THE COVENANTER
MEMORIES
At the Depot
I was pleased to find Cpl Ian McCammont
When the battalion left the Oman and
in charge of the depot MT as he was the very
Bahrein for Kenya I found myself on a posting
person who had taught me to drive (and ride
to the Transit Camp at RAF Khormaksar in
a motorcycle) in Buxtehude.
ADEN. I was not very chuffed about this

so I hatched a cunning plan. After I’d been
Ian was a big lad, rugby player and someone
at the transit camp for a couple of months
with a mysterious past of which he never
I would put in my notice to leave the Army
spoke. there were delicious rumours around
at the end of a three year period. I reckoned
about him having been a military policeman
this would mean that when the time came I
who had been turfed out of the RMP for
would be returned to the Bn to be discharged
some crime or other but never any proof of
and once there I would withdraw my notice,
that was shown. Certainly when we were
thereby getting back to HQ Coy MT Pln in
on the driving cadre in Buxtehude it often
under a year rather than hanging about
happened that we would leave the barracks
Aden for a couple of years or until someone
with quite a few full jerricans of petrol under
in Bn HQ remembered me and wondered
the folded down roof of the Champ and
where I was.
go directly into Hamburg where he would
Of course as we all know; cunning plans
leave us at the top of the Reeperbahn and
have a habit of going wrong and this one
disappear into the city; picking us up again
was no exception. About six weeks before I
at three o’clock. Never told us where he
would have been due to be discharged I was
had gone but it must have been a hell of a
informed that my foster father had died but
distance because the jerricans were always
that there were no compassionate reasons
empty when he returned!
for me to be sent home.
He had a cavalier attitude to most WD
However two weeks later I was given four
equipment particularly vehicles, the depot
hours notice to get myself up to the RAF
Landrover was more or less regarded as his
Movements Office to join a flight for the
personal vehicle and he thought it would be
UK. This turned out to be a rather poorly
a good idea to take me on a tour of the local
old Beveley aircraft which was going back to
countryside and so I found myself learning
RAF Transport Command workshops to be
the routes to Biggar, Forth, Douglas and
either rebuilt or scrapped.
so on. It was incidental that he happened
to have Lady friends in these places and
It took a week to get to the UK as we had to
he could do social visits at the same time.
keep diverting to RAF stations for fuelling
One of the odd things about him was that
and running repairs.So I found myself back
he was obviously well educated and spoke
in the UK with two weeks disembarcation
more like an officer than a jock which added
and compassionate leave at the end of which
to the speculation about his past. I was not
I reported to the Orderly Room at Winston
really surprised when he told me he had
Barracks where ORQMS Dickson was quite
applied to join the newly formed Army Air
happy to hear that I was withdrawing my
Corps had sat the entrance exam and been
notice to leave. Within fifteen minutes I
medical and aptitude tested. I was surprised
was in front of the CO affirming this and
when I saw a copy of the exam paper though
actually getting a sort of welcome back to
, the level of maths, physics etc was well out
the fold. I wasn’t daft enough to think they
of the secondary school league but that was
would just give me a ticket to Kenya and
when he admitted to having a University
send me happily on my way but I enquired
degree.
when I could expect some news; Wee Dickie
(TheORQMS ) told me the NS intake in
So I hung about the MT filling in time
training had two weeks till their passing
waiting for for my draft to Kenya until it
out parade then two weeks leave before
dawned on me that the recruits had finished
they would form a draft to go to the Bn
training and gone on leave and I’d not heard
so I should just go and make myself useful
anything about joining them. I went round
round at the MT Office.
to see the ORQMS and asked him if I’d be
going with them. “ Oh yes” says Wee Dickie,
30
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