Sunday
24 February 1991 Allied
Ground Troops Invaded Today
Another
SCUD disturbed night. Had a complete
‘rest’ day today – ie no running and swimming.
On the way to the pool (for sun-bathing) there was a SCUD alert at
11am. Put on my mask and returned to the
accommodation to find a dozen people in various states of NBC dress waiting with
cameras poised to get the Patriots taking off.
All they got was one of me with shorts, Desert Storm T-shirt and
respirator on. Had a while at the pool
and then went to Mass, which was packed out.
The American priest is very good; gave a good sermon on the
Transfiguration but rather spoiled things by saying that all the Masses
‘wouldn’t be silent’ and asked for readers, musicians and eucharistic
ministers. Also advertised "prayer
meetings" where we would look, if indeed we came, at different forms of prayers
– imaging, journaling – and have a look at traditional prayers such as the
rosary in a ‘diffenrent’ way. The ground
battle started today at 4am our time.
There is a total news blackout which is frustrating for us, but it’s a
good idea – however, the radio is just full of speculation. We are confined to camp today but have still
been given the day off. Both the B
shifts are in tonight so we must be expecting some “action” reasonably
soon. Schwarzkopf wouldn’t say much tonight in the
briefing from Riyadh. We had another
SCUD tonight at 10am. Tony managed to
record the alarm and the Patriots going off.
Another great event took place today – the desert combats have been
issued at last. How ironic if we got
these this week and went home next week.
Monday
25 February 1991
Good
progress appears to be being made in the allied ground offensive today. Went into work where there was a thumbnail
sketch type of map which had been copied for all the wards showing the allies
just outside Kuwait City. So far only a dozen US casualties and no U.K.
casualties have been reported. The
Iraqis do not seem to be putting up much of a fight. I fear they may be trying to trick us into
coming as near Iraq as possible before hitting us. I hope I’m wrong and that it is all over
soon. We had 9 patients today; I took
absolutely no part in their care – all minor non-battle casualties, since my
‘team’ was not involved at all. Instead
I filled in the time queuing for my desert combats; we got two sets plus 3
t-shirts and scarves and a hat which is much too big for me. Read a great deal today – The XXXX and
YYYY by Dick Francis. Got ‘home’ early to hear the news that a SCUD
had killed several US servicemen near Dahran – a freak hit, no doubt, but one
that will please Hussein greatly. Maybe
this will give him the ‘moral’ victory he needs, however, to have a god reason
for withdrawing from Kuwait. We are
being told to expand the hospital and are to expect masses of ‘3rd
country’ ie Iraq and Arab coalition country, patients. Had no letter from my beloved today but had 4
others – Martin, Henry, Steve R and Mum.
Skipped supper, went straight to bed and fell sound asleep until we had
a SCUD alert after which time I couldn’t sleep for a very long time. Inevitably I get to thinking about and
greatly missing Debbie.
Notes: no idea why I do not know the titles but after a few of these I was quickly sick of Dick Francis!
Tuesday
26 February 1991
We
evacuated our first batch of casualties yesterday and have more in; still
non-battle casualties and a really lively lot.
We have another BCR in the ward, Mandy, a sergeant but RGN; a district
nurse from Bristol; a busty unlikeable lass – full of herself. Basically, today I took a back seat and let
those who had already been caring for the patients carry on. XXXX is a real pain in the arse; she never
sits down, always buzzing around doing absolutely nothing; it’s all show
because she not averse to disappearing from the ward for ages when she feels
like it. Two letters form Debbie today
and it appeared that she had not had any from me for quite a while. Went swimming this morning; the water is very
warm and it is a real pleasure to have a morning dip. Too cold and windy for sunbathing. Also, overcast. Am presently reading a strange but quite
enjoyable book by Julian Barnes called A
history of the world in 101/2 chapters.
Seems like a bit of a dig at religion, particularly the story of Noah’s
Ark. Very amusing in places. The war continues to make good progress; our
hopes rise steadily but we know better than build them up too much. Wrote, as usual, to Debbie and also to
Henry. Can’t help but write platitudes
to Henry in reply to his MRA-type of questions.
Graham Smith mentioned today that I must ‘get the day off’ on (I think)
6th Sept. Which is the day he
and Fiona get married. I would be
delighted to be invited. He is a superb
chap and they are a delightful couple.
Wednesday
27 February 1991
Remarkable
progress in the war. All objectives
being attained within the time set. Our
first battle casualties came in today; it is a strange feeling to be actually
doing the job we came here for. I feel
so sorry for these guys who have given so much and now paid for it in
injury. They are separated from their kits,
are exhausted and look like lost sheep.
They get together well, though, these guys – they really know how to
share – cigarettes, jokes etc; they have so much in common and so many
experiences to share. We had one lad who
saw one of his friends blown up by a mine.
