HQ UKLF occupied a fenced off sloped area north of Wilton, Wiltshire, 4 miles from Salisbury, 15 from Tidworth. The carpet factory was 300 yards away. I lived at 10 Clarendon Terrace and commuted to Wilton where I had six jobs. My overall boss was Col B.J. Lowe, Colonel GS and I was his Staff Assistant SD1, an interesting but un-taxing job. I was Deputy to both HQ Supervising Officer, Major C. Cowper, and HQ Security Officer, Lt Col R. Robertson MC. I was COSMIC Top Secret Control Officer, checking documents with this security protection UK-wide, and WOIC Staff Message Control, ironic as in 1957 my first job in the Army was with HQ BAOR’s SMC. Finally I was Superintendent of 36 Branch and Section chief clerks, half civil servants, half WOs or SSgts, and around 160 male and female, military and civilian admin staff. WO2 Robbie Emerson, whom I’d known in Hong Kong in the mid 1960s, was chief clerk WRAC Branch.

On 1 June 1977, I was appointed to be a Conductor RAOC, a prestigious, honorary position dating back to 1327 and the most senior WO1 appointment in the Army. General Brammall was CinC UK Land Forces and he noted my office wall decoration of the foot square insignia of 5 (Airportable) Brigade (crossed bayonet & key on red background), which he’d once commanded. We exchanged the occasional word purely on the strength of our shared connection. SSgt Mick Hart, Intelligence Corps, who I’d worked with in Berlin, arrived at HQ UKLF and he and I, and his wife Lynda, chatted over old times.

I revelled in the ancient aspect of my surroundings, 5,000 years old Woodhenge, 4,500 years old Stonehenge, Amesbury Stone Circle, Silbury Hill, Sidbury Hill, etc and often visited them, as I did lovely Savernake Forest near Marlborough. The area was also renowned for paranormal phenomena and I witnessed at least two: a flame-like shape a hundred feet up which I followed on the road from Andover to Tidworth until it was obscured from view; at the back of 10 Clarendon Terrace, looking towards the tank training area with Assaye Barracks on my right and Alliwal on my left, again not high up but dead ahead, I saw a small bright disc shape moving directly towards me, stop still, then silently speed away towards the training area.

On holiday in 1978 in Carnoustie, north east Scotland, my wife and I took a shine to Kyra Bank, 76 Kinloch Street and its adjoining ‘Granny Cottage’, set in a fifth of an acre, and offered the owner Mrs MacDougall £16,000. Three months later, and with a mortgage negotiated from the Halifax, it was ours. The house was a detached stone-built villa from 1881, with 4 bedrooms and a large bathroom upstairs, and 4 large reception, walk in pantry, kitchen, hall and vestibule downstairs. The front door faced south east, the back door south west and the second back door north east. The small attached property had a living room, toilet and kitchen downstairs, a bedroom upstairs, the front door faced south west and back door north east. It was all amazing!

I arranged accommodation in the HQ UKLF Sergeants’ Mess for when I returned alone to Wilton but, in the meantime, the packers cleared our furniture, ornaments etc out of 10 Clarendon Terrace and on 13 July 1978 we occupied Kyra Bank. I had applied to Dr Barnardo’s for work and on 6 June had been interviewed at the Charity’s head office at Barkingside, Essex. It may have helped my case there were ex-Army officers on the interview panel, majors Adam Stavert KOSB and Alan Thompson REME, but the upshot was I was appointed to Scottish Appeals and the job could start whenever I was ready. With over a million unemployed, I knew I’d been very fortunate indeed.

With a week to go before discharge, on 2 September I passed an annual Basic Fitness Test, on the 3rd I classified with a Sterling SMG on a 30-metre outdoor range, on the 4th was issued with my first prescription respirator spectacles and a pair of regular metal frame specs by HQ UKLF Medical Centre and that evening my successor, WO1 Tim Lill RAOC, arrived. We enjoyed a friendly 3-day handover and at midday on 8 September I was farewelled by around a hundred military and civilian staff, which was really nice, and then drove away to the north, home and civilian life. On the M6 I stopped off at Tebay Services and had my first meal as a civilian for twenty five years: Roast half Chicken, chips and peas. And a mug of tea.