CONTENTS
- Editorial: Stand by your beds!
- Chairman's Briefing
- CEO's /Africa Branch Report
- UK Branch
- Chinas Signing On
- The Last Post (Vale)
- Comd & Sigs
- Admin & Log
- There we were … knee-deep in grenade pins
STAND BY YOUR BEDS!
Editorial Welcome to this
bumper edition of the e-Cheetah, this is my last as
editor. My 5-year term is up and in the best
interests of democracy; I am stepping down due to
work commitments. We're desperate to find a
replacement scribe but, in usual army fashion,
volunteers there are none. This is going to put
inordinate pressure on Bill and his dwindling team
so, please, if you're even semi-literate, drop Bill
an email and put your hand up (2 Commando need not
apply).
I remember the last time I resigned, or tried to,
from things RLI. It was in 1978, my morale was low
in 3 Commando and I'd had enough. I wrote this
letter to the OC, Major Snelgar:
The Leaking Bivvy Next to the Cesspit
Grand Reef Fireforce Base
Somewhere in the Operational Area (shh!)
1 June 1978 The Officer Commanding
3 Commando 1RLI
The Nice Cosy Officers' Mess
Grand Reef Fireforce Base
Somewhere in the Operational Area (shh!)
Howzit Bruce,
Please forgive my familiarity, but I feel you've
really become a father figure to me, albeit in a
sort of Hitlerian way. My nine recent applications
for a transfer to the Pay Corps have mysteriously
gone unacknowledged; equally, my avowed homosexual,
communist, Jehovah's Witness status has been
disregarded-as has my 'S' Cat medical condition
(chronic bad back and flat feet). I do believe I was
recruited under false pretences: your adverts
stating that I would be "a man among men" are
misleading. If anything I have become, as they say
in the SADF, "a roof among rowe" (a scab among
scabs). I am, therefore, left with little choice but
to tender my immediate resignation from the
Rhodesian Army. I would be grateful if you could
arrange tomorrow immediate transport for me back to
Salisbury; preferably not a 4.5. Thanks, china.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you
for your hospitality, but all good things must come
to an end. I wish you every success in your little
war. I shall, of course, be "going loco down in
Acapulco".
On the flip side, bru...
728353 L/Cpl Cocks C.M.
P.S. It's just struck me: how come we ORs have our
initials after our names and you officer okes have
yours in front? Discrimination of the highest order.
I shall be taking this up with the LCTU
(Lance-Corporals' Trade Union) when I get back to
Burg tomorrow.
The following reply was received the next day, as a
rather informal memo, while I was vainly waiting for
my transport outside the Ops Room, watching a gaggle
of pilots sunbathing by the pool:
To: Tpr Cocks
From: Major B.M. Snelgar
Dear Scab,
You will note that not only have I stripped you of
your rank, but I have also confiscated your initials
as well... because I can. Unfortunately, I cannot
arrange any road transport for you at such short
notice: all the commando vehicles are being used by
the officers for the next few days during their O
Group at Montclair Casino. However, I have arranged
an Alouette helicopter which, you'll be pleased to
hear, will be for your own dedicated use. You can
probably hear it starting up in the revetments as
you read this. The pilot, marginally irritated that
he's been dragged away from the pool, will be taking
you to a particularly stubborn cave in the Mutambara
TTL, where our Fireforce yesterday failed to
dislodge a group of hard-core ZANLA chaps armed with
several RPDs and a couple of RPG-7s. I expect you to
use all your considerable powers of persuasion and
get these fellows to surrender. I shall also expect
a detailed contact report from you when I return
from the rigours of the roulette wheel.
Happy hunting, son
B.S. / OC 3 Cdo
Over and out ....
Chris Cocks
info@30degreessouth.co.za
|
CHAIRMAN'S BRIEFING
What a great couple of days we experienced over 4-5
February at the South African Branch 50th Anniversary
Reunion. It was exceptionally well organised by Bill
Wiggill and his team ably supported by their "Crows”,
and all members attending thoroughly enjoyed themselves
and owe them a great debt of thanks.
For me the weekend began on the evening of 3 February
after 16 hours of travel, when George Dempster collected
me from the hotel and whisked me off to his house for an
ExCo meeting. It was the first time the ExCo had all
been physically in the same place, and it was great to
hear viewpoints and have face to face discussions,
rather than those by email. Anyway the meeting went off
well and the future of the Association plotted.
I really knew the Reunion was on at lunchtime on the 4th
when I bumped into Sandy Miller and some ex 2 Commando
ouens, and immediately the stories began to be told
about times gone by. It was the start of a great 2 days.
The evening of the 4th was at the Dickie Fritz Shellhole
in Edenvale. What a great get-together, as I walked in I
immediately spotted people I had not seen for over 30
years, but we all just melded back in together, chatting
and catching up. The years fell away quickly and the
RLI's "Band of Brothers” was back together again.
Members had come from far and wide, not only from the
four corners of South Africa, but Zimbabwe, Namibia, UK,
Australia, Hong Kong and the Middle East. It was a great
evening and set the tone for the next day's events.
The main events were on 5 February in a hangar at
Swartkop Air Force Base outside Pretoria. The organising
team and their Crows had decorated the Hangar and the
tables superbly with Commando logos and posters adorning
the walls just to add to the atmosphere, and Gary Huxham
and his wife had the CQ Store open and did a roaring
trade in Association Memorabilia.
As we gradually assembled from 1200 hours to register,
it was very fitting that it coincided with the tail end
of an air show, and we were all reminded of old times
when an Alouette 3 came flying past. The day started
with drinks and light snacks as everyone waited for the
arrival of the surviving COs, RSMs and their wives,
accompanied by myself (less my speech notes still in my
hotel room!) We all flew in, in a SAAF Puma piloted by
Gen John Church (retd.), and set down in front of the
venue. Then being led by General John Hickman on the
hard standing, were greeted by Bill Wiggill and led past
the Colours, carried by Rick van Malsen and Neil
Jackson, under the watchful eye of Sandy Miller, into
the hangar where we were all seated for the ongoing
proceedings.
The Colours were then marched in and placed on either
side of the lectern. A dedication from Brig-Gen (retd)
Peter (Crow) Stannard to the crew and passengers of Puma
164 felled during Operation Uric.
This was followed by a Remembrance Service conducted by
Padre Lt Col Bill Dodgen, the highlight being the
reading of the Roll of Honour by former RSM Robin Tarr,
who despite microphone problems half way through was
easily heard in all corners of the hangar! This was
really moving as we all heard names of close friends who
had given their lives for our country and it brought
tears to several eyes as the Roll unfolded. During the
reading an inclusion was made to those men of the RLI,
Rhodesian Army Engineers and the SAAF crew of Puma 164
shot down, killing all on board in September 1979. The
Service concluded with a Wreath Laying as the Saints was
played by a lone piper.
After a 45-minute break to charge our glasses, during
which individual Commando photos were taken and some
changed into their Association golf shirts, the
proceedings resumed. These started with Robin Tarr
(without microphone) leading those attending in singing
'The Saints'. The South African Chairman started the
speeches and thanked all those who had helped organise
and sponsor the function as well as reading a message
from General Coster, a former Army Commander. This was
followed by a moving speech from our Patron Lt Col
Charlie Aust and then Craig Bone came forward and gave a
heartfelt rendition of the similarities of 9/11 and our
Viscount disasters and how he was putting the message
across to the Americans of the wrongs done to Rhodesia.
I briefly followed outlining the Association's
achievements in preserving RLI's heritage by the
establishment of the Museum and relocation of our
Colours and The Trooper, before presenting Bill Wiggill
with Life Membership and Mervyn Kluckow and Gary Huxham
Regimental Stalwart Status. This was followed by a meal
and music where all of us milled around, re-establishing
the comradeship not seen since the days of the old
Battalion. The irrepressible Martyn Hudson conducted an
auction for a painting of the original Trooper and two
from Craig Bone that raised in excess of R33, 000.
All in all it was a great couple of days that auger well
for the UK Reunion in September, where hopefully members
will turn out in the numbers they did in South Africa.
What was great about the event is that we all came
together as we had never been apart, war stories were
told, those that were no longer with us were remembered
with reverence and affection, and despite the years and
no longer being the steely eyed killers of yesteryear,
the RLI's capacity to consume 'chibulies' was again
demonstrated to be as good as ever! Finally, I must
again thank Bill Wiggill and his team for a really
stupendous and memorable couple of days.
May the Saints continue Marching on
Ian Buttenshaw
Chairman RLIRA
buttens@omantel.net.om
CEO / AFRICA BRANCH REPORT
1RLIRA 50th Reunion: Africa
Recovery I hope is complete for all who attended the SA
50th Jubilee Reunion. These were a most excellent series
of events to mark this remarkable milestone since the
Battalion's birth in 1961. I have included a few
pictures herein and there is a gallery for the 50th on
the website where some 200 plus photos were uploaded.
I would like to really thank those who made the reunion
the epic that is was. First off, my committee and also
the planning group under George Dempster's steerage for
a serious amount of work and organisation that enabled
us to host some 170 members at the Dickie Fritz
Shellhole on 4 February and the 325 souls at AFB
Swartkops. George and Shirley laboured long into the
nights to process all the guests and print out ID cards
for the registered invitees. The very smooth reception
of guests at Swartkops was indicative of this fine
effort. To Carol, Ashleigh, Sylvia, Debbie, Shirley Ras
and all the other ladies that rallied to the cause and
helped set up the Swartkops venue with a very
professional and congenial ambiance and ensuring that at
Dickie Fritz something more solid than Chibuku was
available. Thank you indeed you good fellows. Gary and
Debbie Huxham again excelled themselves in setting up
the Q Store with all the memorabilia that had been
organised for the event. Of course without the kind
concessions given the Association to use the airbase
this would not have happened here. Hats off to the SAAF
Museum for the most excellent venue and facilities we
all enjoyed on 5 February. Chris and Kerrin Cocks not
only produced the stupendous Jubilee edition of the
Cheetah but in organising a video of the event (soon to
be released) and Crow Cocks was spotted into the dark
hours interviewing manne under the wing of a Canberra
bomber. Also a first for Kerrin was to ride aboard a
Puma Helicopter to film the VIPs. Last heard she was
making rotor blade noises for the new baby. Well done
and thank you for those most helpful people that joined
us in cleaning up the following morning. Thanks also to
the Rhodesian Army Memorial Project Committee for the
loan once again of the portable Wall of Remembrance.
Thank you Pat Hill for helping us set this up.
Thanks must also go to the musos, Paul Harley and his
great no-name band (M962!) and Gavin and his disco and
loan of his microphone when the Museum one's battery
died. A big thank you to Venette Nel who we asked to do
the photography and then did not charge us for all the
hours she worked taking pictures. This was then followed
up with her arriving on Sunday to help clean up. An
incredible crow.
This number of ouens and crows together in one place
surely is a record of sorts for any ex-Rhodesian
regiment. The format employed in Durban for the 49th
i.e. a Friday friendly party followed by a formal
Remembrance Service with a dinner the following day was
equally well applied on this occasion and seems to be
the way to go for the future reunions. Well done the
Colour Party of officers Rick van Malsen and Neill
Jackson and driven by the erstwhile RSM Sandy Miller.
Thank you to all the ex officers of the Battalion that
made the trip out and supported the Association and help
boost morale and the SAAF bar profits.
Selous Scouts AGM
Once again the kind Tom Thomas invited me along to their
AGM, this time held in KZN at the excellent Grey Goose
Farm near Newcastle. I think I did see some grey geese
from the pub window. In all seriousness this was a great
venue and so good to see the old mates again. Bundu
Peters in full song ably supported by bandmaster Ian
Scott could be heard in nearby Memel (30km). Robin Tarr
trying to ably cripple the wine cellar was seen melding
with former RLI/Selous Scouts types. Always amazing, and
it was again good to see Dale Collett who drove his much
modified vehicle from Botswana to Newcastle 'on his
stomach'. This man's courage cannot even be described in
writing. It is always a pleasure to have a drink with
the Scouts as there are some truly amazing characters
amongst them. Congratulations to Pat Armstrong on his
appointment as the President of the Selous Scouts
Association. Pat arrived with his one wing in a black
sling and stated that he thought he would tie one hand
up before 'mixing it' with his ouens. Read into that
what you will. Thanks again Tom for the invite and a
very enjoyable gathering. I really need to get some sort
of golf coaching so I can also let the BSAP contingent
win the game.
'Prayer Meetings'
Well done to the Gauteng region for establishing a
permanent base at the Dickie Fritz Shellhole and to see
KZN region taking up residence last year at the Natal
Mounted Rifles. It saves now to hear from the Cape crew
as to the new venue in their region.
Website Updates
Now added a Regimental History page at the link:
http://www.therli.com/B_History_Reg_Association.asp
All attempts are now being made to keep the 'Events'
page updated so you can visit to see 'what's on' in your
region.
A special category of recognition is made on the website
to our ever labouring better halves and friends and
titled 'Honorary Crows' on the page at the link:
http://www.therli.com/A_AboutRLIRA.asp
The story with photos of the conception and erection of
the Troopie Statue is also on the 'Anniversaries'' page
along with updates on Puma 164 (Mapai) and 1 Commando's
28th February Hondo. Follow the link:
http://www.therli.com/B_History_Anna.asp
Our Chairman wrote his comments on the SA 50th Reunion
and these can be read at:
http://www.therli.com/A_About_branch_SAEvents.asp
General
This last quarter has not been without its sadness. Mrs
Anne Rich, wife of the late Brig. Peter and mother to
Mike and Jane passed away after a struggle with cancer
on 29 March 2011 in the UK.
Old Comrade (1 Commando) Colin (Hutch) Welch BCR
succumbed to cancer after a protracted struggle on 31
March 2011 in Benoni, Gauteng, RSA. Hutch is survived by
wife Julie and children Gavin and Nicole. For those who
know comrade Phil Kaye, he had a heart attack this past
month but is recovering well and we sincerely hope to
see Phil at the forthcoming All Forces Bash.
