Page 116 - QDG Year of 2022 CREST

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1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards
used (exclusively) whenever they went out in their land rovers! Major South- worth was also tasked to find a decent barber; he produced just such a chap who, with great glee, waved around his ‘chitty’ which permitted his access to the camp – dated 1945 and stamped by the KDG Quartermaster!
It wasn’t all work and no play. The local Lebanese and the British expatriates were kind. This materialised in differing forms. We would be offered gifts such as food and drink on patrol. One evening, 4th Troop and I were patrolling the local area of Hadath, around the camp. There was tremendous noise, music, shouting and gunfire. We cautiously moved forward to determine what was going on, only to discover it was a wedding party! The father insisted we join in and it would have been rude not to, as I explained later to the Squadron Leader. We were fed, watered and generally entertained. The problem was that we could
Skiing at Farayeh
came back, they were looking slightly sheepish. It was indeed the best restau- rant in Lebanon, but for traditional mountain specialities.
“The food in Lebanon is the best in the world,” enthused Mr Safi.
(Christian militia) and therefore, perfectly safe for us. We also had the opportunity to ski in the Chouf, but the second visit had to be abandoned as the Syrians started shelling the top of the slope. So, we naturally adjourned to the bar at the bottom for the day.
Not everything went smoothly and during one dinner party given by a couple of delightful Lebanese ladies, we were shelled with Katyusha rockets and spent the evening conducting our mission – instilling confidence. The kindness and appreciation of the local community was tremendous and we were enter- tained by a diverse group of people, from the Lebanese head of the British Bank of the Middle East to a gentleman who had served in the Africa Corps and had moved to Lebanon after the war. In addition, everyone had the opportunity to take R and R in Cyprus. We would be flown out by RAF Hercules with the most popular destination being Ayia Napa, where we would watch the Swedish girls lying on their sun beds, half asleep. They were completely unaware of the impending attacks by the pelicans who took great delight sneaking up quietly and biting their toes. The resulting shrieks never ceased to entertain us. My leave coincided with Captain Eliot, who was the Ops Officer, and Lieutenant Vestey. After an entertaining week, we arrived at Akrotiri to discover that the RAF had changed our flight time without telling us and had already left. This was not great as it meant that anyone waiting in Beirut to go on their leave would not be able to go. As we were demonstrating with the RAF, an Italian overheard us and told us that they had a Hercules leaving right that minute to fly to Beirut. He pointed to the plane which was being pushed back from the gate. We ran outside, waving frantically as the plane turned towards the runway and stuck our thumbs out. To our amazement, the plane stopped and the side door opened.
“Beirut?” shouted the loadmaster.
We held up all thumbs and a ladder was lowered. We climbed on board where upon we were given a glass of
not hear the radio calls from the Ops Room. The first we knew that there was some concern about our radio silence was when the Quick Reaction Force turned up. Of course, they weren’t allowed to leave either – it would also have been rude. But this time, we put the radio oper- ators and a sentry outside to maintain coms. The other notable form of entertain- ment was an unexpected and uninvited, but grate- fully received, topless dance troupe who enlivened the vehicle park no end!
The raw lamb was okay, but it was the raw liver, raw kidney, raw spinal cord and raw spleen that was the problem. With Mr Safi in raptures about how magnif- icent it all was, they could not do anything other than eat it. After all, he had kindly invited them.
The claim to the best restaurant was, however, won by Major Stewart who was taken to L’Orangerie by the Middle Eastern agent for Lloyds where the Moules had been flown in from France that morning.
The ex-pat community used to invite whole troops out for picnics on the beach
or to their homes. One ex-pat family, the Gillybrands, were so kind that they even lent us their Mini for the duration. Eventually, we received two civilian Land Rovers, so we returned their car with grateful thanks. This enabled troop days out to the beach in Byblos, north of Beirut, where there was a fantastic beach in an area controlled by the Khataib
Individuals and whole
Troops were also invited out.
The first one to receive an invitation (to a restaurant) was Lieutenant Roe from a business colleague of his father, a Mr Safi. We were all slightly jealous as Lieu- tenant Roe wound us up saying that it was supposed to be ‘the best restau- rant in Lebanon.’ We drew lots as to who would join him. Lieutenant Vestey drew the ticket and off they went. When they
The other notable form of entertainment was an unexpected and uninvited, but gratefully received, topless dance troupe
Sergeant Williams on the beach at Byblos