We called down one of the Ward 12 team to speak to him. One of my colleagues objected to
“specialists’ being called in to do this kind of thing. I’m afraid that Maj. XXXX is another
pain in the arse. Had my own patients
and my own team today which was much better.
Good to work like this and to liaise with Graham and the
physiotherapists etc. I do enjoy being a
nurse. Cpl Lesley Brown is very reliable
– sticks up for herself though, but Pte YYYY is a strange, highly strung and easily
upset, immature character who wants to do everyone else’s work but not really
too keen in doing his own. The great
news today is that officially we should be home in 2-6 wks. It all depends on the POW situation and on
whether humanitarian aid is required for Kuwait. I didn’t come on a humanitarian mission and,
given the choice, I will not move any further forward. Preparations have begun, however, to move us
home – great!
Notes: XXXX & YYYY identity protected
Thursday
28 February 1991 CEASE
FIRE
At
0800 this morning I heard for the first time the news that President Bush had
called for a cease-fire at about 3am our time and that Iraq had agreed to the
UN resolutions – great news but not so elated as I expected; just relief that
it may, very soon be all over. Everyone
happy and smiling at breakfast today.
Went for a swim today; the water was very warn despite, or perhaps
because of the torrential rain last night.
There is water lying all over the place; it doesn’t drain away here; the
top layer of soil turns to clay. The news
at 12 noon said “The war in the Gulf is over”.
I could hardly hold back the tears.
All the same, however, Hussein is claiming a victory. Went to work with a lighter heart but the day
dragged. Yesterday’s patients had been
evacuated leaving us with only a handful many of whom lost friends and
witnessed the ‘attack’ by a US pilot on a British vehicle, killing nine
people. Did a bit of nursing but am
really finding it hard to do any work with enthusiasm; I just want to get out
and get home a.s.a.p. But, the nightly
briefing was not so optimistic about getting out quickly. We thought we would be out in 2-6 weeks,
which came from “the top” of 205; however, BIFME (sic) have no word on that; we
have to pack up the hospital and strip the plumbing and electrics. I had a request on BFBS last night but didn’t
hear it. Wrote to Debbie 3 times
today. Had letters from Debbie, Tonks
and Andy Flood with comments from Alison Kinsey. Not so optimistic tonight about getting home
soon. XXXX is useless.
Notes: BIFME = BFME (British Forces Middle East)´BFBS = British Forces Broadcasting Service on which my Kirklandside Hospital colleagues had asked for a record to be played for me - I did not hear it but a private on the bus on the way to work told me; I cannot recall what the song was.
Friday
1 March 1991 ?
Promotion
A
complete day off today; no parading in the morning. Went for a run and then a swim. The pool was murky with sand from the
sand-storm last night but a few of us managed to swim while that was going
on. Overdid the sun-bathing today a bit
and my back is burned but Tony’s is worse and his legs are very sore. It’s so hard to resist the temptation to get
a good tan when you’ve literally got nothing to do and the sun is shining. Gave into another temptation today and smoked
a couple of cigars – quite enjoyed them – somehow relieves the boredom – but
mustn’t make it a habit. Wrote a long
letter to Debbie and a bluey and parcelled up some spare kit for posting home. I’m hoping to get all my kit into one bag for
the return journey. Still no idea when
we are going home but I’m not alone in seeing the madness in packing up all our
kit. We should decide what is needed and
leave the rest or donate it to a 3rd World Country. The drugs are all out of date already! The cleaning up operation in Kuwait and Iraq,
in the military sense, is going well and Iraq have accepted all of the UN
resolutions. Hussein it is reported but
not confirmed, is fleeing to Algeria.
Some Iraqi troops do not know that the war is over and are still shooting. Some tragic incidents are taking place. The extent of Iraqi casualties is not really
known and may never be fully known. How
I long to see my little wife. No sign of
Part One’s as I write so I don’t know if I’m a captain yet. I bet they forget about it.
Saturday
2 March 1991
Are
we being bluffed in an effort to bluff the Iraqis into thinking that we have
achieved a total victory? Saddam Hussein
continues to claim a victory for his troops, which is ludicrous, but there
would still appear to be a long way to go.
The Iraqis have postponed the talks on cease-fire and there were 81
tanks plus many A.P.Cs “taken out” by the Americans today because they refused
to stop at a check point. What is really
going on? Iraqi communications may be
bad but any cheap transistor radio held by one of the troops would tell them
the situation. Anything up to 100 000
Iraqis dead. Apparently the body of the
missing US woman soldier was found today raped and beheaded. I spoke to Brigadier Mapkee* who had just returned from Kuwait
City and had come to visit the fusiliers from the A-10 disaster. He spoke of bodies everywhere on the
battlefield, XXXX YYYY that British troops at inflicting such casualties and, optimistically, spoke of
having us out of here as soon as possible.