A note on welfare
The subject of Welfare was raised by a couple of persons
during the recent reunion in South Africa including
former CO Lt Col Ian Bate. The subject had already been
discussed by the ExCo, despite the fact that the RLIRA
is not a welfare organisation and is purely an
organisation to 'Preserve our Heritage', as there are
concerns about members resident in RSA where no welfare
system exists.
The ExCo are investigating setting up of a Trust Fund in
conjunction with the SAS, Selous Scouts and BSAP
Associations (who like us are not welfare
organisations), that can be used to help our members
with welfare problems. Before the next AGMs of the RSA
and UK Branches in September, we should have something
to report in this regard and maybe some news of the
establishment of the Trust Fund. Be assured the ExCo are
addressing the concerns reference welfare, even though
it is not within the Association's constitutional remit,
and we barely have the funds to keep the Museum etc.,
going without personal donations. We will keep you all
informed of developments in regard to welfare.
I will sign out now and until the next e-Cheetah I will
keep you updated with regular signals
Bill Wiggill
securarm1@absamail.co.za
UK BRANCH
Martyn Hudson apologises for being out of touch
recently, but is heavily involved in business
matters and will be so for the for the next few
weeks, on top of which he has been let down by some
of the parties in connection with the 50th
celebrations in September. The amended Plan for the
UK 50th Celebrations, which Martyn will put out in
detail once he is back in Comms is as follows:
Friday 23rd Sept
No change - Prayer meeting at The Rifles
Club, London
Saturday 24th Sept
Move to Hatfield House as planned with picnic
lunch
Service at The Trooper Statue
Visit Hatfield House to see Colours.
Move to Bedford by Bus (Evening Dinner and
Drinks at the RAF Association Club and view Museum)
Return late PM to London
Sunday 25th Sept
Pub Lunch and Drinks at The Rifles Club
You can be assured that it will be a great
event despite the changes, so book your rooms at the
Hotel well in advance to avoid disappointment.
Rhodesian Defence Forces Collection
I recently travelled up to visit the
Rhodesian Defence Forces Collection in the RAFA
Club, Bedford to revisit the fine work being done by
Martyn Hudson and his enthusiasts. Below is my
report.
Display
As of late Martyn has been able to acquire
more artefacts for the Rhodesian SAS, Selous Scouts,
Rhodesian Air Force and the BSAP. A number of items
from the Walls and Ron Reid-Daly collections have
also been acquired. The amount of work put into
creating this display has been prodigious and the
efforts to find more relevant artefacts have
culminated in a great deal of expenditure. If there
is anyone out there who feels they can help with
artefacts or funding please contact Martyn Hudson.
Security
Since creating the display Martyn has made
huge improvements to the security for the
collection. This has included security locks on each
display room, iron bars on all windows and the main
entrance door to the collection. In the rear of the
building wire entanglements have also been
installed.
Future Plans
As we all know none of us are going to last
for ever so in that vein Martyn is now making
enquiries with various establishments with the view
to a suitable venue for a permanent base for the
collection. Our links with the British Empire and
Commonwealth Museum will be ongoing and we look
forward to the BECM reforming in the new location in
London.
Conclusion
I would like to congratulate Martyn and his
cohorts for producing such an outstanding
comprehensive display of the Rhodesian Defence
Forces, a fitting tribute to all the men and women
of all colours who served Rhodesia. For those of you
who have not seen this collection I highly recommend
that you find the time to make a visit. Contact
Martyn Hudson on 07788788095.
John Wynne Hopkins
Displays Member
Rhodesian Army Association
|
AFRICA BRANCH
SA SECRETARY'S SITREP
Greetings everybody. It's been a while since I gave a
sitrep. There are a few things I would like to mention.
Unfortunately, since early December 2010, till now, we
have had to sadly say farewell to 3 RLI men in the
persons of, Pete Lang, Ticky Mellet and in March, Colin
Welch. For these RLI soldiers and the others that have
gone before, I want to say we owe it to them to do our
utmost to continue the RLI Association. The RLI has a
fantastic heritage and we cannot allow it to become a
forgotten battalion. I'm asking you all to get your
sons, daughters and others who have had involvement with
an RLI member, get them interested in our past and bring
them along to our various functions and let's make it a
task to stir interest in them so as time goes by they
can step in and carry on the Association.
The highlight till now was our 50th celebration and much
has been said but suffices to say it was nothing less
than fantastic. Another very enjoyable and worthwhile
function to attend is the monthly Prayer Meetings.
Speaking for Gauteng, which is always very ably
organised by Gary Huxham and his lovely crow Debbie,
every meeting has had such a great vibe with plenty of
talking, comradeship, and laughter going on and of
course lots of chibulies around the braai fires. These
are held at Dickie Fritz MOTHs Shell Hole in Edenvale
and the bar is manned by MOTH members of whom the main
manne is Wally, also an ex Rhodie. Wally told me his son
also served in the Rhodesian Army, as well as Wally
himself. These MOTHs folk really appreciate our support
and the fact that we hold our functions at their locstat
is a good financial gain for them. Of course the bar is
always an attraction and at a reasonable price.
For those of you in Gauteng a reminder of another event
worthwhile attending is the All Forces Bash always well
organised by Carol Doughty. For any ouens who may be in
the Free State or Welkom area, I would like to remind
you that Steve Hageman, ex 3 Cdo, is the Old Bill for
the local Shellhole and would like to hear from you and
organise a get together. His contact details are email
shageman@duraset.com and mobile: 082-552 9330.
For those of you in other areas maybe looking for a
venue for a monthly Prayer Meeting may I suggest that
you try contacting any of your local MOTH Shellhole;
they really appreciate any support that comes their way.
Well, that's my lot; keep safe till next time.
Chris Ras
chris.ras22@gmail.com
GAUTENG PROVINCE
Well 2011 started off well with the 50th celebrations
starting on 4 February at the Dickie Fritz MOTH Shell
Hole which was extremely well attended and from what I
was witness to, enjoyed by all, especially those that
were tossed out at 03h30 on Saturday morning. The
Saturday 5th event was fantastic and thank all that
attended from all corners of the planet, it made
everything worthwhile. A big hand must be given to the
committee and all those that were involved in this
events huge success, and a very big thank you from the
members of the RLIRA to Bill's daughter Ashley who
excelled in her efforts and commitments. Many friends
were reunited and even an old flame or two resurfaced
and no bar brawls; amazing. Even a new romance that I
know of, red wine and all.
A big thanks to the Air Force Museum team that put so
much effort into putting together the venue and being
there on the day to man the bar, which I might add they
could not believe how much the old toppies could pusa,
requiring an number of additional restocking trips to
keep the troops happy throughout the night (reminds me
of 1 Commando's days based at the old Rutenga airfield,
never a shortage of volunteers to fill the water bowser
considering the vehicle had to pass the bottle store on
the way to the filling point).
Great news is that we have secured the Dickie Fritz MOTH
Shell Hole "Ridgeback Pub” for our monthly 'Prayer
Meeting' venue and have had two very good evenings with
20 to 30 RLIRA people attending alongside the MOTH
residence on both evenings. There will always be a braai
fire laid on and the refreshments are cheap in
comparison to other venues. It also appears to be more
accessible to everyone. So please SUPPORT the monthly
'Prayer Meetings' on the first Friday of every month and
remember that all are welcome: BSAP, SAS, Scouts, Air
Force, Intaf, RAR, including your partners. Bring your
own meat. I will be noting which commando members
support the monthly 'Prayer Meetings' and will reward
the commando whose members attend these meetings in
force with a number of beverage rewards that will be
given to them at the year-end Christmas function to
consume at will.
Shortly the first raid outside the Gauteng region (Op
KZN) will be taking place and the op's details will be
posted as soon as the logistics have been confirmed.
SKIPPY BE PREPARED. Should anyone have any ideas that
they want to suggest regarding getting together or any
other topic, please let me know.
Hux (Gary Huxham)
083-227 7158
gary@elginflp.co.za
KWAZULU-NATAL
With the Xmas break now a distant memory we are back
into the swing of our first monthly meetings, the latest
being held on 1 April and well attended by RLI, SAS and
Scouts ouens. The display cabinets at the NMR are
starting to really take shape now and with the inclusion
of my set of greens and beret to the cabinet it will
start to take on more of an RLI feel. Jacqui Kirrane
handed over to me the original RLI Sports Pavilion sign
which is a valuable piece of our history to display.
(I'm sure there's an interesting story as to how that
was liberated!). Pictures of the event with relevant
names of attendees attached:
Mike Higgins (far left) Peter Maunder (bar leaner) Robin
Tarr (facing).
Neville Mare (RhAF) & Dick Warton (lurking in the
darkness), Chris Garland (centre), Ray Godbeer and
George Mitchell (Scouts).
'Prop' Geldenhuys (RhAF) at left, Eddie de Beer (RASA)
centre).
The life of a medic at RLI was not all about gunshot
wounds and sick parades. It was one particular weekend
where I had been assigned duty medic at the camp
hospital, when my tranquil pastime of reading books (not
much happened in camp at the weekends!) was abruptly
disturbed by a Land Rover screeching into the car park
with a semi comatose person in the back. The person in
dire need of medical attention was the one and only
"Jack”, the barman at the Corporals' Club bar. Jack was
a short, stocky Englishman who was legendary in the camp
and who had decided to get into a vodka drinking
competition with the Saturday afternoon club patrons.
Unfortunately, the vodka took effect a short while after
the lads dispersed and Jack had collapsed behind the bar
and proceeded to suffocate on regurgitated Smirnoff,
only to be discovered by the driver of the Landy when he
popped into the club. He had already stopped breathing
and was turning blue in the face, so I started clearing
his airway and proceeded to administer CPR, while
getting the driver to alert the standby medic (Dane
Creswell I think it was) so we could transport him to
Andrew Fleming. After a short but hairy drive (the siren
wasn't working on the camp's Peugeot 404 ambulance!) we
had Jack in casualty and breathing again and left him in
the tender care of the nurses at Fleming. Jack returned
a few days after his "binge” and continued to run the
Corporals Club right up to the close of the Battalion -
but I can't say I ever saw him drink vodka again!
Hi there Nick!
Last night I was thinking of my time in SWA and in the
SADF during the years 1985 to 1989, and came across the
name of Art Nulty on some Rhodesian website. I met Art
through John Nienaber in Johannesburg in 1981. He was
with 44 Para at the time, and had come down from
Rhodesia after it had been given away. I met him again
in Oshakati SWA, in 1985, a month or two before his
tragic death. I had just arrived from Pretoria as the OC
of the DMI, DCC Field Office in Oshaks. He was at the
time with SWA Spes, which was the South West African
equivalent of the SADF's Reccies. They worked under
civvy guise, out of a house in Oshakati. Art was the
type of guy any specialist unit would be proud to have
on the team. Always cheerful and positive and a
workaholic. (Is it not amazing how these guys, who are
small in stature, but through sheer willpower and
"vasbyt", outclass the Jona Lomu's every time!). He was
the SAS's loss and our/Rhodesia's gain. It was with
great shock that I learned of his death. A short while
later, I drove past the place where he died, and the
tyremarks and scabbing in the gravel road shoulder were
clearly visible. In the following five years, whenever I
drove to Windhoek for a meeting or whatever, I would
think of Art as I rounded this bend on the road just
outside of Okahandja where the crash took place. Would
you care to please pass this on to his brother Pat? Pat
may also contact me on this address or on
allenroy@iinet.net.au. I might be able to help him
contact John Nienaber. My force number was 65337503 PE.
Sterkte,
Roy Allen
Hi Roy
Many thanks for your e mail and thank you for sharing
your memories of Art with me. I served with Art as a
medic in The Rhodesian Light Infantry in 1979 and as you
say, he was an invaluable member of our team. I
unfortunately lost contact with him when we all
bombshelled after the Battalion closed. The last I heard
was that he had been arrested at the SA border for
trying to smuggle through various pieces of military
contraband - whether this is true or not I don't know!
As you can see I have copied his brother on this email
as I'm sure Pat would be extremely grateful of your
memories and I'm sure will no doubt correspond with you.
He has been desperately attempting to track down John
Nienaber so any help in this regard would be welcome. I
have also copied the Association who might like to
insert your letter into our quarterly production of the
revitalized "Cheetah” magazine. Where about are you now
based? If you're ever in the Durban area, drop me a
line.
Skippy
That's all folks ….
Doc Skippy Michell
skippy@jwayelani.co.za
WESTERN CAPE
November Tango Romeo
Dennis Croukamp
dennis@crouks.co.za
EASTERN CAPE
I know I have been very bad and not submitted to the
Cheetah for some months now, but things are extremely
quiet in our region, with guys spread over a large area
from East London to George. Anyway, no excuses. What has
been happening in our region is that sadly Mark Taunton
lost his father to a long suffering illness last month
and we were able to support him by visiting his dad in
hospital and attending the Memorial Service.
We have the ever illusive Rory Beary skulking around in
the country areas of the Eastern Cape who keeps
promising to visit in Bay, but we never see him.
Hopefully I will be able to track him down soon! I want
to thank Bongwe once again for making it possible for me
to attend the 50th birthday and if he is ever down in
the Bay, we will certainly look after him, talking about
the 50th I always enjoy the reunions very much, but this
one was special for many reasons. The first one was I
was able to introduce my wife to a great bunch of
Rhodies (my wife being South African and never having
visited our beloved country) and I must say she has
become a committed RLI "goose”. The second was seeing
people like Chalky Van Schalkwyk (ex 1 Cdo) and Pauline
Gant whom I hadn't seen for many years, but the best was
when I was approached by this small grey-headed
gentlemen at the Friday night bash who came and said, "Hello Peter Gombart” and on looking confused said,
"You
don't remember me hey?” I honestly could not tell who it
was, and he then introduced himself as Harry Springer;
well you could've knocked me over with a feather, reason
being, when I was in RLI, I weighed 80kg and Harry
looked like this kind of a giant, I must admit I was kak
scared of him. Now I am120 kg, big and ugly and I
wondered what the hell I was so scared off.
