Wallys Story

OPERATION CROWN

"It was early in December that I was informed that the OC, the Troop Officer, myself and a small section of 1 Troop, 11 Independent Fld Sqn would be departing in the next couple of days to do a reconnaissance for the start of ”Operation Crown” a SEATO project on the North East border of Thailand. The operation would involve building an all weather airstrip for the Thai Air Force along with huts for accommodation and other infra structure. Our job was to check all roads, culverts and bridges and anything else that might impede the movement of heavy plant to its destination of Kok Talat along a very dusty and outdated road system. We found out that there always seemed to be plenty of snakes that seemed to hang around but luckily they were always in a hurry to get away and we never bothered them if they did not bother us. We were quickly given visa’s to enter Thailand, and loaded two Land Rovers & trailers with the tools and other stores that we thought we would need. As the NCO one of my jobs were to ensure that all possibilities were catered for. This included asking the Sergeant Major for a gross of French Letters (condoms) to which he informed me that we were going to do a job of work and not as he put it “To root yourselves to death”. He finished up by giving me I think, about a dozen. A quick dash down to Singapore, loading the Land Rovers onto a Beverley and away we flew landing in Ubon".

The Blackburn Beverley in all it's glory
"This was an airbase for the Thai, Australian and American Air Forces. We moved into temporary accommodation in the Aussie camp, and after sorting ourselves out started on our long journey around the Eastern half of Thailand. Most of the time we stayed in local hotels at night. We ate local food, except during the day when we were on the road and it was back to the compo rations. I must admit after seeing the preparation of our meals in some of the local hotels, I was sure we could not get food poisoning from the compo, unlike some of the local nosh. We all survived and it’s hard to believe that none of us finished up with the sh***. We got back to Ubon about once a week and it was a bit of a treat to get some decent nosh at the Aussie Camp. We did get to Bangkok a few times and our billet was The Grand Hotel. We had great rooms and lived in the lap of luxury whilst there. I think we all ordered steak for breakfast every day, as it was a bit of a rarity in the army, and after all they were paying the bill. We finished up back at the Aussie Camp in Ubon at Christmas and were treated to a great Christmas dinner. After that we were invited over to the American camp for a booze up. We were treated like royalty with as much free beer and an American favourite 'Egg Nog'. Was not too keen on the 'Nog' but the beer went down very well. We had a few days off during this period and of course finished up most nights in the popular local bar called I believe “The Swan Snook? (Don’t know if the spelling is correct) But the saying was “On the book at Swan Snook”. I’m not sure if we all paid our bills before we hit the road again but a list of all those owing the book was handed to the OC. However I don't think they ever caught up with 'Bullets 303' and 'Pinocchio'. We drank mostly Mekong Whisky because it was so cheap. I think it was made from a mixture of wood alcohol and ethanol. It had to be consumed with large qantities of coca cola to kill the taste and I’m sure enough of it would send you blind. Most nights of course we staggered back to camp, the next morning not remembering what had happened. Then of course there was the “A Frame” along with a few more establishments with more exotic names. They were usually raided most nights by the American M.Ps who seemed to enjoy dragging you off the top of one of the local ladies. Around about New Year we met up with the advance party from the Sqn in Bangkok. They were to get to the site at Kok Talat and start erecting tents etc. We had already visited the site a few times and did not fancy the place at all. We parted company. They headed up to get the tented camp going and we headed back out on the road. The only highlight for the rest of the trip was when we had a couple of days in an American Army Camp about 100 km from Bangkok. Not a clue now where it was but they treated us just great. For the most part, I don’t think they had met British Squaddies before. For some unknown reason they all wanted pipes. In fact they all seem to be smoking them. It must have been the IN thing at the time they for some unknown reason, could not get Meerschaum pipes. The OC I believe arranged with NAAFFI in Singapore to try and get some to them. I don't know if he succeeded. At about the end of January it was time for us to join the rest of the Sqn at Kok Talat. What a hole!! The bath unit was now firmly established and the queue was always about a mile long. I cannot remember how long you were allowed under the water but I know it was a race to get finished before your warm water ration was turned off and the next lot were marched in".

Work on the hutted camp

"My troop was given the task of erecting permanent huts at a site that was some distance if I remember correctly from the tented camp. A troop from another Sqn (was it 59) were also starting to erect huts along side us. I think for first ones we were rather slow, but all the timber parts were completed and we were very proud of what we had achieved. When it came to putting the corrugated sheets on the roofs that was a different story. It was obvious that no one had done a lot of this before, if ever, and the first two completed had roofs that were like something out of a shanty town. I remember with practice we all got better. There was not much to keep us occupied when we were not working. The hours were long and the dust kept one dry and dirty all the time. The NAAFI Tent was the usual place that most staggered to every night for a bit of recreation. Of course it did not take long for bars and the brothels to get quickly established in the village and a few of the more adventurous made frequent visits. Quite a few fellas’s got the disease that only officers caught off a lavatory seat. It was in about the March that tragedy struck. One of the Catering Corps cooks, whom I believe had not been there long, was involved in an accident, and I believe that he later died. He apparently tried to fill one of the hydro burners that they were using for cooking at the time. He had tried to fill it whilst it was still hot. The Jerry can of petrol went up covering him in flames. A couple of cooks managed to get the flames out, and he was very badly burnt. Some of the plant operators worked through the night on the strip with improvised floodlights to allow a light plane to get in as a road trip in his condition was out of the question. The strip was completed that night and he was flown out. Unfortunately the name of this poor soul now escapes me, after time ones memory diminishes, but I shall never forget the mood of the camp. Everyone was a little down for quite a few days, By May my time was up. It was time for me to pack up and head back to Malacca prior to going back to the UK for demob. (What a mistake that was) But I was not quite finished and was informed that I would be escorting two of my troop back as prisoners. (Can’t remember now how long they got) They had succeeded in burning down one of the local brothels whilst a bit worst for wear. After a long and typical army stuff up where I should be handing them over to MPs who would be waiting at the Airport and they would be delivered to Changi Army Prison. This of course never happened, and that’s another very long story. BACK