| Members Memories |
1 Royal Horse Artillery, in 1966
written by Gunner Paul Smith
 I arrived in Aden on a VC10 on Sept 15th 1965. The heat was unbelievable as we got off the plane at around midnight.Our base was BP Camp Little Aden. Across the road from 45 Royal Marines. ( A great bunch of men).When the wind blew off the land the stink from the refinery was foul. The only good thing about BP Camp was its nearness to the sea. (About 1/4 mile) About 2 miles up the road past the cemetery "Silent Valley" was Falaise Camp. There was a bit more life there in the Pheonix Club and swimming pool. I remember the Irish and Welsh Guards were there. And possibly the DLI. Our gun batteries spent most of their time up country. I'm sure that suited them better than being in BP Camp and the endless duties. When we could we'd get up to Aden and the Mermaid Club and really live it up. For one night anyway. Sadly we left 7 of our mates our there, but like all the other lads, they will never be forgotten. It was a hard life but like most off us out there we were young and fit so we could take anything. Looking back they were happy days, we made some great mates, which alot of us keep to this day. I left Aden on 16th June 1967 on a Brittania from Kormaksa. We broke down on the way and had a day in Istanbul. We stayed in the Hilton hotel. I should think the Hilton has got over it by now. I've been back on Google earth. Obviously things have changed but you can still get your bearings from the Jebels. It would be nice to go back with some of the old mates and have a look. Especially to Silent Valley and pay our respects to all the lads there. Where have that 40 odd years gone? |
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