Page 46 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021
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THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
CHAPTER 3
Aden, Belgium, Berlin, Malta, Libya, Singapore and Jamaica: MWDs in War and Peace
“Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.” [The Ballad of East and West by Rudyard Kipling (1865 – 1936)]
The Aden Emergency (1963 – 1967) was an in- surgency against British rule in the south of the Arabian Peninsula. The unrest hastened Britain’s plans to withdraw and marked the end of 20 years of decolonisation. Situated on the south coast of what is now Yemen, Aden had been a British colo- ny since 1839 primarily because its position com- manded the southern entrance to the Red Sea. It was the site of a strategic British Naval and Air base en route to India and crucial for safeguard- ing access to the Middle Eastern oil supplies.
The undoubted major event of the year 1962 according to the spring issue of the Corps’ Journal – was the purchase of two horses for the Trucial Oman Scouts (TOS) and one for the Federal Army Aden. Sgt Frank Robinson flew in to look after them and to also form part of the horse purchasing Commission. Everything went smoothly until one night “Red Sullivan” and “Blaze”, the two remounts acquired for TOS went AWOL. Everyone was spun into orbit for a good 24 hours while a co-ordinated recapturing operation got underway. At one point, all that was seen of the Major (John Clifford) was a stream of vapour trails as he went joy riding in helicopters and Austers (using the excuse of aerial reconnaissance!) to locate the runaways. After all the drama, it was with mixed feelings that the men waved cheerio to the trouble-making horses, in the company of Sgt Robinson, as they sailed out of Famagusta harbour aboard an LST on 17th February 1962 to Aden.1
Just under a year later, in January 1963, the developing Nationalistic unrest in the region demanded a very different brand of focus for the military. Any hopes of Britain controlling a peaceful and paced decolonisation were now dashed. In response to the political unease, the British persuaded the sheikhdoms of the Aden Protec- torates to merge with the Colony of Aden and
form the Federation of South Arabia (FSA). These surrounding territories had always been semi-inde- pendent however, the British were able to influence their external relations and establish local garrisons in return for military protection. Meanwhile, inspired by President Nasser of Egypt, Arab nation- alists had formed the National Liberation Front (NLF) in Yemen, which itself had designs on Aden and its surrounding territories. Their insurgency against British rule began with a grenade attack on the British High Commissioner on 10th December 1963, killing one person and injuring fifty.
Trouble was also developing in the mountainous Radfan region, where dissident Qutaibi tribes- people were attacking the British on the Aden to Mecca caravan route which passed through the nearby town Dhala (Ad Dali’) near the Yemen border. This area was part of a British protectorate of Dhala (a member of the Federation of South Arabia) but it was to become a focus of intense and brutal conflict. The tribespeople had traditionally collected tolls from passing caravans so their grievance centred on the implementation of the customs union of the Federation of South Arabia who had put a stop to it in 1962.
By January 1964, three Federation Regular Army (FRA) battalions, with British air support, had restored order but when they withdrew, trouble flared up again, with the rebels receiving NLF support. On 29th April the authorities mounted a second expedition, this time with British troops and together with two FRA battalions they advanced rapidly through difficult terrain, capturing the ridges and hills that dominated the tribal areas. By 26th May 1964 they had taken the main rebel stronghold in the Wadi Dhubsan and suppressed the tribal revolt.
From November 1964, the NLF switched its efforts to Aden itself, where it launched an urban terrorist campaign. They were undeterred from
1 The Journal of The Royal Army Veterinary Corps Volume 33 No1 Spring 1962 ‘3 WDTU Cyprus.’
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