Just on a note of amusement, in my Shell Hole, we have a
lot of ex Rhodies, one being a gent by the name of Roy
Hair, who did army service in 10th Bat. Roy was a
ducktail of note in the sixties and he likes to tell the
bar stories about how he used to go the sessions at the
Harry Margolis Hall in Salisbury and stuff up the RLI
guys. We have many serious debates about who stuffed who
up at Harry Margolis and I ALWAYS win the arguments. I
must say though, all the Rhodesian guys and girls in our
shell hole loved the RLI okes. I never have heard one
bad word said about the guys, unless in jest.
Pete Gombart
CHINAS SIGNING ON
FALL IN! Welcome to the following who have registered
recently with the RLIRA:
LIFE MEMBERS
Dempster, George / Sgt / RLI Medic /
RSA
Wiggill, Bill / Lt / 1 Cdo / RSA
FULL MEMBERS
Alexander, Kevin / 106744 / Cpl / Base
Group / 1977-78 / Canada
Balson, Alan / Lt / Sp Cdo / UK
Bax, Timothy / Capt / 3 Cdo / 1970-74 /
USA
Beech, Graham (brother late Robert
Beech) / Sgt / Sp Cdo / 1974-80
Benz, Markus / 728709 / Tpr / 3 Cdo
Bezuidenhout, Andrew / 730176 / L/Cpl /
3 Cdo / 1978-80 / RSA
Boden, Rod / 725305 / Sgt / Sp Cdo /
1971-79 / RSA
Boulter, John / 723749 / Sgt / Base Gp
1969 / RSA
Brown, Robert / Tpr / 1975-79 / RSA
Bruschi, Dino / 95006 / Tpr / 1 Cdo /
1974-75
Caffin, Jean Michel / Sp Cdo / 1978-80
Calvert, Tim / 1970-77 / RSA
Campbell, Roderic Alan / 92657 / Tpr /
2 Cdo / 1975-77 / RSA
Cary, Steve / Maj / 1969-73 / RSA
Chambers, Bill / 2 Cdo / 1976-78 / UK
Clayton, John / 730036 / Tpr / Sp Cdo /
1979 / Zambia
Clemo, Rob (Tiny) / 1956 and 781120 /
RLI / 1961-80 / RSA
de la Rosa, Steve / L/Cpl / Base Gp /
1964-71 / RSA
Dodgen, Bill / 781073 / Lt-Col
(Chaplain) / 1976-77 / RSA
Drury, John / 105291 / Rfn / 2 Cdo /
1974-75 / RSA
du Bernard, Gary / L.cpl / Sp Cdo /
1978-80 / USA
du Plooy, Anthony / 126234 / Tpr / 2
Cdo / 1972-77 / RSA
Duncan, John / 727948 / Tpr / 3 Cdo
Edwards, A.F.S. / 72449 / Tpr / UK
Ekins-Bell, Ian / 724816 / C/Sgt /UK
Eldridge, Peter / 2567 WO11 / 3 Cdo /
1961-71 / RSA
Elliott, Bruce / UK
Elliott, Rick / 724218 / 2 Cdo /
1967-69 / RSA
Fergus, Nick / 728218 / Tpr / 3 Cdo /
1976-79 / UAE
Ferreira, Joaquim / 726246 / Tpr / Sp
Cdo / 1973-78 / Zim
Fouché, Steve / 111226 / Tpr / Sp Cdo /
1976-79 / RSA
Furstenberg, Paul / Tpr / 3 Cdo /
1976-78 / Israel
Gee, Glenn / 728209 / Cpl / Sp Cdo /
1977-80 / RSA
Godbeer, Raymond / RSA
Haines, Roger / Capt / 2 Cdo / UK
Henson, Nigel / 780689 / Maj / Sp Cdo /
1965-79 / RSA
Hewlett, Roy / 106284 / Rfn / 1 Cdo /
1974-77 / Australia
Hislop, Michael / 98180 / 1 Cdo /
1970-79 / RSA
Houston-Brown, Brendan / 725754 / 1 Cdo
/ 1972-80 / RSA
Izzard, Bill / UK
Jaaback, Henton / 780489 / Maj / 1 Cdo
/ 1977 / RSA
John, Colin / 006994 / Insp / BSAP /
1962-80 / Australia
Johnson, Mark / 191962 / Tpr / 1 Cdo /
1979-80 / Australia
Johnston, Andy / 723976 / Cpl / 1 Cdo /
1966-72 / RSA
Jones, Ginger / 723644 / WOI / 1 Cdo /
1965-80 / RSA
Kriel, Neil / 780710 / 2nd Lt - Lt / 1
Cdo / 1969-72 / RSA
Law, Michael John / 2453 / Pte / RLI /
1961-64 / RSA
Lewis, Anthony / 887562 / Pvt / 2 Cdo /
1973 / Brazil
Macfarlane, Ian / 780995 / Lt / 1 Cdo /
1974-78 / Australia
MacNeilage, Peter / Sgt / 1 Cdo
Manade, Bob / Tpr / 1977-78
Meyer, Slim / 729562 / Tpr / Sp Cdo /
1977-79 / RSA
Miller, Neville / 123081 / Tpr / 2 Cdo
/ 1980 / RSA
Mincher, Peter / 780641 / Lt / 2 Cdo /
1966-71 / RSA
Moffett, Gerald / 728204 / Tpr /
1977-78 / Australia
Morgan, Kevin 130027 / Tpr / Sp Cdo /
1980 / UK
Myers, Chris / 725109 / Sgt / Sp Cdo /
1970-80 / UK
Nel, Theo / 728846 / Sgt / 3 Cdo /
1979-80 / RSA
Odendaal, Val / 2623 /Pte / RLI /
1961-63 / RSA
Opperman, Pieter Johannes / Cpl / 2 Cdo
/ 1977-79 / RSA
Padgett, Russell / 72508 / Tpr /
1977-80
Pantelelis, Costas / 91051 / 2 Cdo /
1973-74
Picton, Robb / 101231 / Cdt C4 / 1975 /
Pietens, Willem. B / Drum Corps /
1961-64
Potter, Keith / 83182 / Rfn / 2 Cdo /
1973
Ratte, Wilhelm / 6555 / Tpr / 3 Cdo /
1974 / RSA
Renney, Martyn / 725756 / L/Cpl /
1973-75 / UK
Robertson, Ian / 94329 / Rfn / 2 Cdo /
1972-74 / UK
Robinson, Michael / RSA
Smith, Neville / 117902 / Tpr / Sp Cdo
/ 1977-80 / RSA
Squara, Bruno / 108159 / Rfn / 2 Cdo /
1976-77 / RSA
Stringer, Shane / 113484 / Tpr / Sp Cdo
/ 1977-80 / RSA
Thomson, Donald / 108239 / Tpr / 1 Cdo
/ 1975-76 / Uganda
Toma, Michael / 728118 / Tpr / 2 Cdo /
1976-77 / Canada
Tydings, Tony / UK
Upton, Bruce / 5002 / Cpl / 3 Cdo /
1970-75 / RSA
Upton, Michael / 2244 / Pte / 3 Cdo /
1961-63 / Australia
van Rooyen, Terrance / 725665 / L/Cpl /
3 Cdo / 1972-77 / Zambia
Van Wyk, Andre / 7383 / Cpl / 2 Cdo /
1974-79 / RSA
Wake, Martin / 780789 / Maj / Sp Cdo /
1979-80 / Bahrain
Webb, Terence / Tpr / 1 Cdo / 1977-79 /
UK
Weller, Ken / 3 Cdo / 1971-75 / UK
Wilkinson, Ian Edward / 91735 / Rfn / 3
Cdo / 1974-75 / RSA
Willam, Kinchen / USA
Windrum, George Paddy / 728767 / Tpr /
1977-80 / UK
Winton, Charles William / 3508 / Tpr /
Base Gp / 1965-68 / Tanzania
ASSOCIATE / AFFILIATE MEMBERS
Allan, Peter / 110758 / Patrol Officer
/ BSAP / 1979-80 / RSA
Embleton, Douglas / UK
Harvey, Jonathan / BSAP / RSA
Hitchcock, Jim / RAR / UK
Jackson, Alan / UK
Kinchen, William / USA
Lotter, Chas / 49286 / Sgt / Medical
Corps / 1971-80
Posselt, Gareth / RSA
St John-Ayre, Michael (son of late
Andrew St John-Ayre) / Australia
van Wyk, Ashleigh / RSA
van Wyk, Desmond / RSA
THE LAST POST (VALE)
It is with regret that we inform you of
the passing away of Colin Welch
BCR. Rob Sweeting (RhAF) Colin's brother in law
reports: "My brother-in-law Colin Welch passed away
this morning 31 March 2011 at 0930hrs, in
Johannesburg / Northmead. He has been fighting the
dreaded Big C for quite a few years. Our condolences
must go firstly to his wife Julie and children Gavin
and Nicolle and the rest of the family. We are a
very close knit family. He was in 1 Commando RLI,
and decorated with the Bronze Cross of Rhodesia. If
you read a few of the books that came out after the
war he is mentioned quite often. He was a really
wonderful man, never thought of himself only of
others. Always charitable to others ahead of
anything else. He will be missed dearly but not
forgotten and this passing will leave a big hole in
our lives."
The RLI Regimental Association offers our deepest
sympathies to Julie, Gavin and Nicolle. Anyone
wishing to send condolences please send these to me
and I will pass on to the family.
Dear Billy
Please would you send Julie, Gavin, Nicolle and Rob
my sincerest and deepest sympathies. I read you
notice with immense sadness and memories of Colin
have been flashing before me ever since.
He served as my 2 I/C in 1 Troop for almost my
entire time in the RLI. He was the most competent
and proficient soldier who had an irrepressible
sense of humour, was a natural leader, a courageous
warrior and became my closest friend and confidant.
I hold nothing but wonderful memories of "Hutch” and
those memories will never die. I was with him when
he was at the receiving end of a terr machine gunner
who also killed two other members of his stick near
Miami (as it was then known). When I finally reached
Hutch I could not believe it but he had dragged
himself, despite very serious injury, to an RAR
corporal who had been killed. He was attempting to
administer first aid to the corporal. Such was the
calibre of this man. People like him very rarely
come into our lives. They leave us feeling richer
and more complete for having known them. Hutch,
until we meet again one day.
Mike Moseley
Dear Bill
My family and I have been so touched by the many
condolences received from you and fellow RLI members
on the passing of Peter Lang. Peter
was our treasured brother and I am glad that you
remember him well, Bill. He loved everyone and had
that amazing personality to be loved by all he met.
Thank you for creating a tribute to Peter on the
Vale. He would be so honoured. Our family will also
be honoured and grateful for recognizing Peter as a
true soldier and loved brother and friend. I will
compile Peter's wonderful life and proudly forward
to you for printing.
Thank you, Bill
Val (Peter's sister)
Dear Val
Thank you for the kind words. It is the least we can
do for old RLI mates and at least some public record
is made of the small dent we made in history, to the
consternation of so many non-Rhodesians. I look
forward to receiving your pen picture of Pete's
life.
Bill Wiggill
Dear Bill & Exco
Mike emailed to say his Mum, Anne Rich,
sadly passed away in Hertfordshire this morning
after a long fight against cancer. Sympathy &
condolences to Mike, his sister Jane & the family.
As Mike said she will no doubt be sharing a Bols or
two tonight with Colonel Peter.
Kind regards
Neill Storey
Hi All
For the record, Mum passed away in Bury St Edmunds,
Suffolk. Brave & uncomplaining to the last, she
passed with my sister holding her hand. She looked
forward to seeing my Dad in the end. The reunion is
going to be epic.
Mike Rich
We have been informed of the passing away of
Leslie Webb. Eddy Norris from ORAFs sent
the following message: "Sad news received from Diana
Heselton (nee Webb). Just to let you know Leslie
Webb passed away in Bloemfontein on Saturday, 8
January 2011. He had been suffering from a bleeding
colon & ulcer for some years. Les was born in 1944
and attended the Dominican Convent, Chancellor
Junior & Umtali Boys' High. Les is survived by his
wife Rina and children Lara, Rene and Wayne. There
are also grandchildren, Carmen and Byron. Les
started his working life with the Rhodesian Light
Infantry. The funeral service was held on Tuesday 11
January 2011 at the Kingdom Hall in Bloemfontein."
The RLI Regimental Association offers our sincere
condolences to Rina and the Webb family. Les was one
of the 'Originals' joining the RLI in 1960 when the
unit was still at Brady Barracks and so it is a sad
farewell to another comrade. If anyone knew Les
and/or wish to send their condolences you can do so
through me, and I will pass on.
Bill Wiggill
It is with regret that we inform you of the passing
away of Lydia Buckley, wife of Jim
Buckley (ex 1 Cdo). Our sincere condolences to Jim,
son Kyle and the family and friends of the Buckleys.
Lydia died on Tuesday 12 April from complications
following a medical procedure.
|
COMD & SIGS
Dear Chris
Thank you for taking my call this morning, it was most
appreciated. Sir, as mentioned I am looking at complying
a simple but concise information on my farther-in-law
Rudi Krusberski and the men who served
with him. Many years ago he lost all memorabilia, photos
and all that goes with it. He now can only speak fondly
and proudly of his days served and has no photos of his
fond memories. My aim is simply to get a collection of
photo's, possible video clips, and comments or stories
about the days Rudi and the other men that he spent time
together with. He served from 1974-1980, he was in 2
Commando, 7 Troop, and call sign 22 Alpha. Once again
thank you for your assistance and willingness to assist
me with this personal project.
Craig Niven
craig@liveoutloud.co.za
Dear Bill
Firstly congratulations on an extremely well organised
and very enjoyable 50th Reunion. My sincere thanks to
you and all involved. Wonderful to see the photos out
already BUT whatever happened to the 3 Cdo photo?
Don Price
Dear Bill
Just a quick note to thank you and the Committee members
for all the hard work you guys put in to make this a
most memorable event. You guys made me really proud to
be a member of this Association. It was tremendous to
see so many 'ouens' gather together to celebrate under
one roof and to meet up with mates from many years back.
