244 SQUADRON & KINDRED SPIRITS ASSOCIATION. Newsletter No: 48

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1 244 SQUADRON & KINDRED SPIRITS ASSOCIATION Newsletter No: 48 JIM SAYS, 2006 has started badly for the Association. Already this year we have lost old established members who attended most of our Reunions. Alex Alder (mem. 26), Ken Bovingdon (mem. 25), Jack Hill (mem. 141), Hector McKinnon (mem. 120), and Frank Sheppard (mem. 7). All were ex 244 at Sharjah and Masirah, but Hector was a Kindred Spirit. He flew with 216 Sqdn. who delivered the Mail down the Gulf in the old Bombay. We salute them! Now, news on the disposal of the Squadron badge. An approach was made to RAF Museum Hendon. They do not want it! Further to this, Ray Scott (mem. 222) recently made the long trip from Cromer, Norfolk to RAF Museum Hendon. He searchedfor our badge amongst all the other squadron badges on the wall - no sign of it! Enquiries show that our badge is presently held in the Reserve Collection' at Stafford So much for promises! When we made the Official presentation of the badge to Hendon in 1966 we were told that our badge would join the others on the wall when refurbishment took place. At the time of our visit the badge was placed in a showcase of its own directly opposite the wall on which the other badges were on view. Currently the position is this. Air Commodore Jack Broughton, a friend of our Association is making enquiries at the RAF Club in London. It seems that all the squadron badges are on view down a long corridor in the club. This is what we need. The badge should be on view, and not locked away in some dusty archive. Has anyone any ideas about its disposal? 'Q CODES' P.S. Do you know anyone who has a full set of the Q Codes we used to use? I can only remember a few. Also, what was Masirah's HF/DF call sign when we were there? In my day it was MRZ with KR (Khormaksar), MRR (Riyan), and MRS (Salalah), HF/DF was on 4575 Kc/s. Khormaskar air traffic control was GFQ, Gibraltar was G5GF, can't remember any others. ATC was 8885Kc's. Our point-to-point communications call sign at Masirah was YC5Q but I can't remember the frequency, though I do remember the sets. They were beautiful sets with a very accurate dial and a guard frequency for listening out on a separate frequency. One of the first things I did was to set ours to 500 Kc/s, the marine distress frequency. I don't know what we would have done if we had picked up a marine distress message, but that would have been the C.O's problem! This was 1951/1952. Happy days eh? Jack Sharing (Mem. No. 95) NB. Jim says - the memory fades but in my day (43/44) HF/DF was still 4575Kc/s. QDM's please (give me a course to steer) 244's ops frequency was 5555 Kc/s. Also, Masirah's RT/sign was 'Twirla' - that is if those awful TR9 sets would work properly. Also, 244 aircraft's call sign was L5B followed by the aircraft letter.

2 NOSTALGIA the way we were It was October 1945, at last the war was over, and thoughts were turning towards home, demob, and a change lifestyle. He was posted back to Aden from Salalah to await return to the U.K. As was usual he had to fly from Salalah in a Lockheed Hudson piloted by the Flight Sergeant, who made the weekly delivery run to all the places from Aden to Ras-al-Hadd, and then on to Karachi. His philosophy of flying during the monsoon season was, if visibility is fifty yards when you get there you could see to fly another fifty, and so on. Back at Khormaksar life seemed more relaxed with many of the `erks' with a low demob number suffering from `demob happiness'. Some of them had spent many years overseas, and were eagerly awaiting a home posting. His posting eventually came in November, and with one of his friends from Scotland, Hughie Vass, they boarded a flight Khormaksar to Heliopolis in Egypt, with an overnight stop in Asmara. This was going to be his last night on Maloti Beer, a night to visit the 'fleshpots' of what had been part of Italian Eritrea, and in a tour of the city taking in the beautiful architecture for which the Italians are renowned. The following morning with thick heads and 'queasy' stomachs they boarded the plane for the flight to Cairo, and then by train to the transit camp at Khasfereet in the Canal Zone. There they were given their orders for returning to the UK. The system was named 'L.I.A.P.' leave in advance of python (whatever that may mean), and would entail travelling to Alexandria by train, joining a troopship, and sailing to Toulon in southern France, then going overland to Dieppe and crossing the Channel to Newhaven. His next visit to Alexandria was thirty years later, cruising on a luxury liner, and viewing the city while sitting on the deck drinking a glass of lager. A bit up-market than the days he visited the cafes in Rue-deSoeur (Sister Street to the boys), drinking Stella Beer, and watching the world go by. The sail from Alexandria to Toulon was very relaxing, just sitting on deck, usually sleeping, but taking in the beauty of the Mediterranean and the distant coastline. The ship docked in Toulon and he disembarked by walking on gangplanks laid across the French Navy ships that had been scuttled in Toulon was beginning to come to life, the bars were flourishing, and most of the mirrors behind the typical French bars bore the Cross of Lorraine, to show their support for the Free French. Two nights were spent Toulon before he caught the train for Dieppe. A cold November night in a railway carriage without windows made the journey one of the most uncomfortable he had experienced in the whole of his service life, and not what he'd expected on his journey back home. The weather in Dieppe was cold and wet, and washing and shaving facilities were out in the open. Not suitable for men with years of service in the hot spots of the Middle East. (Oh for the sea and sand of Shalaha). At last the boarding of the cross channel ferry to Newhaven, and then the short journey to RAF Hornchurch, there to be paid and given a month's leave. The memory still remains of the first night in England after three and a half years spent overseas. Waiting five hours in London for a train to Manchester, most of the time being spent in a 'pub' in Euston Road, drinking the London beer, which he'd never liked. Never mind!, twenty-four hours and he could have a pint of John Smith's best bitter. Alexandria, Aden and Salalah were his past, the train to Manchester was now taking him to an unknown future. John Broadbent (mem. No,335)

