes after campaign medals. In spite of the UN Korea Medal being a UN medal, it counts with British campaign medals for the purpose of order of wear. In fact my son wears his UN Bosnia at the front of his group of seven.

BTW Oberon it was quite possible to receive the UN Korea Medal without the Queen's Korea Medal, and indeed this was quite common among naval recipients, although less so for the army.

Quite correct Dougie, those clasps belong to the 1962 GSM. To answer brakedwell's question, the 'South Arabia' clasp was authorised in mid 1966 as I was at Khormaksar at the time. We were allowed to put the ribbon up straight away, and as a 19 year old pilot officer I was chuffed to death to have a medal! Never thought that 51 years later my medal count would still remain at one.

TTN.
I think it reflects the fact that we were serving in a more peaceful time. I did two tours on Wessex, and ended up with the GSM (two bars, Northern Ireland and South Arabia), and a UN medal (Cyprus). When I joined a Hercules squadron as a co-pilot, my two ribbons were unusual, not just among the young lads, but in the squadron generally. I gather now that the mess at Odiham (?) is full of DFCs, several with bars. Different world.

Absolutely Herod. On the squadron in the 70s we wore woolly pulleys most of the time, so that on the rare occasions we donned number ones I would get asked where I had got my medal. Even my squadron boss had nothing, and that was not unusual. But then we were just Cold War Warriors as some of our younger members disparagingly call us!

The medal ribbon is definitely not the Coronation Medal 1953
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c6...psph0jm4ic.jpg

but is I believe the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c6...pslkyeori9.jpg

They possibly meant it to be the Coronation medal.

There were two Lightnings on 8 sqdn dispersal doing tropical trails (no missiles!)this was late 1961,they left by ship in the December1961.

Mreyn - looking at your enlargement you are correct, with my eyesight I didnt pick that up from the original photo. It is probably the closest they could get to the 53 Coronation medal, but considering you can get this from any number of sources for a quid or so a length its pretty slack not to have got it right.

I remember a friend of mine was supposed to be tour-ex early in 67, he was a sprayer, but they kept him there to spray a Bev, so duty done he returned to UK, but on one side of the aircraft he had sprayed "Royal Air Farce Muddle East" it was quite a while before one of the zobs spotted it.

Thanks no problem they also seem to have picked the Northern Ireland Home Service Medal a long service medal awarded to members of the Ulster Defence Regiment and its successor the Royal Irish Regiment. Established in 1992 for his supposedly General Service Medal. He must be a time traveller.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c6...psoxkbz8wb.jpg

KHORMAKSAR IN 1951
 

https://s1.postimg.org/51fmupv4cf/Camelcart.jpg

Herod, the shopping area you visited with your mother was the Crescent in Steamer Point, pictured above. In faroff days before air travel the liners and troopers would anchor in the inner harbour and passengers/tourists would go ashore by launch. Along the arcade on the right are the big shops of Cowasjee Dinshaw and Shilay Yehuda.

I've just found this very interesting thread and can offer a few more pictures of Aden/Khormaksar where my father was stationed in 1951/52. They have been posted before, but Photobucket demands $400 a year for hosting so I'm gradually reposting them. Aden was an unforgettable experience for a small boy, even though he had been to India already.

So began our great adventure. Our group of 10/11 year olds were collectively known (and often dreaded) as the Khormaksar Kids, and that was in polite circles. Adults hated the place but we greatly enjoyed the posting, and an account of Aden through 10-year-old eyes runs every couple of days from post #3515 p176 at http://www.pprune.org/military-aviation/329990-gaining-r-f-pilots-brevet-ww-ii-176.html

https://s1.postimg.org/56eeyi0uxb/Khormaksar_1951.jpg

The aerial photo was taken overhead the Officers' Married Quarters which were on the opposite side of the Sheikothman Road from us hoi polloi. The Kids were dissuaded from entering therein for reasons we could not understand, though looking back perhaps young Graham's insertion of Qty 4, Locust size 4", via the window of OMQ No. 27, Adjutant and Lady for the habitation of, might have had something to do with it. :8

The "Native Compound" became the 69 Club, I lived in one of the low huts marked as NAAFI, there was a NAAFI shop between the Guards accomodation and teh barrack blocks though, isn't that the paper shop at bottom center ?, I was there in 62-64 so hasn't change much. Paul H 105 Sqn.

Love the camel drawn vehicle in the photo. Anyone remember the Salim Ali Abdou Little Aden Bus Company? It needed to be a full length vehicle to get the full company name on!