Congratulations on your Life Membership Award - you
fully deserve it.
Alan Strachan
Dear Bill
There are no words to express my views on what the two
of you, plus of course the other unsung heroes in your
team, put on for our 50th. It was outstanding and you
need to know that you must hold your heads up high for
this achievement. Being able to renew friendships was
just out of this world. I will be talking about the
weekend for many years to come and it was an honour and
privilege to have been part of such a memorable
occasion. Thank you so very much.
Chris Donald
Howzit Bill and George
Just wanted to drop you a quick note to congratulate
your good selves & your committee et al for putting on
another fabulous reunion. Don't need to tell you the
rekindling of memories, faces & ouens is an emotional
ride and its taking some time to get back to normal,
whatever that is. Have been looking at the gallery on
the website & the 1 Cdo section: amazing. Look forward
to welcoming you all to our brigade area in September.
You have set the bar pretty damn high.
Neill Storey
Dear Billy and all the wonderful committee elves
Thank you for a truly wonderful day. Both Paddy and I
had such a lovely and nostalgic time. For Paddy, it was
particularly good, she was an RLI brat and later a
friend of so many of the chaps who served and were at
the reunion. How hard you all worked and what an
incredible venue.
Love
Eunice Walls
Hi Bill
On behalf of me and all the ouens attending the reunion,
it was a dam good show, congrats to you your daughter
and all those who helped. It will truly be a hard act to
follow. Again, well done. I had a great time as did
everyone, Thanks.
Dennis Croukamp
Dear Bill, George, Shaun and Martyn,
I am not sure who played what roles, but I know you all
had a considerable hand in organising the RLIRA 50th
birthday celebration last weekend. If I have left anyone
out please relay this message to them. Simply to say
Bravo! Well done and congratulations. It was by any
measure a howling success in every sense of the word.
Thank you for all the hard work and hours you, and I am
sure many others, put into pulling this function
together. To think that after 31 years you brought
together 325 'old comrades in arm' is unbelievable.
Great effort gentlemen, and supported by wives and
family I am sure. Thank you so much for everything you
did for this function and for the RLIRA in general. To
plagiarise the words or Sir Winston Churchill, "Never
before in the history of past regiments, have so few
done so much for so many”. Fantastic, well done and
thank you,
Jug Thornton
Dear Bill
A big thank you to you and your team for organizing a
memorable event. I appreciate a huge amount of work went
into the function. You and your team should take a bow;
everything went off like clockwork. Do you have anything
planned for next year?
Martin Robbshaw
Dear Bill and team
What a fantastic couple of days and one which will stay
in my memory for a long time. The organization of both
the Friday and Saturday was superb and both Alannah and
I thank you and the organizing committee with all our
hearts. By the way Alannah was delighted to be made a
RLI Crow and has been telling everyone about this fact
and her first trip ever in a chopper. I was so impressed
with the ambience created by Ashleigh and the team of
ladies. The whole hangar was transformed into a
fairytale. The main event on the Saturday was brilliant,
the food, décor, music and the memorial service were
poignant and moving in a way only old soldiers can know
about.
I have started to work my way through the Cheetah and
that too is a stunning tribute to the brave men of our
battalion. So many memories and so much to catch up on
from all those soldiers who to this day bear the stamp
of professionals with pride. I was so pleased that the
raffle managed to fetch such a good price and no doubt
this will go some way towards kick starting our future
welfare fund. Again, Bill and friends on the committee,
well done to each and all of you and from Alannah and I
we thank and praise you.
Ian Bate
Hi Bill
Sorry I am dropping you a line this long after the event
but I flew out on a job the day after the Saturday bash.
I just wanted to congratulate you and your team who put
together a two day bash which certainly maintained the
high standards of the RLI. I attended both and know how
much work and effort goes into ensuring these events go
the way they did. Thanks very much for making this a
memorable occasion, I found guys I hadn't seen in years
and hopefully I can encourage more of the BSAP guys to
join the association as associate members and boost your
coffers, I believe it is important in this day and age
to support organisations such as this who did so much
during the hondo. I look forward to catching up at the
various events during the year, stay well.
Doug McGibbon
Dear Bill
I want to congratulate you on a very well organised and
expertly conducted event on Saturday 5 February. The
occasion expressed the great pride former members of the
RLI have in their unit, "The Saints". It was good to see
the Rhodesian Forces Mobile Memorial in place,
exemplifying the cooperation between all the forces
involved in our conflict. I enjoyed meeting and chatting
with many old friends and comrades in arms whom I had
not seen for years. It brought back many happy memories.
Mary and I were honoured to be invited as guests. It was
a great privilege for us to be included in your
celebrations. Thank you. Our best wishes to you, your
committee, and RLI Association Branches worldwide. May
you grow from strength to strength?
John Redfern
Honorary National Secretary
Flame Lily Foundation
Hi Billy
Words fail me. Your weekend celebration was just
outstanding, my congrats to you and the whole team who
put it all together. An amazing tribute to an amazing
battalion. Thanks for inviting me, and affording me the
honour of rubbing shoulders again with 'The
Incredibles'.
Pamberi ne Hondo.
Tom Thomas
Secretary Selous Scouts Association
Bill
Congratulations to you and your team on an exceptionally
well run event this weekend, the well-oiled planning and
execution of which was endearingly reminiscent of the
evening prior to departure on a Support Commando bush
trip, and was equally well enjoyed by all participants.
Please pass on my sincere thanks to all involved for an
exceptionally memorable event, which will remain as a
fond memory for a long time to come. I must single out
Mrs. Dempster for her sterling RP work at the front
gate, ensuring that every single time I passed through
her area of jurisdiction that I was fully aware of which
table I was seated at! I half expected her to jump out
from the shadows with the same enquiry, as we passed
through carrying the Regimental Colours, but was
delighted to note that she managed to restrain herself
for just this one occasion! On the subject of which, may
I once again express my sincere gratitude for bestowing
upon me the immense honour of marching in the Colours,
together with Rick and Sandy. It was a task undertaken
with a great sense of pride and a vast amount of
emotion, and I am extremely grateful to you for giving
me this opportunity. All in all, an event of note. Well
done those men of RLI.
Neill Jackson
Good morning Bill
On behalf of all the skuzapu fellows who attended and
those who missed a fantastic, well-organized and
memorable 50th Jubilee, I would like to take this
opportunity to thank you and all concerned for the great
effort and making it all possible.
Pamwe
Willie van der Riet
Dear Bill
Just a short note to say a rather belated thank you and
congratulations to you and your team for putting on that
wonderful celebration. You really excelled in every
aspect of the function. Dot and I enjoyed every aspect
of the two events immensely. It was so good to see so
many old friends after all the years since we last met.
What I found rather disturbing was that so many that I
spoke to were struggling and in some cases had not
worked for years. That was sad. Once again Bill, a very
big and sincere thank you and congratulations to you
all.
Dot and Harry Springer
Good morning Bill and the RLI Team
Lew and I would like to congratulate you all on a well
performed RLI 50th Anniversary.
1. The Hangar decor was excellent and made good
impression on entering.
2. On arriving to tasty snacks and ordering a drink,
went down well.
3. The writing on the name tabs were nice and bold -
easy to read.
4. The table layout was perfect.
5. The menu was well presented and beautifully done
6. The book markers with different inscriptions written
on was a wonderful idea - well done
7. The Remembrance Service programme was well presented
8. Receiving the Cheetah Magazine was an added bonus -
well done.
9. The evening meal was most tasty.
10. Unfortunately the one down fall which I am sure must
have caused you all a headache was the loudspeaker
system; it was difficult to hear the speakers further
back. Well except for Robin Tarr and Craig Bone.
11. The 50th RLI Anniversary T shirts that we could
purchase were lovely and I am sure Lew is going to wear
his with pride.
Keep up the good work.
Lew & Carole Lloyd-Evans
Hi Bill
Just a short note to thank you sincerely (and with some
emotion!) for the wonderful reunion you and your team
put on both Friday and Saturday. I must admit it was
with a bit of trepidation that I came down, thinking
that apart from me not recognising anyone and
embarrassing myself and I was sure very few would
remember me! 31 years is a long time! How wrong I was!
As I moved around on Friday, meeting old friends and
acquaintances, 31 years simply disappeared. Yes shapes
have changed and so have hair colour and hair styles
(except Clive Dredge who seems to be in some sort of
time warp!!) but the old familiar banter was there which
kept me aching from laughter. My only regret was not
having enough time to sit and talk to some - you in
particular. Thank you thank you! Apart from the weekend,
the Association has grown from strength to strength
under your stewardship. Its current healthy state is
only because of your outstanding efforts. It can only
grow in strength with men of your calibre running it.
Please keep in touch and if there is anything I can do
to help with anything, please do not hesitate to call.
Please pass my warmest wishes to Sylvia who I know was
very involved in helping you put the show together. You
are an awesome team.
Rick van Malsen
Dear Bill
Got back to Oman at 1115 this morning. I want to
congratulate you and your team for a superbly organised
50th Reunion. Everything went off so smoothly that it
was obviously well and meticulously planned. Everyone I
spoke to thought it was great and really enjoyed seeing
their old mates and catching up. You really pulled out
the stops and it was a momentous occasion. Apologies for
my rather cuffed speech, Liz tells me next time she will
carry a copy of it with her as well, so at least one of
us will have it! Once again very many congratulations on
a very well-organised function; for me it was great
meeting up with the RSA members of the RLIRA
Ian Buttenshaw
Hi Billy
Congratulations to you and your team for putting
together a fantastic 50th celebration at Swartkops on
Sat. Colleen and I had a great time renewing
acquaintances and friends, many that I have not seen for
32 years, the true spirit of the unit has certainly not
faded with the years gone by and the Rhodies humor is so
unique. Once again congrats on a most successful
reunion.
Kevin Barron
Dear Bill
I have just recently returned home after spending a
wonderful 8 days with my family in Jhb. The purpose of
this correspondence is firstly, to sincerely
congratulate you for putting on the magnificent function
on 5 February to celebrate the RLI's 50th Anniversary.
It truly was excellent in all regards and there is no
doubt that everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves. I
would go as far as saying it was one of the best
Military functions I have ever attended; such a great
deal was achieved. There is no doubt that you and your
committee had to put in many, many long hours and a
great deal of over time, the attention to detail was
outstanding. Well done Bill, you certainly have done us
proud. I know you are humbly going to say, "You are only
as good as your team". This is very true and they must
also be congratulated, but you have got to have someone
at the fore driving the issue, this is where you
obviously came in very strongly. Secondly, I would like
to sincerely thank the RLI Association for funding my
return air fare, this I really appreciated. I also thank
you for arranging my accommodation, Mervin and Mariette
were really graceful hosts, they made me extremely
welcome and my stay with them was tremendous. Mervin and
I did a lot of reminiscing. Once again Bill, well done
and thanks very much.
Robin Tarr
Greetings Billy
You and George and the whole RLIRA SA Branch Committee,
together with your Special Project Committee, have put
on the most incredible 50th Anniversary! I have searched
the dictionary and Roget's Thesaurus trying to find the
right word(s) to describe how we, as RLI soldiers, felt
about what we experienced and how we were treated during
the weekend of 04/05 Feb. I even resorted to SORHB and
other Service Writing manuals but could find nothing to
do justice to the special feeling that your events gave
us and to the professional planning and implementation
that was so apparent throughout. Finally, I have found
the word - and here it is W O W! This
stands for Wonderful Occasion
which, will never, never be forgotten
or bettered! Thank you, thank you all for everything.
Trevor DesFountain
Hi Bill
Thanks you very much for the great weekend. Sorry I
never said too much on the movie they were making but
they caught me off guard as I walked passed. If prepared
we could have made proper statements. Hope they cut to
suit your movie. Well I tell you what. You and your team
deserve a pat on the back. That was one very well
organized occasion. You can be very proud of your
efforts indeed. Wish I could get the support you are
getting. I am lucky if I get 20 people at any one time.
No funds to really do any thing special. Anyway as I
said you can be very proud of yourselves.
Rob Sweeting
Chairmen Gauteng Air Force Association
As a guest of the RLI, I sat at a fine dinner table with
the charming daughter and grandson of one of those men
who had "a face of a boy and fought like a lion" when we
needed them. No. 5 Hanger, Swartkops Air Force Base was
full, full, and full of my people, some having flown in
from all over the world and it felt good to watch the
old "Black Manned Lions" in their No. 1's renewing bonds
that go way beyond friendship. The fly-by of A P52
Mustang jerked me back to a similar thing when a great
Rhodesian flew past the crowd in his Spitfire, then
disappeared into the clouds never to be seen again; just
the way Jack Malloch would have wanted it. We had the
old General and a few of his Commanders arrive by Puma
Helicopter with the RLI colours held high. I'll be
damned if I did not see tears of pride in their eyes as
they marched past. One speaker had fire in his belly as
he recalled the Viscount atrocities, and rightly so, for
there is no single example that more clearly shows the
difference between the civilised standards of Rhodesia
and the bankrupt prehistoric culture of Zimbabwe (turn
in your grave Harold Wilson). For me the high point of
the evening came when the RSM had us all upstanding and
choked with emotion, we sang "When the Saints go
Marching In". At that point I fantasized about slinging
my slayer and going off to reclaim my homeland - what a
way to go - beats the hell out of just kicking the can
down the road.
But, spare a thought and sound the "Last Post" for those
who did not make it back from the sharp end or may have
stumbled along the way. When I think back, I am still
filled with rage and I weep for them.