3 THE FLIGHT OF THE VINCENTS Continued... Feeling now a little less in control of things, I clambered back into the cockpit to settle down as best I could for the coming four and a half hour flight to Port Sudan. Within half an hour my troubles started and, as the aircraft was equipped only with facilities for 'peeing' relief I had to use my working topee for the rest. And this, despite the size of my head, would only cope with about three pints. My condition progressively deteriorated and I was soon lying short-less on the cockpit floor with legs apart and topee at the ready, getting paler and weaker with each successive spasm. After some two hours flying I began to feel desperately ill but just had the strength to stand up to throw a well-filled topee over the side. We were flying close in to the coast line of Eritrea, which was then under Italian occupation, and by coincidence we were just off Massawa, the Italian air base, and the wind was in a favourable direction, putting it in some sort of danger. But no international complications followed so one must assume that no direct hit was actually achieved For my part, our landing at Port Sudan could not come soon enough, and by now I really didn't care what happened and I just lay prostrate on the floor, except for the spasmodic and automatic muscular reactions trying to evacuate an already dehydrated and empty bowel. Eventually, on landing I was stretchered off to a small hospital in the town and can only remember waking next morning to the comfort of white sheets, no pain and the quietness of an empty ward, having been skilfully seen to by the doctor and a nun dressed as a nurse, or vice versa, or probably both. The Squadron had continued on its way, leaving me to mend in luxury. This in fact did not take so long, due to the resilience of youth, good luck and good care. The rate and quality of my recovery was checked daily by analysing a specimen faeces, and I was able on the third day to present two beautifully sculputured and embracing turds, 'Rodinesque' in their perfection and sufficiently germ five to allow the doctor to certify me fit and functional enough for onward transmission to Khartoum by rail. His journey took some sixteen hours, I had no money, no knowledge of the language, and no luggage. Just me and a package lunch launched on their way, and strangely my only reaction was a feeling of isolated freedom. But not for long for soon after I had ensconced myself in a corner seat in an empty carriage a family group of Sudanese arrived and I was squeezed first right into the corner and then right out of it. This performance was repeated in several more carriages before the family size diminished enough to leave me sufficient space and breathing room. Despite all the inconveniences, my overall impression of the Sudanese was that they were a friendly and proud race. Unusually tall and muscular, with beautiful white teeth which they kept in perfect condition by continuous rubbing with a short fibrous stick some four or five inches long. And as I watched the crowded platform just prior to departure I noticed that it was the men who held hands as they walked, or waited for the train to start, with the women discreetly in the background Absorbing and appreciating the customs of other lands can sometimes be intriguingly puzzling. Extra activity and a few prolonged whistle blasts indicated that the journey was about to start, and those passengers not already on board leisurely and one footedly hopped along as they got board, spreading their good-byes along the length of the platform as the train slowly got underway. Fred Hitchcock (Mem. No.272) Uplifted from his "A Shillingworth of Promises".

