Col Chris was called up as a National Serviceman at the end of July 1949. Having failed his School Certificate in Maths he was destined for the Infantry and “The Buffs”. However a sharp eyed Gunner in the form of John Andrews spotted Chris’s talent for hockey, and he was “pressed” into the Royal Regiment. He joined ‘U’ Battery at Trieste as a Young 2nd Lieutenant in April 1950, and left the Battery in April 1953 at Colchester. He spent his career in the Gunners, retiring at the end of June 1983.
'U' Battery had been formed as a Horse Artillery Battery in the 1890s, and served in South Africa during the Boer War. The Battery had left South Africa in late 1900, and had no sooner arrived back in the UK, before they were chosen to carry Queen Victoria's Coffin from the station at Windsor to the Castle, in January 1901. Legend has it that the Queen's Coffin started to slip on the Gun Carriage, the horses of the team pulling the Carriage started to slip on the icy slope, and the Royal Navy marching column took up some ropes and hauled the carriage to the top of the hill. This is why, so the story goes, the Navy, to this day, have the honour of pulling the Sovereign's train, ( Other sources state that the horses of the Gun Carriage 'Bolted'. But however you skin it, the Royal Navy came to the rescue of the hapless Gunners!).
Queen Victoria’s Cortege at Windsor Castle
As soldiers have learned to their cost, such events always attract unwelcome attention, and the Battery's “punishment” was to be banished by King Edward VII, to foreign parts, (India and Burma), for fifty years. There is something reassuringly British picturing a King pronouncing on the fate of an individual Battery, banishing them to a corner of the British Empire, forbidden to return for 50 years. Pity the hapless Battery Commander, who must surely have languished in the Tower for a spell. The Battery served with distinction in the Middle-East, including Persia as part of 12th Anti-Tank Regiment RA. This Regiment suffered a tragic loss in Palestine, being one of the last units to leave at the cessation of the Mandate, when Jewish Terrorists broke into the camp in broad daylight, killing the Commanding Officer, RSM and assembled Quarter Guard
On departing Palestine, 12th Regiment joined 1st Inf Div, one of two Divisions permanently garrisoning the Suez Canal. Three Battery's were based at Sabratha in Tripolitania, and 'U' Battery was attached to 41st Field Regiment RA at El Ballah in the Canal Zone.
However trouble was brewing in the Balkans, caused by the rumblings of Marshall Tito, the Yugoslav Dictator. In 1950, 12th Regiment was redeployed to Trieste. Once there, they were restructured into a composite Regiment consisting of two Field Battery's, 'S' and 'U', whilst 'R' Battery remained an Anti-Tank Battery equipped with one Troop of towed 17 Pdrs, and two Troops of SP 17 Pdrs (on a Sherman Chassis). A further Battery, 'T' Battery had 3 Troops of towed 40mm LAA Guns.
The Regiment were in Trieste for a year, spending most of the time on foot patrol along the Venezia Guilia/Yugoslav Border. The two Field Battery's did conduct a live-firing Camp at Schmeltz, South of Wörthesee in Austria.
In January 1951, 12th Anti-Tank Regiment RA was broken-up, with 'R', 'S' and 'T Battery's moved to Celle, BAOR, to convert to the LAA role, a move which upset those dyed in the wool Field Gunners, for whom, Air Defence is a rude word. 'U' Battery was now destined for Connaught Barracks, Woolwich, returning to the UK almost 50 years to the day that they had been banished. Coincidence – perhaps, certainly the Battery Commander had asked the King's permission to return and it had been granted.
On arrival at Woolwich, 'U' Battery was re-equipped with the 4.2 inch Mortar, (3 Troops of 4 Mortars each). Each Troop had an FOO, GPO and Troop Leader, a TSM, SSgt,(Sigs), Sgt, (Q), a TQMS and four Gun No1s, together with approximately forty other ranks, including drivers, motorcyclists, VMs and 'Tiffies'.
Conversion to the new weapon system was complete by the end of July 1951, quickly followed by Brigade and Divisional exercises, including some of the largest exercises seen since the war under both 3rd Inf Div and 6th Armd Div.
The 4.2 inch Mortar, which enjoyed a short-lived life with the Gunners
Exercise names were prophetic – the Battery went 'HAMMER and TONGS' at a 'MERRY WIDOW', and ended with a 'SURPRISE PACKAGE'. At the end of the exercise, the Div Net announced, “ENDEX – Return to barracks, be prepared to embark in three weeks time”!
