So on to the nitty gritty and tell you the way

I remember 51 Squadron.                                                                                          

It began for me when I arrived at Ripon in November 1965. Most of the Squadron had already formed

and just a few of us were needed for the final round up.It was there that I first met people like Taff Fisher, Harry Cook and Fingers Taylor.

was King.

I left for Singapore with the Main Party from Newcastle Airport  where it was freezing cold and black ice

was on the roads. After about 24 hrs and stops in Istanbul, Ceylon and Bahrain we arrived in the early hours

of the morning in Singapore. The sight and smells plus the heat made an impression I will never forget

Over the next few days we adapted to the heat slowly

but we were lucky that we arrived just as the Chinese

New Year had started and we went straight into four days leave.

Within three months we were in Labuan which is a small Island off the coast of Borneo working in even

hotter conditions and loving every minute of it.

jobs round the RAF camp making improvements to pathways drainage and numerous other small projects to make life easier for everyone based there

After Labouan we had a nice little detachment at a place called China rock  on the east coast of Malaya.

We slept at night in a tent which was a haven for snakes and all sorts of creepy crawlies. Meals and

NAFFI facilities were all in a bungalow owned by the local Bauxite Mine and loaned out to The RAF Signals/Observers.

The sea around China rock was stained red from the dust that fell into the sea as the mine's barges were

loaded at the end of the jetty.

 

One good thing about this posting was that to begin with we were taken out by helicopter on mMonday

and picked up again on Friday having the week end in Singapore

Then, one weekend, we were waiting to go back when we got a radio message saying we were to stay

on emergency rations for a week. We found out later that a Belvedere serving the Royal Family had

cracked in the middle and all of them were grounded. From then on we were picked up from a local jetty

by one of the RAF gun boats on a two week turn around schedule.

 

Another highlight was our two weeks in the Jungle with our leader Clive Lee. I wouldn't have missed that

for the world and its an experience I will always remember. We wadded through muddy slow flowing

streams and swamps, we climbed up never ending hills, walked through  a large ants nest and paid for it

with large red bite marks.

 

We had leeches sticking to all parts of our bodies and used  lighted cigarettes to get them off.

 

The first day in carrying all our equipment on our backs 

felt like you would not be able to walk another step. As with all things we soon got used to it and eventually enjoy it.

 

One of the things that I remember was an air drop

with rations where we got tins of Ciggarettes that were so dry that, when smoked,  burnt like a fuse and were gone in two drags. The ration packs had the year 1942

on them which meant they were at least 25 years old. They were still good rations for all that and we had some Tasty meals from them.

 

It was hard work and by the end of it we stank to high heaven but I for one loved it. 

I met and married my wife in Singapore and at the time of writing we have been together for over 40 years.

We have 3 children and 3 grand children. After coming back to England it was another 12 years before my wife saw her family again but we have been back many times since.

When we returned to England most of us Pads were stuck in temporary accommodation in Huntingdon which is about 20 miles from Waterbeach. We travelled daily either in the back of a 4 ton truck or by army bus. Eventually we got new quarters in Capper Rd next to the camp.

From Waterbeach I did Detachments to Libya, Malawi, Canada and N I. These are discussed on the next page.