The 69 club was much better than the NAFFI!!Great steaks!Incidentally for those not familier with the place the 69 club ,69 refers to B.F.P.O. 69 !!!!

I arrived at RAF Khormaksar in March 1965 on a direct flight from Gatwick Airport. I believe the aircraft was a British United (?) Britannia. As an SAC Airframe Mechanic with absolutely no helicopter experience I was naturally assigned the Rotary Wing Support Section (or whatever it was called) and found myself taking care of a couple of bright yellow Whirlwinds and a handful of silver and white Belvederes. A little later, these were joined with a squadron of Wessex in European camouflage colours. They had been shipped-in on either HMS Albion or HMS Bulwark (I can never remember which).
I found the daily routine interesting and learned a lot by working on three different helicopter types simultaneously. But my off-duty times were also very interesting, I enjoyed exploring Aden (except Crater which was out-of-bounds to us) and found many interesting places. One location in particular still brings back happy memories. It was a small hotel in The Crescent (if I remember correctly) which had a small roof-top bar that was decorated in such a way that it wouldn't be out of place in an old Humphrey Bogart movie (think Rick's Bar on a smaller scale). Clearly it wasn't well known as there was never more than two or three customers present. But boy, did they make a fresh lime drink that was do die for.
On the camp I got a job as a part-time waiter at the Sergeants Mess, usually for bigger functions, and I would turn-up with my long black trousers, pristine white shirt and cummerbund in RAF-colours. The job was up-paid but of course that was immaterial as the tips more than made up for it. Plus it was something to do to stave-off the boredom and boozing that was so common.
Then someone found out that I was a baby-sitter on my previous station and that opened-up another way to beat the rather hum-drum social life. Baby-sitting is a great way to pass the time and earn some pocket money.
Towards the end of 1965 we learned that the Belvederes were to be transferred to 66 Squadron at RAF Seletar in Singapore. In due time they were flown on to either HMS Albion or HMS Bulwark (I can never remember which) and together with some ground-crew, set sail for Singapore. The remainder of the ground crew, myself included, flew to Singapore via Manama, Bahrain (Hastings to Manama then Comet to Changi).
A week or so prior to the Belvederes leaving Khormaksar, a handful of Wessex from 848 NAS arrived at our dispersal, but I really don't know their task or how long they stayed.
Looking back at my time at RAF Khormaksar I believe I rather enjoyed it, I found things to do that kept me from lying on my bed all day - as many did - and saw different aspects of daily life in this large base, and in Aden as a whole, that others hardly knew about.

Guess the roof top terrace and bar was on top of the Rock Hotel, shirts and ties, supposedly out of bounds to airmen, oh no it wasn't !.

Saint Jack I remember that hotel in The Crescent well and although I don't ever recollect visiting the rooftop bar I agree the fresh lime squash was amazing!

I relented and watched the first episode of The Last Post on catch-up and continued with tonight's episode. Thus weeks puzzler was one of the NCOs ringing home from Aden to speak to his dad in Scotland. In 1965? I don't think so!

(I mean, did they have phones in Scotland in 1965? ;))

TTN.

I think people have forgotten what it used to be like back in the sixties/seventies. I've not watched last night's episode yet, so can't comment on that. I never tried calling from Khormaksar back in '67, but I suspect it would be close to impossible, and would probably need authorisation from on high.

In 1974 I was stopping over in Townsville, Queensland, with a Hercules, and wanted to ring my wife back in UK. After contacting the "international operator", it was a wait of nearly thirty minutes before the call was connected.

On medals, he would not have qualified for the post 1962 GSM as he had only just arrived in theatre. TTN should remember at what point you were qualified and could thus put up the ribbon.

I stayed at the Rock Hotel in April 1958 when I was on Hastings, shuttling the Para Regiment from Nairobi to Aden, then we returned to Lyneham via Bahrain and Nicosia. These photos were taken from the balcony off my room.

Shot in South Africa explains one missing feature; the unrelenting heat. Those lily white bodies would have been baby pink in a few hours, everyone, not just the Sgt in episode 2, would have been drenched in sweat. The officers' uniforms would have been board stiff from starch.

Sunglasses would probably have been far more in evidence. The BP man in a shirt, tie and trousers would have been dressed colonial style not in evening rig. He would have been in KD shorts, long white socks, desert boots and a shirt. The latter probably white and short sleeved and maybe with a tie but more likely not.

Only there for one week in September but we would retreat to the Merryfield air con at the first opportunity and then neck down a couple of pints of squash. The groundcrew and eng offs were billeted in the Red Sea Hotel.

