Page 83 - Wish Stream Year of 2018

of mentoring the academic staff, Dr Hart had begun work in establishing a museum dedicated to Afghan military history, the idea for which had originated with Brigadier Ian Rigden, Chief Men- tor from October 2015 to December 2016. An exceptionally intelligent and talented officer, Brig Rigden had also established, amongst many valuable initiatives, the long-term plan for the future of the Academy. Dr Hart had during his 12 months in theatre already acquired several dozen weapons and other artefacts for the museum, created a number of information boards and had commissioned the construction of several dis- play cabinets – all attractively built according to Brig Rigden’s original drawings.
Aware that my second tour would extend in length to but a fraction of my first, I set myself the challenging task of completing the museum by the end of a brief, 8-month tour. This endeavour, however,provedaveritablelabouroflove–albeit punctuated with a fair share of frustrations and initial setbacks. As a devotee of modern Afghan military history, I thoroughly enjoyed preparing the text for what after a few months’ fren-
An RAF helicopter flight over Kabul. When work required me away from ANAOA and Qargha, this means of transport provided an exhilarating alternative to daily journeys on the ground in a British Foxhound or Australian Bushmaster
Substantial funds again procured from the Dan- ish and Australian governments facilitated the acquisition of many more display cabinets, a finely-carved partition wall, dozens more weapons, including Afghan jezails, pistols and swords, British flintlock muskets, rifles, swords
and various accoutrements covering all three Anglo-Afghan Wars as well as the Soviet-Afghan War. As the collec- tion slowly expanded, it was perhaps inevitable that, with considerable mirth, my military colleagues began to refer to my subsidiary role as an arms dealer. Further satisfaction followed when, from a Kabul bazaar, I acquired a mani- kin – complete with Western features – which I clothed in a complete Soviet uniform and displayed in a custom-
made vertical display case. But a considerable proportion of the museum’s weapons collection came via the enormous generosity of Peter Jou- venal, a former British journalist and long-time resident of Afghanistan, who, shortly before the end of my tour in August 2018, together with his wife, Hassina Sayed, generously donated his entire collection of antique firearms, acquired over many years, enabling me to complete a collection which now boasts over 200 Afghan, British and Soviet weapons and other items.
Finally, only days before my departure I had the great pleasure to supervise the placement, out- side the Library and facing the Parade Square, of a pair of Napoleonic-era 18-pound British naval guns which had unaccountably and at an unspecified date found their way to land-locked Afghanistan, originally composing what I reck- oned to be either part of the armament of a
zied effort amounted to 55 A1-sized
poster boards containing a total of
56,000 words of text in both Dari
and Pashto, featuring roughly 100
images and maps – thus meeting
my objective of enabling cadets to
follow the course of modern Afghan
military history from the opening of
the First Anglo-Afghan War in 1839,
through the second and third wars,
and into the 20th century to include
the Soviet invasion and occupation of 1979-89. As well as providing an educational resource, I hoped to instil in aspiring officers a sense of pride in the martial traditions of their country.
The exterior defences of Camp Qargha, my home away from home for over two years
I set myself the challenging task of completing the museum
by the end of a briefs....
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