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The Battery was headed for Cyprus, in order to support the regime of King Farouk of Egypt. Deployment would be by both sea and air. 3 Ton, 15 hundred-weight and most of the quarter-ton vehicles would move by commercial shipping from Newport Docks, with a small driver's detachment in support under the TQMS. The Guns were to be shipped in HMS ILLUSTRIOUS, with a small gun party, with a TSM and 2Lt Chris. The rest of the Battery were to fly from Blackbush Airport near Aldershot.
In a forlorn attempt at preventing larceny, known to be rife on the dockside, the 3 Tonners had to place all their stores in steel boxes that had been welded to the vehicle, as were the wheels. When the vehicles arrived in Cyprus, all the wheels had been stolen, all the tool boxes had been broken open and all the tools stolen. Several of the vehicles had also been relieved of their canvas tilts. Newport Constabulary were singularly ineffective in finding the culprits, but it meant in effect that the Battery was stationary, unable to deploy anywhere until fresh stores could be brought in from Egypt.
2Lt Chris’s small party embarked in ILLUSTRIOUS at Portsmouth on a very wet day towards the end of October 1951. Guns were lashed onto the flight deck, but later taken below. As they had come aboard, the “Midshipman of the Day”, tasked with taking their names, remarked that “we might have a rough ride”.
HMS ILLUSTRIOUS
ILLUSTRIOUS sailed at around 1800hrs, slowly navigating her way around the Isle-of-Wight and into the Channel. Once into open water, speed gradually increased and at a briefing held shortly before dinner for all Officers in Charge of Parties, everyone was informed that the intention was to make Famagusta in less than 6 days. This would mean steaming at 30 or 32 knots. Everyone was warned, don't fall over the sides, your chances of being found would be slim, it would take 5 miles to slow down enough to execute a turn.
Chris’s small detachment had been billeted as far for'ard as it was possible to go; in the Bow and four flats down. Luckily this was only their sleeping space – no place to relax in the Bay of Biscay in a Storm Force 10 that greeted them the following day after setting sail. The Bow certainly rose and fell, some said, “more than twenty feet, Sir”.
For the first few days, most people succumbed to sea-sickness, and the chance to exercise for an allotted period on the flight deck was relished. The wardroom was also noticeably barren for the first few days making it easy to relax at breakfast. However, once people found their sea legs things were much more crowded.
Officers on the quarter deck waiting for the next call of the sea!
Of course they weren't the only unit on board. Two Battalions of Foot Guards and elements of 39th Guards Brigade Headquarters, together with 20 Field Regiment RA, acting as the Brigade Support Regiment. Their CO was the Senior Officer on board, so was given the Captain's cabin at the aft of the ship. This cabin however, was immediately above the propeller shaft which had been bent in an air-raid during the war, and later “straightened” in the States. At normal revolutions the cabin was fine, but at the revolutions required to maintain 30+ knots it was almost impossible to lie in the bunk. The CO, Lt Col Brennan, had a chat with ILLUSTRIOUS's Captain, Captain Dickens RN, who of course was in his sea cabin, well away from the vibrations, and he agreed to slow down a couple of knots at night, which made all the difference.
The Senior Service kept to their word, and exactly six days later ILLUSTRIOUS arrived off Famagusta, having stopped at Gibraltar to put off a very sick Sailor, and then flashing past Malta and the Libyan Coast.
Disembarkation was unnerving. Troops were required to climb down ladders onto flat bottomed “Lighters”, a hundred and fifty men at a time. There was no room to sit, so everyone was required to stand for the 20 minute choppy crossing to the jetty. Behind the jetty were a number of signs with names of camps on them, however when they had left Woolwich, nobody had any idea as to where in Cyprus they were going, but had been told that a new Battery Officer, Captain White would meet them. There was a sign marked “WHITE's CAMP”, so it seemed reasonable to form up the assembled Troops complete with Guns behind this sign. Time passed and nothing much happened, and by now all the other units had left when out of the gloom came a rather flustered officer who introduced himself as Captain Peter White. They had the furthest distance to travel, being based at Aghirda, a very small hamlet of about 70 people, on the Southern side of the escarpment dominated by the Castle of St Hilarion. It was a camp that had been built for the Guards Parachute Company about three years before.
Agirda, courtesy of Google Earth, lying just to the west of the main Kyrenia to Nicosia Road
The entrance and guard room, Aghirda Camp November 1951
The camp consisted of concrete tent bases, and one or two corrugated iron huts, for the cookhouse and stores. Officers were housed in square tents called EPIPs, (European Privates Indian Pattern, grouped together with a mess and ante-room tent. The Sergeants' Mess had a similar arrangement on the opposite side of the square. The “Square”, an area of hard packed earth had a distinct slope on it, which was to have disastrous consequences later on. Troops were housed in similar tents, eight beds to a tent.