Robert Tarr
34430, 35th Intake, 1960
G'day Chris
Rob Celliers was a Rhodies television cameraman who did
his national service in 2 Commando in 1975. In 1995 when
I was on holiday in England, I saw a news clip which
mentioned a cameraman being shot in Sarajevo during the
Bosnian War. I thought the clip said that he'd been
killed. I was never sure though as to whether or not I'd
heard the name correctly and since '95 have from time to
time wondered if the person in Sarajevo was the ouen I
knew from my RLI days. Well, having finished Wrotters
obit, I decided I follow up by confirming whether or not
the ouen in Sarajevo was Rob and then write an obit for
him for the RLI website. Well, I searched on-line and
found that he hadn't died, but I was still not sure if
he was the RLI ouen. I found he is working for
Associated Press Television News (APTN) and I found a
London 'phone number for him. About 11.30 last night I
tried the number (it would have been 3.30 in the
afternoon in London). Much to my surprise, the call was
answered by "Sami" in APTN's Baghdad office! However
Sami was able to tell me that Rob had left Baghdad a
couple of years ago and gave me his mobile no. I got
hold of Rob in Cairo! He's there to cover the current
protests and is indeed the Rob Celliers I knew in 1975.
(He's in the 1975 2 Commando photograph).
David Armstrong
Dear Sir
My name is Joe Trippodo. I served over 25 years in the
US Army and currently work at United States Africa
Command. When I was in High School 1976-1980, I was very
aware of your struggle, I supported your cause as best I
could from where I stood. I read your book as well as a
few others on the subject. I just wanted to say thanks,
to you and all the other Troopers who gave so much and
still had to leave. A close friend of my family went to
live in Rhodesia after his US Army service in Vietnam;
he took his family and set up a law practice as well as
a farm. My friend Richmond was born in Rhodesia and
speaks highly of his boyhood in Africa. That is the
extent of my firsthand knowledge of your country. Good
luck in the future and someday I would like to see your
country in person.
Respectfully Submitted
Trippodo, Joseph B. CTR
Joseph.Trippodo@africom.mil
Howzit Chris
What an outstanding job on the 50th anniversary Cheetah
- well done! I have not been connected with the
association at all, until this function, but will be
now, thanks to Rick van Malsen and Neill Jackson - who
invited me on the Mapai trip - and urged me to attend
the jubilee. I will make sure from this day on that I'm
signed up, paid up, and part of the family once more.
Back in the mid eighties I had the brainwave (contrary
to popular opinions subbys do occasionally enjoy
brainwaves - in fact, the scarcity of those brainwaves
makes them all the more enjoyable) - I had this idea to
try to get as many of the Commando songs together as
possible - then find a decent sized group of reasonably
in-tune singers - helped by a guitar or two - and put
together a CD (obviously a "tape" back then). The idea
was to pull together the serious, the melancholy, the
fun and the quite stupid - (think "Cafenol is a
painkiller") and bind it all together with a brief
narration. We thought about calling it something like "A
tribute to the Saints, and their Fallen". Anyway, I
never did anything about it - but now, at the back of
the Cheetah - I see so many of the old songs in print -
man I tell you what, if a CD had been on sale, I would
have bought a handful, irrespective of the price - I
reckon it would be a great association fundraiser - what
do you think? Incidentally - I put together "The Silver
and the Green" - and was really surprised to see it here
in the magazine - how did you come across it? I don't
give a rat's ass about being credited with the song -
but it is slightly off - the correct wording is below.
The Silver and the Green.
(Adapted from Johnny Cash's 'Ghost Riders in the Sky')
Was a windy day, say late in June
The siren sounds out loud
The sun was still arising through a heavy bank of cloud
The choppers wind and lift away
For soldiers are on board
They're men that hate, they're men that kill
They are the RLI
The Incredibles you call us
And it's justified you've seen,
We are the men who wear the silver and the green
The K-car strikes, the G-cars drop
The gooks are running now
A frantan bomb, and screams and cries
A Troopie boy gets pulled
Now run you bastards
Run and die
It's the RLI you've seen
And just so you know who's been,
We wear the silver and green
Now smoke and death are hanging still,
Among the rocks and trees -
The smell of blood and cordite is wafting on the breeze,
We're fighting soldiers from the sky
So learn your lesson well
We are the men of the RLI and it's usually you who'd die
And just so you know who's been,
We wear the silver and green.
And just so you know who's been,
We wear the silver and green.
Wayne Grant
Chris
I would like to echo the sentiments of Officer Grant,
and congratulate you on an outstanding publication. Even
though I am not even halfway through reading my copy, my
first quick scan was very promising. Great humour, wide
range of topics and just enough serious stuff. Well done
(once again) that man! I disagree with Wayne re
acknowledgement for his song, and think his name should
be permanently attached to 'The Silver and the Green'
henceforth. It certainly adds character to know that it
was composed by one of the ouens. I do, however, agree
that a CD of RLI songs, both rough and smooth, would be
an excellent idea and a number one best-seller, and I
think you should get to it right away. Once again,
heartiest congratulations.
Neill Jackson
Dear Chris and Kerrin
Many thanks for the comp copy of The Cheetah February
2011 for the FLF's reference library. It is an
impressive publication and does The Saints proud. Thanks
too for your ongoing support for the FLF.
John Redfern
Honorary National Secretary
Flame Lily Foundation
Dear Pat [types Hill]
On behalf of the RLIRA, thank you very much for your
generous gesture in providing the Operational Areas
Backdrop free of charge. It is really very much
appreciated, and will add to the artifacts already on
display in the Museum. I am sure Martyn will provide the
details of where the makers of the backdrop can leave it
in UK. They may even wish to visit the RLI Museum
themselves and see what has been done so far it is
really quite excellent.
Ian Buttenshaw
Chairman RLIRA
Dear Chris
My deep congratulations on an excellent Golden
Anniversary edition of The Cheetah. It was a fine
tribute to the old and bold of this magnificent former
unit, and invoked many nostalgic memories not only for
me but all who served. Well done indeed. It was also a
great pleasure to meet your good wife and to be put so
at ease throughout her interviews .I do hope that she
quickly overcame her nervousness of the helicopter
flight. Please accept my sincere gratitude for your
outstanding contribution to the RLI Association.
John Hickman
Hi Bill
Thank you very much for sending me The Cheetah Jubilee
Edition (50 RLI) which I received yesterday and have
started reading. It has always been an honour and
privilege to be associated with The RLI. The magazine
and the contents therein are of historic value and bring
back nostalgic memories of the war we fought against
communism and terrorism for our beloved Country
Rhodesia. I salute you and all the members for the
sterling work that is done in keeping the RLI
Association going from strength to strength. Keep up the
good work.
Fred Potgieter
Dear Bill
What a memorable day on Saturday, 5 February 2011.
Certainly one I will remember, and very proud and
privileged to be part of. Hats off to you and your team
for the great effort in creating such a momentous
celebration of your 50th anniversary.
John Pirrett
Chairman BSAP Association
Hello Bill,
I regret the late response to your comment but was out
of office from approx midday yesterday. However you know
the old adage "wisdom comes with age” and thought it
best without becoming too verbose to tell exactly where
the term 'DRILL PIG” comes from.
- You can be assured it has nothing to do with what
they eat as anything they eat becomes Pig Sh*t.
- It has everything to do with three factors:
(a) The quality & quantity of the stuff they SNIFF
(b) The quality & quantity of the stuff the SMOKE
(c) The quantity & % alcohol content of the stuff they
DRINK.
- You see this is what results in their behavioural
changes & makes them always wanting to hear people
shouting 'UP DOWN” & "1231” Next they then arrive at the
stage where they wish to expound their knowledge to all
& sundry but insist it is done in a half circle facing
them.
- Then the rhetoric commences such as "Coy stand easy”.
Pay attention to the Company commander's word of command
& the detail for a company required to move the right in
close column of platoons. The company commander's word
of command will be, "Company will move to the right in
close column of platoons RIGHT TURN!” The company will
execute a right turn as taught in squad drill. This goes
on & on & on. Almost ritual.
- The end result is they lose all ability to reason and
froth @ the mouth & become unbearably demanding
requiring people to stamp their feet on a huge tarmac
area
Just to now satisfy their egotistical perverted sense of
humour.
NOW MY MAN, YOU KNOW TRULY WHERE THE TERMINOLOGY OF A
'DRILL PIG' COMES FROM.
Mervyn Kluckow
Dear Bill
Multi congratulations. You, in particular, and your
Committee are to be highly complimented for the
outstanding celebration of the South African element of
the RLIRA 50th Anniversary. The whole event was truly
memorable and extremely enjoyable. It was a high honour
to be accorded VIP status at such an august gathering of
The Incredibles. I was indeed very proud, yet humbled,
to be associated with so many illustrious warriors of
the past. You must be justifiably pleased with the
obvious good results of all your hard and dedicated work
- it certainly was in keeping with the highest
traditions of military efficiency. Well done to you all.
Kindly pass on my congratulations to your diligent
workers.
John Hickman
Chris
Further to Mark Eales's query about establishing the
first RLI external jump, I think that this, 24 May 1977,
is the jump that Mark, was referring to. I have checked
Prop Geldenhuys Air Strike Log, and find that there is
no entry for 24 May 1977. However an entry recorded for
25 May 1977 describes an external strike on a camp at
VT208306, near Chinherere, Mozambique, due north of
Nyamasoto. This involved two Canberra's, two Hunters and
two Dakotas. Strangely, no Alouettes are mentioned,
although that is how we were uplifted. It is mentioned
in the notes to this airstrike that Doug Pasea's
(Canberra navigator) logbook records the date of the
strike as 24 May 1977, which coincides with our date. I
am sure that this is the same operation. This was in
support of an SAS raid on a ZANLA camp in Mozambique. I
think we were based at Mtoko, on Fireforce duties, at
the time. We did not have any contacts, nor meet up with
the SAS troops, but merely swept through a camp that had
just been hit by the air force (possibly Hunters). The
camp was occupied at the time of the strike, and
obviously abandoned in a hurry, but I cannot recall
seeing any casualties. There was a lot of kit, equipment
and rations lying around. We liberated a brand new Honda
generator, but ditched it on the walk out due to its
weight! In typical blue job fashion, we were uplifted
mere minutes after destroying this coveted machine! On a
lighter note, I recall being decidedly unnerved on this,
my first external Para drop. Especially as the briefing
went something along the lines of; 'The SAS have hit a
camp in Mozambique, and are in the shit. You lot have to
jump in to help them out'. The jump went perfectly,
except for the fact that I found myself drifting
directly towards a small village next to the target
area, with a small cooking fire still smoldering in the
centre of the circle of huts. I was convinced that the
ters had occupied this village and were waiting to
ambush us as we hit the ground. The winds was fairly
strong, and try as I might, I could not change my
direction of drift. I began to loosen the strap holding
my FN to my side, so that I could release it immediately
on landing in order to be able to defend myself.
Unfortunately, pre-occupied with this activity, I failed
to notice the proximity of the fast-approaching ground
and also failed to conduct my standard landing drills. I
hit the ground hard, in a cloud of dust and, still
struggling with the strap, failed to release the cape
wells that would free the parachute from my harness. The
wind whipped the chute over my head, filled it with
wind, and used it to drag me, face down, through the
supposedly occupied village, straight through the
cooking fire, and out on the other side of the huts,
covered in dust, ash and ignominy! Needless to say, my
troopies found this hilarious, but at least had the
grace to thank me for saving them the task of clearing
the village!
Neill Jackson
Chris
Thanks, Cheetah received in good order. Where did you
find the words to 28 days!? Never knew that anyone had
written it down. For the record, the history of that was
that Passy and I was a spot sozzled on R&R and at about
midnight arrived back from the city and took a short cut
to the mess over the Holy Ground. The Bn Orderly
Sergeant happened to be doing the rounds and met us at
the perimeter. He sternly advised us to return to the
mess as it was not a smart idea to defile Harry
Springer's parade ground - so I wrote the song. The two
last lines of both "refrains" are not accurate, so
someone obviously modified it, but I can't remember at
this time what they were, and it's not a big issue.
Ian Scott
Chris
Maningi thanks for the splendid 'Cheetah' 50th birthday
edition that has arrived, safe and sound. It is a
magnificently produced magazine and all ex 1RLI must be
very proud of it. I enjoyed it immensely. All the
articles were a pleasure to read, pertinent to the
theme, well edited and well constructed. Your editorial
was brilliant! Your final two paragraphs were so true.
Like you, to me also it still all seems as though it was
just yesterday! I'm also glad that you managed to
include some of Nigel Rittey's cartoons (he seems a bit
lost in the UK at the moment), though I now realise that
he must have tuned out to every briefing about why we
were on border operations up at Kipushi. The UN (our
unannounced enemy) had Panhard armoured cars with 90mm
guns; and 81mm mortars, and were being extremely
belligerent on the other side of the border near E'ville
and we were on the only bridge over the Kafue that they
had to use to get vehicles across the border and the
Kafue to reinforce UN activities elsewhere from West to
East or vice versa. I was not prepared to lose a single
soldier through tactical carelessness; and we were not
sufficiently trained for combat apart for a simple
defense, and that's why we dug in, and why the other
companies did not. They were on pussy-foot protection of
border posts to the unthreatened Copperbelt towns. Well,
that's my excuse anyway. Thank you, and, again, well
done with that superb 50th anniversary 'Cheetah'
magazine.
Digger Essex-Clark
Dear Chris
Thanks for sending on the Cheetah - have started dipping
into it. It's quite a ride: from snorting coffee out of
my nose at some of the captions to the intense poignancy
of the poetry. Although I haven't read all of the
articles yet, the pictures (especially of the old
ballies) got me thinking back to an interview I did with
John Connolly last year. He's the Irish thriller writer,
and his last book dealt with PTSD in the US forces now
returning from Iraq. He quoted a book from an American
psychologist called James Hillman, A Terrible Love of
War: "War is a mythical happening ... where else in
human experience, except in the throes of ardour ... do
we find ourselves transported to a mythical condition
and the gods most real?” But thanks for the nostalgic,
hilarious, moving, cheesy, profound, warm and witty
Cheetah.
Michele Magwood
The joy, sadness and pride of being an RLI wife
I was a young, 22-year-old wife with a young child when
my husband Geoff came home one night and announced that
we were going to Salisbury from Bulawayo to join the
RLI. I was petrified as I did not know what lay ahead of
us. Little did I know that we were going to join a great
and wonderful battalion of men, who, once you joined,
embraced your family in all aspects? We moved into the
Married Quarters not long after Geoff was promoted to
Sgt. that was when my life as a RLI wife really began.