Down the pools at Tarshine (sic?) beach we needed flip flops to walk on the concrete pool surround. The intensity of the sun meant I could only swim in that part of one of the pools shaded with the brushwood umbrellas.

I recall many 'locals' would sleep on the verandas of the blocks and not indoors. The beautifully equipped barrack room in episode 2 was ott appearing to have a carpet and blankets on the beds.

PS:

Where would they have got that much ice to fill a bucket in 1960s?

PPS:

Who would trust an officer with a machine gun?

ISTR most of the wives made their own cotton dresses on bargain priced Brothers sewing machines purchased in the Crescent. Some looked good in them, a lot of them did not :E

Episode 2 was over the top. I doubt the RMP would have been involved with an operation like that and I suspect air cover would have been standing by. Unless of course 8 Squadron were having a piss up in the Jungle Bar :E:E

Bedbugs.......!!
 

I was at Steamer Point living in the block on the hill with the longest walk back (and up!) from the airman's mess. I moved out of the rooms in this non air conditioned block on to the veranda to escape the bed bugs in the rooms. Horrendous bed bugs inside the rooms but none outside. The veranda was perfect. We had bed bugs despite the Middle East Pest Control Unit being only 100 yds down the road from the block!!:\

Bedbugs.......!!
 

I was at Steamer Point 65/67 living in the block on the hill with the longest walk back (and up!) from the airman's mess. I moved out of the rooms in this non air conditioned block on to the veranda to escape the bed bugs! Horrendous bed bugs inside the rooms but none outside. The veranda was perfect. We had bed bugs despite the Middle East Pest Control Unit being only 100 yds down the road from the block!!:\

Dundiggin, you can say that again :)

I also recall seeing a fair number of officers who went native (PC?) and wore sarongs or whatever rather than PJs.

brakedwell, and doing the insertion in full daylight. I don't know what they did in those days but surely a night time insertion, layup, dawn recce to ensure they had the right target. I missed the point of having a 'stranger' RMP Sgt in the party.

https://s20.postimg.org/uqoqj0ve5/Je...rrackblock.jpg

Phone calls home when we were there in 1952 were virtually unheard of, would have cost a week's wages and had to be booked a week or so in advance, even then could take an hour or two to set up. Families used telegrams, welcome if a happy event was expected, dreaded when unexpected as it was usually bad news.

The Last Post gives a good idea of up-country Aden though no way would the Services have taken a civvy on patrol, still less a woman. A real-life patrol is pictured above; imagine the heat in the cab of the Bedford QL, with its engine between the seats. (As a 10-year-old in those innocent Fifties, Geriaviator cannot comment on the authenticity of the bedroom manoeuvres. All the mummies and daddies I knew were too exhausted for such gymnastics, though on second thoughts ...)

Khormaksar was normally quiet in the sweltering afternoons, adults taking to their charpoys, we Kids plotting mayhem around the swimming pool a mile away on the east of the airfield. Except for the afternoon when P/Off Gurd flew his Brigand between the group of three airmen's barrack blocks shown on the aerial pic above. The twin-Centaurus thunder awoke the Patch and most of Maala as well, while one of my father's airmen on the third floor said he had looked down on the top of the Brigand. We Kids thought it was terrific, the OC did not, and Dad said afterwards that the offending P/O had a further eight months added to his Aden posting. This was reckoned to be worse than the Glasshouse.

Just finished watching Episode 1 on iPlayer ... I have no idea about the accuracy of the portrayal, but it certainly gives me a sensation of not wanting to be posted there back then. Singapore was much nicer.

PN
"Trusting an officer with a machine gun". As Junior Officer of the Guard I was bo**ocked on my first duty for not wearing the "pin on" GSM on week one. Depending on currency one was offered the choice between the trusty rusty .38 revolver or the Sterling SMG. Being alone at night in an open top landie with a mesh cage over the top when checking the sangars out on the Sheikh Othman perimeter it was the Sterling every time.

And probably MUCH more dangerous - Bughis Street!

I remember the shops down towards Steamer Point all with Union Jacks, British names, English welcome etc to get the cruise ship trade. And up at Crater doing their level best to kill you.

I remember one instance, reported in the UK press,when the soldiers were only allowed out when carrying their personal weapon. One squad in the paras had been challenged and responded that the 2 inch mortar was his personal weapon and he could fire it from the hip. It said they had no troubles in Crater.

Then there was the Battle of Crater:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Mitchell

Mitchell would have been of the same vintage as the RMP Major. The latter w
could most likely have seen war service and had rather more medals that he originally sported.