4 ACT OF REMEMBRANCE During October it occurred to me that with my contacts in Habbaniya it would be possible to send out a wreath to be laid in the cemetery on Remembrance Sunday. Unfortunately I lost contact! However some inspired detective work led me into contact with Captain Jutta Cortes, USAF. She became very enthusiastic about the project and considered it her service and moral duty to commemorate the dead in an Air Force cemetery. Her superiors gave her permission and encouraged her. I therefore obtained a poppy wreath and laminated a colour copy of the RAF Station Habbaniya Crest for the centre. The dedication card was In memory of all who lie in this cemetery from the RAF Habbaniya Association'. I also contacted the Kings Own Border Regiment and they were able to send out a poppy wreath with the KORR crest in the centre. Understandable postal delays meant the ceremony could not take place until 28th November. Jutta Cortes asked for the correct British protocol. and order of service for an Act of Remembrance and these were supplied. The British versions of Last Post and Reveille (actually called the Rouse) were also sent out by . The American use different versions for their Taps. Capt Jutta Cortes also felt ashamed by the state of the cemetery and organised working parties to clear away all the rubbish and undergrowth, to cut up and remove the fallen trees (the eucalyptus are massive!),. re-erect fallen gravestones and generally make the cemetery as tidy as possible. They even had to re-bury a little kiddie's bones. This work was performed by American Forces and Iraqi Defence Forces personnel - and at considerable personal danger from the incoming rockets and mortars - there is still much insurgent activity around Habbaniya. The photos show how they have transformed the cemetery - and by all accounts it is actually in the best condition of all the British cemeteries in Iraq. Everything was finally in place and the ceremony took place on the 28th November. The Forces were paraded, Chaplain Etter conducted the service and Act of Remembrance. The Commendation They shall grow not old... was read and the 2 minute silence was marked by Last Post & Reveille. They held the salute in memory of our dead. The wreaths were laid at the foot of the Cross of Sacrifice and Jutta Cortes laid a large bunch of bougainvillea flowers (from plants dating from our RAF days) at the memorial to the RAF Iraq Levies. They finished with a 21 round salute in memory of those who still lie buried in our RAF Cemetery at Habbaniya. Left; Lt Col Lepri US Army, holding RAF Habbaniya Association wreath Centre; Capt Cortes, USAF holding flowers for the Levies memorial Right; Mst Sgt Long US Marine Corps holding KORR wreath Photo; Capt Jutta Cortes, USAF 28 November 2005 The Habbite Edition N 26 December 2005

5 THE FIRST ACT OF REMEMBRANCE SINCE THE RAF LEFT HABBANIYA 47 YEARS AGO. Holding the salute during the 2 minute silence Capt Jutta Cortes USAF pays tribute to the RAF Iraq Levies US Forces at the salute before firing the 21 round salute Capt Jutta Cortes wielding a chainsaw on a fallen eucalyptus Iraqi Army soldier clears undergrowth near the (crossless!) Cross of Sacrifice The Habbite Edition N 26 December 2005

6 ACT OF REMEMBERANCE RAF HABBANIYA CEMETERY. As we all know 244 Sqn had its origins when 'S' Squadron was formed at RAF Habbaniya on 21 st August 1939 and then designated 244 Sqn on 1 st November 1940 on moving to RAF Shaibah. The precise origins of ' Squadron seem to be a bit confusing as one reference book states it was formed by re-designating the Iraq & Persia Communications Flight whereas this does not appear to be the case from Mike Skeet's researches in the official files of the Comms Flight. There were half a dozen burials in the cemetery during the time 'S' Squadron was at RAF Habbaniya and these graves are among the 289 British and Commonwealth Servicemen, civilians, women and children who still lie buried at Habbaniya. The cemetery was a beautiful place, shaded by lemon trees and full of flowers and shrubs. Sadly after the RAF left it became unkempt and vandalised. At my suggestion of performing an Act of Remembrance, Captain Jutta Cortes USAF went into action and the following report and pictures show how the cemetery was tidied up by the American and Iraqi Forces and an Act of Rememberance carried out for the first time in 47 years. I feel very emotional that the dead were remembered in this way, a feeling shared by members of the RAF Habbaniya Association, many of whom have friends buried there or who took part in burial ceremonies. April 2006 Jim Heslop 20 Links Avenue Southport PR9 9QB Tel: (Hon Secretary/Treasurer) W/cdr. Ron Rotherham Morningside' Goodworth Clatford Andover Tel: (President)