The joy of seeing the Battalion presented with its
colours, the Freedom of the city of Salisbury being
honoured to the battalion. My children made so many
friends and had the security of being in a safe
environment. The Drs and hospital were there for you at
all times. There were men like Alan Beattie who looked
after you and would never turn you away never mind what
your problem was. In so far as to phone Geoff at
training troop and tell him that my pregnancy test was
positive whereupon my proud husband announced to the
rest of Training Troop that Liversedge strikes again. He
never lived that down. My children's joy the yearly
Christmas tree held in the large hall close to the
entrance of the battalion. Father Christmas was always
George Walsh who arrived by army tank/truck and many
other wonderful ideas. We moved to Gwelo, School of
Infantry in 1968 if I remember right and spent 5 years
there. We returned to the battalion in 1973 and what a
surprise we were moved into our old house. No 6 Married
Quarters. Geoff became CSM of his old CDO the Big Red
1CDO. What joy we were back. I met and made many long
lasting friends Dot Springer, Jacqui Kirrane and many
more. My boys had wonderful friends like the Springer
Twins the Kirrane children. They rode their bicycles all
over barracks they had the use of the Swimming Pool. As
they grew older they were trained on the Assault Course
played and used all the facilities. I became part of a
group of women who were always there for one another
whether it was in time of sadness or joy. The worst
times were when the Padre's vehicle drove down the Road,
not knowing whose house it was going to stop at. Was
your man injured or the worse possibility Gone. If I
close my eyes I can still see Trevor Kirrane marching
down our Rd with his swagger stick under his arm coming
home at the close of a day. Jacqui and the children
would be waiting at their gate for him. While the other
children in the street shouted out their greetings to
one of their favourite uncles. The ladies of the Sgts
Mess had the pleasure of enjoying a ladies night once a
month on a Sat evening. We were treated royally and I
can remember one night in particular we held tequila
races amongst the ladies. This ended in the group
enjoying a skinny dip in the battalion swimming pool at
2am in the morning. The guards on duty at the front gate
were given strict instructions not to go anywhere near
the swimming pool. The news travelled out to the bush
very quickly and we literally had to stand on the mat on
our husband's return. But what great fun we had. At the
beginning of 1977 I was one of the many mothers who
stood to the side and watched my eldest son trying to do
his best to be chosen for the RLI to do his National
Service at the age of 17 years. I was proud that he was
chosen but my heart was heavy for the next 18 months
while he served with Recce in Support Cdo. He did his
father proud but grew up very quickly. 1980 came and we
put our colours to rest. That was one of the saddest
days in our lives. Our time was over and slowly the
battalion shrank and dwindled as people left. I cried as
we drove out of the barracks on our way to South Africa.
5th Feb 2011. The Reunion
What joy to see faces that we haven't seen for 30 odd
years? Rhodesians, We Stand Proud and Tall. The Proudest
Battalion in the World we served our beloved country
well.
Pauline Liversedge
ADMIN & LOG
UK CQMS STORES
• RLI ties: £12.50
• RLI blazer badges (green or black backing): £14.50
• Poppy lapel badge: £1.50
• Chest wings: £6.00 (only certified paras eligible to
wear these)
• Lapel/cufflink & tie pin set (para wings): £20.00
(only certified paras are eligible to wear these)
• RLI silver beret badge (from NZ): £12.00
• RLI polo shirt: £15.00
• DVD Rhodesia Remembered: £10.00
Prices exclude packaging and posting
SA CQMS STORES
This will be a short communiqué this edition as there is
not much to report on. There are still a few of the 50th
special edition golf shirts available @ R250.00 plus
postage, so please order if you want one. The RLI
plaques that were on show at the 50th are now available
@ R250.00 plus postage. Currently RLI ties are out of
stock and will be available in the near future. Finally,
I must apologize that we have not yet got the individual
commando golf shirts ready, but will be available in the
near future.
Gary Huxham
gary@elginflp.co.za
THERE WE WERE … KNEE-DEEP IN GRENADE PINS
Thanks to Mike McDonald and Nigel Rittey, both
informative and entertaining, who have been tireless
contributors to the e-Cheetah. These are their final
contributions … for now.
MIKE McDONALD kicks off
Support Commando with the SAS, 1978
In 1978 it was conceived that each RLI commando would
spend one entire bush trip attached to the SAS. It would
be better use of the RLI instead of Strike Force
operations. I was Support Commando's MA3 and following
here are some of the ops we did. Firstly we went to the
SAS camp on Lake McIlwaine for Klepper canoe and
landmine training. The fancy new anti-vehicle landmine
with anti-lift/detection features was covered with dark
brown plastic hence the nickname 'chocolate cake'. Sadly
some SAS personnel wisecracked that RLI would blow
themselves up with this mine which caused lingering bad
feelings between the two units. I still went over and
chatted to my SAS mates I had known from various
courses, trying to learn how their war was going. One
told me he had laid a mine 100 meters from the front
gate of a gook camp and he was nervous as hell planting
it.
Mining
The first op was a joint land mining job by SAS and
Support Commando deployed from Mabalahuta camp. Each
stick member carried a vehicle landmine and we laid them
in sets of four. First a Russian TM mine, then a
kilometer down the road a chocolate cake, another
kilometer another chocolate cake, then a Russian TM a
further kilometer. SAS were deployed by parachute via
Dakota to their AO, we by chopper. Being the MA3, I went
with the stick that had the deepest penetration of
Mozambique. To enable a G-Car to fly to our area of
operations and back on one tank of gas it could only
carry two soldiers thus we went with two choppers. When
we landed deep in the area, known as the 'Russian
Front', we could smell sea air from the Indian Ocean. We
were to mine one road, get re-supplied and do another
road the following night. The area was very sandy and we
wore Hessian sacking over our feet to help disguise our
tracks. While hiking to our road we disturbed one of the
largest herds of animals I had ever seen: hundreds of
wildebeest and zebra ran by us for quite a while. When
we finally reached the road it had four-foot high
elephant grass growing in the middle. Wrong road! We had
been dropped in the wrong location so had a very long
hike to the proper road. We only ended up mining one
more road. I did security up the road each time while
the sergeant did the planting of all four mines.
Returning back to Rhodesia in the morning I was seated
by the door across from the tech enjoying the long
chopper ride at treetop level and watching giraffe and
other game below. Suddenly the tech's eyes bulged out of
his head and he screamed into his mouthpiece. Our
chopper pulled up as fast and sharp as possible. Those
huge power lines that ran down the Mozambican side of
the border were in our face. We just barely flew over
the top strand … in seemingly slow motion. It was right
there! Right bloody there! I could have easily stepped
out of the chopper onto it! The chopper wheels must have
cleared it by millimeters … seriously! I looked over at
the tech, his eyes rolled upward then closed and his
body sagged and I honestly thought he'd fainted. He
opened them several seconds later and had a few more
grey hairs. The SAS told us several days later that our
joint campaign had caused about 200 enemy casualties
including 12 Frelimo sapper teams. Renamo probably got
official credit for it.
Border patrol
While at Mabalahuta we do another multi-tasking
deployment. One stick to do a prisoner snatch patrol in
Mozambique, one to OP Crooks Corner and one eight-man
stick a roving fighting patrol inside Mozambique. The
stick I was with was to patrol the border from the
Nuanetsi River to the Limpopo River to check how many
cuts in the fence by the terrorists and if fresh spoor
to consider follow-up. I really didn't fancy doing a
follow-up through the big Rhodesian border minefield,
the Cordon Sanitaire! We crossed the minefield on a path
created by Rhodesian engineers to the fence on the
Nuanetsi River. Our patrol walked south along the dirt
road next to the border fence. We stopped counting cuts
in the fence after 50; nothing recent though. There were
lots of plain brown stones on this road and we noticed a
broken one had neat quartz crystals in it. So, on our
breaks we were breaking these stones apart and admiring
the cool crystals. Gave the gate marked booby-trapped a
wide berth and checked out a hippo in a pond nearby. We
stepped back and forth across the border fence many
times so that we could have bragging rights that we had
been to Mozambique a least a hundred times during the
war.
Our snatch patrol came up on the radio; they were making
a hasty tactical withdrawal back to the border. All our
call signs were going to RV on the border. I don't know
exact details but something on the lines that the snatch
patrol did target a lone Frelimo but in the commotion he
was shot in the leg. This brought many Frelimo comrades
quickly to his aid. We all met up and heard Frelimo
mortars being fired. We ran north up the border track
not wanting to cross the minefield. The area had rolling
hills and as we topped one the Frelimo would mortar the
hill we had just vacated. This went on for several
hills. We laughed each time as we ran north, though I
must credit Frelimo for leapfrogging their mortar teams.
We watched a Hawker Hunter come and drop a 1,000lb golf
bomb on the Frelimo garrison by Crooks Corners as a
belated Valentine. We reached the Nuanetsi River and ran
up the middle of the dry riverbed into Rhodesia,
figuring it would be safe from landmines but knowing
they do shift in the sand! The Frelimo mortaring stopped
at the border river crossing. Clear of the minefield
some guys caught several barbel with a handheld bayonet
in the pools of water under some fallen logs. We brought
them back and the batmen stopped all their chores to
smoke the fish at once. On a stupid note, I wore a
brand-new pair of fancy suede lightweight boots I had
bought at a Bata store. The damn sole came off the left
foot after one day and I walked around in my stockinged
foot; and the Nuanetsi river sand really hurt to walk
on.
ZIPRA base raid
Another op with SAS planning a raid by 16 men on a ZIPRA
camp of about 100 terrorists inside Zambia, deploying
from an SAS base camp at Kanyemba airstrip. They
required two Support Commando sticks for back-up, and
being the MA3 I get to go. Arriving at Kanyemba an SAS
stick was being casevaced in from Zambia; I went to
assist the SAS doctor. This stick had run into some
nasty buffalo beans and two troopers needed to be
sedated. I assume they ran into them at night as surely
they'd have enough sense to walk around the bean shit in
daylight! The SAS doctor asked to check my combat
medical supplies. I accepted his criticism and showed a
willingness to learn. He gave me a complete tour of the
SAS base and we discussed many things. We actually got
along quite fine and I got some useful tips.
The ZIPRA camp had Soviet 14.5 AA guns on hills around
it so a chopper assault was out of the question. The SAS
recce teams even heard them being fired. SAS would be
parachuted from afar then walk in. Unfortunately during
approach they bumped into sentries who alerted the main
camp. The SAS did have a skirmish upon reaching the main
camp where one trooper was wounded in the shoulder but
were able to overrun the base. They requested both RLI
sticks so out we went. We rode a G-Car climbing altitude
up this huge Zambezi escarpment. At the very top was
this huge male elephant waving his ears and shaking his
trunk at us. On a hill nearby the terrorist camp our
stick was tasked to pack up a 14.5 AA gun for return to
Rhodesia. I played with a captured WW2 vintage Russian
DP machine gun with the huge flat drum magazine on top,
shooting down some trees to make an LZ for the chopper.
It kept having stoppages because the magazine spring was
too weak; no wonder the terrorist had abandoned it. So
our MAG gunner did his lumberjack thing. The ZIPRA base
had lots of kit including brand-new marquee tents but we
didn't have enough chopper resources to bring it all
back so the tents were burned much to the dismay of
some. Three 14.5 AA guns were captured and the air force
later set up two of them at the Kanyemba airfield. Then
the aircrews took turns manning them while a Lynx flew
back and forth, making mock bombing runs and flying like
a madman. The airmen wanted to know how easily an AA
gunner could track and target an aircraft using the
traverse and elevation control hand wheels. They did
this for a long time and it was entertaining to watch.
Ambush
SAS reconnaissance had determined ZANLA terrorists,
fresh from the training camps, were assembling at a
certain town in Mozambique. When ready they were then
transported by two or three cattle trucks loaded with
about 70 terrorists each to the Rhodesian border for
deployment. Support Commando was going to ambush these
trucks. A senior NCO said this was going to be the
highlight of his military career. An SAS stick was going
to OP the town and give us some warning when the trucks
departed. An SAS mate of mine in this stick was pissed
because the pre-designated OP position was a 100 yards
from a kraal. Sixteen members of Support Commando
including me were deployed by choppers to within ten
kilometers of the ambush site and we'd walk in. We would
sit in ambush for two weeks if necessary. The SAS stick
was deployed ten kilometers from their OP but were
dropped in error near our ambush position! We had a long
hot walk with a couple troops suffering heat exhaustion,
which I had to treat with IV drips. I had luckily
brought seven water bottles with me; if anyone suffered
a head or stomach wound I would have to keep the
bandages wet. All streams and rivers we found were as
dry as a bone; we even dug down six feet in an outer
curve of one and still found no sign of water.
We received word by radio that the SAS chopper had flown
over a ZANLA camp yet nobody had thought to alert the
local militia. SAS were monitoring Frelimo radio traffic
and so we just laid low for a day to suss things out.
Two others and I spent half a day observing the road
from as deep in the woods as possible because of Frelimo
reputation for using big sweep lines on each side of the
road. On the second night we received an airdrop of
water re-supply. The third day seemed quiet so we went
and set up the ambush. The plan was that the first truck
would be blown by explosives we had planted in a
culvert. The second truck would be hit with a 3.5-inch
rocket launcher (don't know why we didn't have a RPG-7).
On the far left of our ambush, the eastern side, would
be me and a Troopie to act as cut-off, or if there was a
third truck to engage it with our two rifles and hand
grenades. Our own truck of 70 gooks …. no problem …
bring it on! We sent out a four-man stick to OP from a
high gomo to the west.
We sent three troops off to cache the rest of our water
in a culvert to the east. Our OP saw six Frelimo walking
slowly down the road toward us from the west. A senior
NCO took two soldiers with him to ambush and kill them.
Everyone's attention was on the six Frelimo when
suddenly our water party came running back through my
position-they had seen gooks while caching the water and
had made a hasty tactical withdrawal. Our OP switched
focus and saw that we had been surrounded on three
sides-north, east and south-by about 200 Frelimo!