The Battery Captain, (BK in Gunner parlance), was flying back to the UK on the second Sunday in December 1951, and had been tasked with taking the Christmas Mail with him to post in Woolwich, so the Saturday was spent writing letters, Christmas Cards and packing small presents. Just after lunch it started to rain, the wind got up and by 3pm the Battery was in the middle of a small hurricane. Tents were being blown down, and anything not anchored was being blown away, including the precious mail. Because the camp had been empty for some time, all the drainage ditches were silted up and as a consequence the rain had nowhere to go except follow the slope on the square and into the Officer's lines. The storm abated by about 6pm, and although the overall damage could not be assessed, in the morning it was not as bad as first feared. The tents although down, were not badly damaged and were soon re-erected. Some Public Works employees were hijacked to nail panels of corrugated sheeting back onto the Cookhouse, and a party was set to work digging and clearing the drainage ditches.
The Battery “Square” and the slope.
The harbour town of Kyrenia, was the main place of interest, with its attractive old harbour and medieval backdrop. There were a few bars and shops around the waterfront, and during the day the locals from the hinterland set up stalls on the quayside selling vegetables, bread, meat and on Fridays, fish. Kyrenia was famous for the 'Dome Hotel', one of the great hotels of Empire with a reputation that rivalled 'Raffles', 'The Crescent', 'Shephard's' and 'The Phoenicia. A number of expats, resident in 'The Dome', had been there since the Second World War, having moved from Cairo, and a number were arriving from Egypt due to the rising tension – a backdrop to the current deployment overseas. Early in their stay, the Officers' found, “The Harbour Club” in Kyrenia. It was in the process of opening. The Battery's Officers were invited to the opening night by the District Commissioner for Kyrenia. The club was owned by Roy, a former Para, who'd jumped into Arnhem, and his wife Judy Shirley. Judy was a cabaret singer and before the war had sung the opening number on the radio on Monday nights “Its Monday night at seven o’clock, and can’t you hear the chimes”. It so happened that the BK had been the pianist in Ambrose’s Band before the war so knew Judy. He was invited to play the piano in “The Harbour Club” and in “Jack’s Bar”, another popular watering hole.
While the Officers found plenty to do, with sailing, tennis and squash at the Kyrenia club, and bars where one could meet members of the local expat community, there was little for the soldiers to do. The Battery was 75% National Servicemen who were not paid very much, although they were entitled to local overseas allowance. Most of them spent little and saved a lot.
Early in 1952, it was realised that the mortars of 'U' battery were not going to be needed in Egypt. It was alleged that somebody had been studying a Geneva Convention which forbade the use of mortars in situations which needed “Military Aid to the Civil Power”. HQ 3 Div’s attitude was “We’ve got them in Cyprus, let’s make use of them”.
Roles were changed and ‘U’ Battery and Aghirda Camp, became a Rest & Recuperation Station for divisional officers, some of whom brought their wives out to Kyrenia for a little sun! Other Ranks went to the Regiment in Famagusta. This meant that they suddenly received a couple of sailing dingies, some small tents, climbing equipment, and tennis and squash rackets. Obviously there were periods when they were short of, what they called, “clients”. At those times they were able to get soldiers into boats, learning to climb or to play tennis/squash. It was amazing what talent was to be found amongst the Officers. Sailing, tennis and squash were well covered, but two of the Officers were very experienced climbers. Gunnery skills were still maintained and once, the Battery had two days live firing at the Western end of the Island without causing major disturbance among the goatherds!
Field firing with a new arrival of national servicemen.Note the civil telephone pole (right), the local police were warned every time we wanted to fire!
Dockers at Famagusta loading a 4.2 ins Mortar on to a lighter
The journey home was less exciting than the outward one. The Battery embarked in the “Empire Trooper” on its run from the Far East. These Troopers, part of the British India Steam Navigation Company ran to a set routine and one could almost say, set menus, but they were comfortable. There were few troops on board, mainly unaccompanied families leaving Hong Kong because of the Korean War. It was a leisurely ten days’ cruise away from the heat of a Cyprus summer. The Battery returned to Woolwich during the terrible smog of the winter of 1952.
'U' Light Battery moved to Colchester just before the Coronation in 1953. It was involved in the East Coast Floods, preventing the Dartford Power Station being flooded in February 1953. It ceased to exist in 1954, when the Royal Regiment gave up playing with 4.2 ins Mortars.
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