Apparently Frelimo looking for the SAS chopper troops
had found our tracks. Word spread quickly and I admit I
was in a minor flap, what with it being my first time
surrounded. It took all those hundreds of hours of
discipline and marching on the parade square for us not
to bolt and run. I watched our captain calmly set up the
TR48 and radio for air support. He was so calm and ice
cool, it really had a calming effect on me. Our small
ambush party returned and I kept vigil on my side of our
group. I also crammed my pockets with stuff from my pack
that I would keep in case we abandoned backpacks. I was
determined not to be taken prisoner and got ready for a
fight to the death.
A Rhodesian Hawker Hunter suddenly appeared over our
position: perfect timing. The SAS OP had ordered an air
strike on the terrorist assembly point in town,
reckoning earlier the ambush would be a no go. The
Hunter did his strike and came back to give us top
cover. The Frelimo went to ground and we got all our
gear and made a hasty tactical withdrawal to the west. I
was ordered to be last man and to do the anti-tracking.
A couple hundred yards later we crossed a ten-foot wide
stream with ankle-deep water. The rest ran up the grassy
slope on the other side and into the forest. I grabbed a
long stick and started flicking up the grass as fast as
possible, tippy-toeing and sidestepping as taught by
Selous Scouts at Wafa Wafa. I figured that covering this
spoor Frelimo might think we ran up or down the stream.
I kept looking and expecting Frelimo to emerge any
second but anti-tracked for about three tension-filled
minutes. I did a good job and ran into the woods to
follow the rest of the troops. A couple of small grassy
clearings were crossed so I anti-tracked both places as
well. A Lynx came and flew around too. After some
distance we took up all-round defense on a small kopje
and observed the area, awaiting choppers for hot
extraction. We never saw any Frelimo-perhaps my
ant-tracking confused them but more likely our fearsome
air force scared the shit out of them. Finally the
choppers arrived to take us back and we were really glad
to get our feet back on Rhodesian soil, fighting the
urge to kiss the chopper pilot's butt. I spoke to our OP
NCO who said the Frelimo were really very close to us,
and really there were about 200 of them surrounding us.
Maybe the six on the road were a decoy which worked for
a short while. A dream ambush became a near nightmare.
Lastly
I was involved in the above operations. Recce Troop did
a recon of a ZANLA camp of about 100 terrorists in
Mozambique. They called in a successful air strike
causing quite a few casualties. Unfortunately one of the
two extraction G-Cars on way to pick up the Recce team
was shot down, killing both aircrew. The Recce Platoon
Sergeant earned his MFC (Operational) on this operation.
Mike McDonald
NIGEL RITTEY follows on:
Shooting and firearms
In 1961 the army had already replaced their old Lee
Enfield 303s with the SLR semi-automatic, which had a
caliber at NATO standard 7.62. As rookies, we had hours
of weapon training with these things. This took place in
classrooms, out in the hot Rhodesian sun and at the
shooting range at Woolandale where we discovered just
how accurate these weapons could be … in the right
hands. Some could knock a tick off a bull's backside at
500 yards while others could not be relied on to hit a
barn at six paces.
The targets for the shorter range shoots were either
'Figure 11' or 'Figure12' pattern, which featured
fearsome-looking gooks in camouflage kit printed on
them. Most of us were content to just whack the things
but the purists always tried for a neat grouping of
shots between the eyes.
At longer ranges massive targets were the usual and more
pride was taken in the achievement of good grouping,
which while they may not have been in the bull's eye,
indicated that you were a darned good shot and, had your
armourer zeroed the rifle properly, they would have all
been dead centre. We were forbidden to zero our own
sights but many of us did break the rules from time to
time.
The Stirling SMG was about as reliable as a two bob
watch and was prone to stoppages and even runaways. The
latter were hilarious and dangerous at the same time.
All the Troopie could do was keep it roughly pointed
down the range while the thing emptied the whole
magazine. Some claimed the things were not very accurate
but I managed to get most of my shots on target. They
appeared very much as if they had been churned out by
the mile and cut off by the yard in the kind of factory
that might be contracted to produce jacks for cheap
cars.
Pistols were the 9mm Browning automatics which were
about as good as anything around. These were usually
meant for officers, but we got to shoot with them on
occasions. This brings to mind a time when, on a
Saturday afternoon, Denzel Lloyd-Evans
and I were nobbled by Lieutenants Douglas
and Harvey to patch up targets down at
the 30-yard range. These two distinguished gentlemen had
been summarily appointed to represent our company at a
forthcoming battalion shooting competition and wished to
sharpen their shooting skills. Their shooting was
appalling to say the least and, at the end of a boring
afternoon, they were kind enough to let Denzel and I
"have a few shots”. Much to their chagrin, our handling
of the two Brownings was impeccable and the two Figure
11s both had a lot of daylight showing through by the
time our magazines were empty.
The Bren was a favorite of mine, even though I carried
this bloody great piece of ironmongery up many gomos and
battled under its weight on many marches. If properly
set up a 'double tap' could produce hits on the target
that were only a couple of inches apart even over long
ranges.
A 3.5 inch rocket launcher was our anti-tank weapon. It
was a lot of fun to fire but the price of the rockets
meant we were lucky to have a shot with the thing at
all. In my whole career I was lucky enough to squeeze
the trigger twice. They misfired regularly.
The Energa grenade was fired using a ballastite
cartridge from the SLR. It was not very accurate as it
had a short range and a high trajectory … sort of a poor
man's howitzer. If you did hit something it really
banged a hole in it. There was never enough practice
with these either.
Occasionally we were allowed to lob hand grenades. These
'Mills' bombs were fun too. The explosion was often
characterized by the howling of the base plug, which was
a deeper sounding version of the ricochet sound effect
so beloved by the makers of cheap Westerns.
Playing with things that went bang was something to look
forward to-especially 808 plastic explosive. This stuff
looked and smelled just like marzipan icing and it had a
thousand uses. You could blow a railway track, bring
down a tree, flatten a building or become a highly
successful fisherman with it. On a weekend trip in my
small boat near Charara at Kariba, a companion and I
had, after liberating a small quantity of this
'pyrotechnic plasticine' (along with the necessary
detonators and fuses), tootled along dropping sticks of
the stuff over the stern just like any serious fishermen
would do. The chessa, nkupi, bream, barbel and tiger who
had, up to then, scoffed at our more conventional
fishing methods, quickly succumbed to this
'depth-charging' … and then the engine stalled. With no
electric starter up in the driver's seat, there was a
frantic scramble to dive aft and tug the starting cord
to get the boat underway before its marine ply bottom
turned to matchwood. I could see the morning headlines
in the Rhodesia Herald-'Two RLI men die when boat hits
Kariba mine! ZANU-PF claims responsibility.' 808 could
blow a fair-sized hole through a tree if it was stuffed
into the bottom of a broken Champagne bottle. The dome
in the bottom of the bottle served as a good model for
demonstrations of the hollow charge principle-as did
certain aerosol cans, ploughshares and even car hubcaps.
Viva la Alfred Nobel!
Battle simulation was greatly enhanced due to the use of
the thunderflash which was a bloody great squib with an
igniter fixed along its side. You pulled this
'doohickey' and it began to hiss and spurt flames
whereupon you needed to get rid of it chop chop if you
were fond of your fingers.
Quieter, but a lot more dangerous, were the white
phosphorus grenades. These were used in conventional
warfare exercises to generate instant smoke screens. I
never experienced them being used in anger and am
grateful for this. To be slowly roasted to death from
the outside would be a ghastly fate even for one's worst
enemy.
Instructor's Driving and Maintenance Course
As a seasoned motorcyclist, the time came for the army
to switch me over to things with four or more wheels. I
had never learned to drive a car so I duly reported to
the MT yard for my first lessons with an instructor.
This courageous fellow was Corporal Roy Capener
who began with a tour of a standard LWB Land Rover:
"This is a steering wheel. When you turn it, this
vehicle either a) turns, or b), turns over … all depends
on how fast you're going. Then there is this metal pedal
on the floor. If you push it down the thing goes faster.
If you take your foot off it, it usually slows down …
unless you're going down a hill in which case it could
carry on going. To make the thing stop you have to stand
on this other thing. If you do it too hard you will gooi
all the okes to the front. This can be rectified by
taking your foot off it and stomping on the pedal I
first told you about. There is also this waggley thing
here called a gear lever. You start by putting it in
this corner here, then this one, then that one, then
that one and finally over here … but don't waggle it
unless you've pushed that other thing over there…which
can only happen when you've taken your foot off the
thing I first told you about. There's another thing …
don't even think about trying to hit the fifth position
of that waggley thing 'cos, if you're stopped … or going
very slow … the thing starts going backwards. If you try
this and you're going fast, the government will have
your guts for garters and this thing's gearbox is gonna
need a dentist!”
We survived the first lesson and, after days of blood
sweat and tears, I was declared fit to be let loose on
Rhodesia's roads. A while later someone told me to go
and do this 'D & M' Instructor's Course down at
'Hooterville' (Gwelo) at the School of Infantry. I was
not yet a great driver at the time so I wondered at the
wisdom of the army's decision to train me on how to do
what instructors and examiners did, which was teaching
greenhorns (like me) how to drive big expensive pieces
of military equipment and then testing them at the end.
At Gwelo we met with the four characters whose task it
was to train us. The D & M School was headed up by
Captain 'Classy' Lloyd (frightfully
public school type), with WOII Bob Preller,
Colour Sergeant Norman Dale and
Sergeant Pete Arnold (an ex
Metropolitan Police driving instructor from Hendon in
the UK), as our mentors.
Several weeks of instruction followed. We were taught
how to fix 'veekles' (as 'Doppies' Preller
pronounced it), how to float them across rivers, how to
drive a whole lot better and how the things worked.
The course culminated in a trip down to the Sabi / Lundi
confluence in a variety of antique transport. The camp
was fun and we had a chance to put theories about the
floatation of Land Rovers into practice. This was
achieved either by the use of a truck canopy frame
skinned with canvas, or by simply wrapping the whole
vehicle up in a tarpaulin and committing it to the deep.
Ours did not sink, but then it didn't float either. We
just couldn't get it into the water. A previous group of
trainees had apparently managed to sink theirs.
A snippet of memory from that time was the lecture by
the frightfully posh Classy Lloyd who, citing
Archimedes, declared that: "When an object is totally or
partially immersed in a fluid … the f**king thing
sinks!”
I obtained a B+ grading on the course, which I
understand is something of a record. This qualified me
as an instructor / examiner. In the next couple of years
I trained and tested dozens of drivers, amazingly
without dents, shunts or other mishaps.
Subalterns
We had our lots thrown in with a great variety of these
over the years. Some were admired, some were tolerated
and a few were endured. A few are easily recalled. There
was Bob Davey: tall, a little pink and
with a hint of a developing British politician's lisp
but a fine soldier who learned very quickly to relate to
the polyglot lot he was tossed in with. Dave
Parker arrived at Brady wearing some strange
uniform from another regiment and very quickly made his
mark on the troops. He was destined to become the
Regiment's' 'Main Man What Counted' only to die
tragically in an air crash in later years. A young
Barney Robinson, stocky and a little
vertically challenged, was quickly nicknamed 'Barney
Rubble', The Flintstones being in vogue at the time. Of
the more hirsute gentlemen was one known as ' Hairy'
Holgate. What became of him I know not. There
was a frightfully earnest British one, a Second
Lieutenant Johnson, who dreamed of becoming some kind of
rally or race driver. He spent a lot of his spare time
throwing a rather tired Ford Taunus around the barracks
on two wheels. As far as I can remember he never did
manage to write himself off. Peter Batty was probably
the most laid-back of them all. Nothing ever seemed to
get him excited. Perhaps one of the ones we did not
relate to quite so well, was the rather morose Lionel
Dyke, who seemed to delight in anything that would get a
troopies' back up. There were a few of those, but most,
in time, successfully earned the respect of their
charges.
Batmen
In 1961, the services of batmen at Brady Barracks were
supposedly streng verboten for all but the senior ranks
and officers. It was amazing what a few shillings would
get you however and it wasn't long before we managed to
secure their expertise. The khaki drill bush jackets,
shorts and longs (KDs), needed to be washed and then
starched. Merely immersing them in a starch solution was
not good enough. The trick was to brush a sort of goo,
made by boiling the stuff in a pot, onto the clothes and
then cooking it dry with a hot iron. This gave you the
kind of kit that could stand on the floor by itself. The
'Stick Man' contenders actually lowered themselves into
their shorts and then waddled to the parade ground using
funny little three-inch steps so that there would be no
cracks or wrinkles in the things until they came to
attention on the command of the Orderly Officer.
Everyone at some time or other had a Lovemore, Sixpence
or Phineas who sneaked in and out of the lines fetching
and carting kit at all hours of the night. They worked
in one of the old hangars bordering what was once
Khumalo aerodrome and were constantly raided by the RPs
who searched in vain for our forbidden kit. I never lost
any. In later times when internal security problems came
to the fore and we were put on 'standby', which meant
lounging around with vehicles loaded and ready to go
somewhere or other around Rhodesia at a moment's notice.
We never knew where we might be sent but the barracks
batmen could usually be relied upon to come up with a
reliable prediction. A typical conversation might have
gone something like this:
"Hey, Lovemore! … Upi mina hamba manje?”
"Hau, baas ,… kubani Karoi!”
Township cordons
In the early '60s urban unrest reared its ugly head.
Intimidation of the local population was rife as
political 'partie's inflicted their viewpoints in rather
undemocratic ways. We were dug out of bed at unholy
hours of the morning and bundled into RLs, J5s and Land
Rovers to surround areas of Harare, Highfields and other
townships. The idea was to try to close the net on
agitators and thugs while they were still in their
sacks, kipping it off after a long hard night of murder
and mayhem. The CID, and the other cloak and dagger
types, would then interview all and sundry bundling the
rotters into jail while leaving the innocent free to go
and do their daily business. It was boring work being
dug in at the side of a township street, but we found
ways to amuse ourselves nonetheless. Soccer matches with
the picannins was a popular pastime. Those little
blighters were good players and they often ran rings
around us. As good Rhodesians we had mostly grown up in
households where the family dogs hated cats and
black-skinned people and they would erupt into furious
paroxysms of barking if these came near. In African
townships the boot was on the other foot. Their scrawny
mutts went bananas when fair-skinned mukiwas invaded
their territory. We could tell roughly where any one of
our foot patrols was simply by following the racket made
by these watchdogs. The bad guys probably benefited from
these mangy sentinels more than we did.
Riot drills
In the early '60s, the powers that be and the military
were becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the
problem of how to deal with rioters. The old
'let's-break-a-few-skulls' brigade had to be reined in
and rioters had to then be dealt with by the book … no
mowing the blighters down or climbing in with sjamboks
or truncheons would be tolerated. No 'Gunfight at the OK
Corral' methods were allowed either. The Department of
Bright Sparks sat in committees and came up with a
formal 'drill' to deal with it.
The whole circus began where the civil authorities had
to formally sign the mess over to the military … rather
difficult when the bricks and Molotov cocktails were
raining down. Then troops would ever so neatly climb out
of their vehicles and form up. On command they would
march to an area in front of the screaming mob where
they split into a perfect square. Each man faced
outwards. Great stuff, but the boffins forgot that in so
doing, only 25 per cent of us could see what was about
to break our noses or bash our heads in. Of course we
were not supposed to duck or avoid these missiles.
The officer in charge was supposed to call out to the
mob with a megaphone saying something akin to, "I say
chaps … you really ought to stop this Neanderthal stuff
and go home!”
If these chaps, after being cautioned three times, still
hadn't given up, a 'sniper' would be given an order to
go down on one knee and bump off a selected
troublemaker. In all the practice drills the officer,
having selected a ringleader, invariably instructed, "Man in red shirt … read y… aim … fire!”
Had I been a political agitator at that time, I would
never have been stupid enough to wear a red shirt! I
don't recollect these riot drills ever being put into
practice. These drills came to mind recently when a
friend reminded me that camels had come about as a
result of Our Creator delegating the design for a horse
to a committee!
As close to a contact as I ever got
The first 'gooks' had been nailed at Sinoia , the
Oberholzer attack was long gone, the truck driver Edward
Juze was cold in his grave when a bunch of them struck
at Nevada Ranch, the home of the Viljoen family. Some of
the perpetrators came to their well-deserved sticky ends
but one was some time later reported to be making his
way back to Zambia by way of a well-known path down the
escarpment near Chirundu. A team from 1 Commando raced
to New Sarum where we boarded a Dakota and headed for
Centenary airfield. An Alouette flown by John Barnes
picked up a team of us and we were dropped off in a tiny
LZ not far from where this terrorist would be expected
to pass.
A good site was found for an ambush where a killing
ground was chosen, after which we lay for hours in our
positions waiting for our quarry to come scrambling down
the rocky trail. At some time during the chilly night we
heard him coming. Adrenalin was pumping but one of our
number, being a bit cold and who had covered himself
with his rubberized poncho, decided to take it off,
making a hell of a racket in the process. Our target
bolted away up the escarpment before any of us could
sort him out. The murderer was later bumped off not far
from there by another unit.
Our uplift from the LZ the following day was interesting
to say the least. Our stick was heavy, the air was hot
and the chopper's blades only just cleared the tall
trees surrounding the tiny clearing. We thought the
pilot would take half of us and return for the rest
later but he gave us the thumbs up for all of us to
board. By some skilful 'egg-beating' and waltzing
around, he persuaded the machine to break out of ground
effect and get us back to Centenary where he landed it
like a fixed-wing aircraft on the runway.
The Dakota somehow, in spite of the combined weight of
our group, a team of RAR troops, all our kit and a Steyr
Puch Signals vehicle, got us off the ground and headed
for Salisbury. The RAR troopies had to be dropped at
Mount Hampden where the walrus-moustached pilot dropped
the thing a few feet short of the runway. When the
wheels hit the step where the tarmac began, there was an
almighty jolt that bounced us against the straps and
sent the aircraft back into the air again. The landing a
little while later at New Serum was a real greaser
however and 'Biggles' was quickly forgiven.
Beer drinking
In 1961 the price of a bottle of Castle or Lion Lager in
the Brady canteen was ten pence. As our pay, after all
the deductions, was around £25 a month, we quickly
measured our worth in beer bottles… 24 bottles to the
quid x £25 = 600 bottles a month or about 20 bottles a
night! Some actually managed this sort of consumption
but if they smoked cigarettes at 2s / 6d for 50 … or
eight packets to the pound, then sadly sacrifices had to
be made.
Drinking was a serious business. Troops liked to sit
around a table and make long lines with the empties and
it was not uncommon to see tables completely covered
with bottles at the end of an evening. There were
competitions to stack the bottles into huge precariously
balanced pyramids, which made the practice of rolling
around on the floor rather dangerous. The usual 'drink
it down-down-down' challenges were part of life. This
became even more of a challenge when someone introduced
the Yard of Ale which was a great way to either take a
bath in Castle or learn to drink beer through the nose.
It was not only the low cost that made canteen drinking
so attractive. The close proximity to one's own
'fartsack' was a boon as one could hardly get run over
or prang while weaving one's way home after an evening
of mirth and merriment.
Dumpy bottles, originally with caps that needed bottle
openers, came later and it was not long before the lads
discovered that during long journeys in Land Rovers, the
parcel tray in the front had an edge to it that had been
designed by a dedicated beer drinker. All you had to do
was hook it under the lip of the tray and shove the
bottle forwards. I learned that as long as I had another
bottle with a cap on it, I could hook it under the lip
of another bottle of beer and by squeezing gently in the
left hand and levering with the right, the top would
come off with a loud pop. The puzzle about what to do
about opening your last one when all the other bottles
had no caps was quickly solved. All you had to do was
jam a cap back onto an empty one. The screw-off caps and
the arrival of canned beer took some of the fun out of
it.
There were of course, a few seasoned brandy drinkers who
bought the stuff by the bottle and sloshed it into a
variety of mixers. Brandy and Coke was a great favorite
but the real hooligans wrapped their faces around cane
spirits or vodka. Wine was not popular with the troops
and would really only be drunk when everything else was
in short supply.
Assault courses
A part of our lives, these were actually enjoyed by the
masochists among us. The assault course at Cranborne
barracks was designed by someone who hated soldiers, had
spent a lifetime studying berserk baboons and was the
son of a trapeze artist. It had all kinds of unnatural
challenges made of concrete, bricks, barbed wire, mud
and filthy water. The most frustrating of these was a
wall about ten or twelve feet high. Getting over the
thing required a team effort, unless you had been
blessed with arms long enough to trail your knuckles in
the dirt as you walked about doing Neanderthal
impersonations … there were a few! The key was to get
all the big okes to run to the wall and slam their backs
into it where their interlocking fingers acted as a step
for the next guy's booted 'beetle crushers'. This brave
fellow would be tossed skyward by the big lad in the
hope he could get his mitts onto the top of the wall. If
successful, he put a boot on the head of his mucker down
below and shoved himself upward to the point where he
could get most of himself on top of the wall. He was
then supposed to extend a paw downward so the next
troopie could wrench his arm out of its socket. Once the
top of the wall became overpopulated, it was time to
allow gravity to take over and to plummet to earth on
the other side. The tough part was trying to get the
bloody great 'caber tossers', who had hurled you
skyward, over the wall. They had no interlocking fingers
to put boots in and did not even have someone's bonce to
tread on to help themselves up. They either had to be
blessed with the arms of an Urang Utang or pray that a
comrade on top had been so endowed.
All of this 'fun' was complicated by unnecessary
handicaps such as packs, webbing, rifles, water bottles
and helmets-steel-troops-for-the-use-of … and heaven
help you if you left it behind. Low-strung barbed-wire
obstacles were a curse. The kit a soldier carried on him
made the concept of shoving of a frightened hedgehog up
an angry rhino's rectum, like a walk in the park by
comparison. It caught on everything. They also produced
tears and rips in your denims which meant having to
stitch the things up using the needle and cotton so
thoughtfully supplied by Her Majesty's Government as the
contents of each soldier's 'Housewife' repair kit. The
designers of these courses also happily assumed that the
troops had all been born with the sense of balance of a
mountain goat. There were gum poles that you were
supposed to do high wire acts on without falling off and
a sort of 'Tarzan of the apes' monkey rope with which
you had to swing across pits filled with foul water.
These Charlies had lost sight of the fact that we would
have to use the thing while clutching onto a whole bunch
of kit and rifles.
I hated assault courses with a passion and decided early
in my career that, if the enemy were ever to set
themselves up at the end of such a set of obstacles, I
would either find a way around them, call in an air
strike or wait for the blighters to croak from old age.
The barrack rooms
At the end of a long hard day spent doing all the things
soldiers had to do, the time would come for us to kip.
The barrack rooms had space for about a dozen of us and
a lance-corporal had his own room near the entrance. The
Law of Averages unfortunately came into play when it was
time for beddy byes … although there was supposed to be
a formal 'lights out', troopies had a habit of
staggering in at all hours which led to noise and other
disruptions to our well-earned rest. There were snorers,
whistlers, coughers and those with flatulence and beer
burps to contend with, as well as the insomniacs who sat
up and engaged in long conversations with their mates.
A few of us dutifully leapt out of our 'fartsacks' at
sunrise, on the lance-corporal's command while others
had to be bodily dragged from their beds and pushed into
action. The barrack rooms were freezing cold in winter
and hot as hell in summer when the mosquitoes added to
your woes while you sweated, lightly clad, on top of the
sheets. Each man had a bed with a coir mattress on
dubious springs, a 'Lockers Airman 6 foot' and a
'Lockers Airman 3 foot'. These olive-drab pieces of
furniture were supposed to be enough to contain his
worldly possessions. If he had any more than the army
allowed him, he would have to store the surplus in his
car or somewhere else.
Everything had to be polished. At Brady the wooden
floors were coated with Cobra and a pair of 'slippers'
made from an old blanket were kept near the door so when
you came in you were supposed to stand on them and
shuffle your way to your space, polishing the floor in
the process.
A 'Lockers Airman 3 foot' at Brady was once used as a
part of a drunken and rather bizarre contest between
some of the more macho soldiers. They placed a 'Mug Tin
Troops for the Use Of' on the top of one of these and
proceeded to attempt to use their suitably erect
'courting tackle' to whack the thing down the length of
the barrack room. The winner actually succeeded with a
single blow and managed to dent the mug in the process.
Saturday morning inspections were endured. It was
quickly learned that the barracks designers had
carefully engineered 'gunge' traps everywhere. At Brady
there were rafters and grooves in the floors that could
hold enough filth to actually show up on the finger of
an inspecting officer's white glove. These people seemed
to have been gifted with the ability to scrape
microscopic particles of detritus, using a pin, from
such places as the joint between a plughole and a basin,
or to detect the droppings of a moth on a light bulb at
a range of five paces. A fingerprint on a windowpane was
almost a case for capital punishment and the lack of
cotton in one's carefully displayed 'Housewife' would
incur the wrath of the gods. Any of these heinous
offences could cost us our weekend passes, so most of us
tried our best not to let the side down. There were,
however, a few gungy types, who not even the army could
change. We soon did.
The MT Yard
The boss was Captain Keith Dyer who had
a pleasant disposition until some damn fool chose to
cross his path. His rugged 'mush' would darken to a
dreadful purple and the offender would then get put in
his place with a blast of interesting expletives.
The mechanics I remember were Colour Sergeant
'Rumpy' Jones, Sergeant 'Beaver'
Frazer-Kirk, Sergeant Gordon 'Bird'
Parrott and a fellow from a planet all of his
own called MacAllister. Corporal Charlie Cole
was the NCO who kept the wheels turning and doubled as
the projectionist at the regimental cinema at the
canteen. When he moved on, I was sent there as MT
Sergeant and it became my task to do all the things
needed to ensure that 100 or more vehicles were treated
with the respect they deserved.
These vehicles had to undergo a regular inspection known
as the '406'. To do these things, an officer (layman)
would be given a clipboard and had to run down the list
of items inspected and tick them off or enter an X and
write details of the problem he might have found. Quite
how a wet-behind-the-ears second lieutenant's diagnosis
of what might be wrong with a Land Rover's gearbox was
supposed to have been of great value to the military,
remains a mystery. It was rather akin to asking a cook
to perform a heart transplant. We had to re-do the
darned things anyway when the 'subbys' had finished, so
the '406' proved a futile exercise and wasted acres of
trees used in the production of the forms … in
triplicate of course.
No vehicle was supposed to have left the yard without a
work ticket signed by the MTO or other authorized
person. If stopped by the RPs and the thing wasn't
signed, it was a guarantee that some form of ghastly
punishment would follow. Of course, once it left the
barracks, there was little control on where it went to
or how it got there.
When petrol rationing came about as a result of
sanctions, the tank of a Bedford became a very
attractive target for troopies needing to siphon a
couple of gallons to put into their cars and motorbikes
so they could continue to get themselves around to pubs,
parents and girlfriends, without hindrance. The
authorities decided to introduce petrol that contained a
purple dye. This stuff worked just fine and left a
purple residue around the carburetors of any vehicle
using it. The 'wide boys' consequently took great pains
to keep their car and bike engines spotlessly clean
using that old standby, Jeyes' Fluid, which could be
liberated from Army Stores who dished it out as a toilet
disinfectant. At some stage the jam stealers substituted
this superb engine cleaner with a cheaper, locally made
equivalent that really didn't work as well.
For a while I found my two-stroke Yamaha motorbike ran
very well on cleaning benzene which I could buy in
four-gallon cans. Experimentation at a later stage
showed that my private Land Rover functioned reasonably
well on a 50 / 50 mix of paraffin and petrol. It knocked
a bit but it still got me around.
Nigel Rittey
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