He could see that the hospital wasn’t being used to anything like full
capacity and said there was no need to keep us here. We are not to be involved in any kind of humanitarian
work, thank goodness. The CO visited the
ward several times today; he is evidently upset at the lack of business and is
‘gung-ho’ keen to stay on until the job is done. He is proud of the numbers who are
volunteering to stay on and who would stay behind in the rear party. I am certainly not one of them. Letters today from Tony Fraser, Tony
Steedman, and Martin. Martin had seen
the surrendering of the Iraqi troops. No
letters from my dearly beloved but there was a parcel with The Economist and
other things.
Notes: * - no idea if this was the proper spelling of the name; XXXX & YYYY indeciperhable names
Sunday 3 March 1991 T/A*
A very quiet day off; running,
swimming and sun-bathing followed by sleeping, reading and listening to my
Walkman. The allied and Iraqi commanders
have met today and agreed on terms for a permanent cease-fire. I feel great that it is all over and that
I’ll be going home but no real satisfaction at almost destroying a country and
killing possibly 100s of thousands of its young men. These are all sons, brothers and husbands and
fathers, many as young as 15. There are
new calls for a religious service at St Paul’s Cathedral in London to mark the
victory. I feel that there is, perhaps,
something distasteful in this**. I think
religious ceremonies are necessary in the respect but not to celebrate massive
slaughter. We need, somehow, to focus on
the poor Iraqis. I’m proud of the work
and success of our armed forces and, for once in our history, the firm resolve
of the western allies, of course, and am glad to have been part of such a
successful military campaign. Neither do
I doubt that it was necessary but it’s over and done with. I find it extremely hard to guess how I’ll
feel about this when I get home, especially living in a cosmopolitan community
like The University. Had supper with Col
Ken Brown tonight. It looks like we’ll
be demobilising at South Cerney and it appears that we are flying to
Glasgow. Part One Orders indicate no
change in security state, NBC state etc.
Presumably waiting for the cease-fire to be formally signed before doing
so. All my thoughts are on home and
packing up here. It cannot happen
quickly enough for me – any of it! Went
to Mass today – un unholy racket from Jim on the keyboard.
Notes: * - no idea what this denotes; ** I was selected to represent 205 at the equivalent service in Glaasgow and was very proud to do so
Monday 4 March 1991
Went to the morale tent this
morning with the intention of going to Confessoin and/or Mass, but went to
neither as Jim was playing a few notes on the organ. The air was one of ‘involvement’ rather than
repentance. I would like to go to
Confession before I go home, preferably with Fr Rick, but it actually looks
unlikely. Jane, for absolutely no good
reason, came in at 1100 this morning. We
began taking down some of our beds, which is a step in the right
direction. Rumours abound but it seems
that we will be home in about 10 days, if all goes well. Had 3 letters from Debbie today; one of them
was particularly beautiful; she is a good letter writer and certainly knows how
to get to my heart. I love her more each
day; if loving her more is possible; I just love her so much. Our NBC state was relaxed today, at last, and
we all feel quite naked without our respirators round our waists. This will make a great difference to our time
here. There was tannoy call in the camp
this morning and we thought it was a SCUD alert, however, it was the Americans
getting the “all clear”. Ours came first
verbally and then on orders. I went to
the 2IC briefing tonight; we are flying back to Brize Norton and finishing
demobilisation at South Cerney. The
original 205 unit is flying to Glasgow from Brize Norton so I hope that Debbie
and my parents and, perhaps Martin and Gill, will be able to come and meet
me. We are all impatient to get the
hospital dismantled. I wrote to Debbie
today and wrote to Kirklandside. Also
wrote final letters to work and to Martin on blueys with Victory and Cellat
Rats photocopied on to them. I feel that
we are almost there.
Tuesday 5 March 1991 PROMOTION
At last my captaincy came
through. It was on orders this
evening. I had a beer with the lads in
the room and changed my slides immediately.
Day off today, and what a miserable day it was; it seemed dull when I
woke up and it was actually pouring with rain; had started last night. Without enough money, or quite frankly, the
inclination, to go into town I just spent the day, mostly alone, at Singles
Camp. Slept too much, ate too much. Went for a run but didn’t go swimming – don’t
quite know why as the water would have been warm enough. Wrote two letters to Debbie and a final
letter to Tonks. Also replied to the
Deputy Head of the school where the children who had sent pictures to me
were. Another bit of good news on orders
was that we can hand in our NBC gear here.
With any luck I will get all my stuff into one kit bag. Somehow, my hopes are rising that we will be
returning even earlier than we originally thought but I have no grounds, only
hope, that this may be the case. I am
ready now to see my darling wife who I miss so very very much. I have run through our reunion at Glasgow
Airport time and again. Of course, it
won’t be anything like I imagine it will be, but it’s nice to dream. I’m thoroughly bored out here but kept going
by our imminent departure. All I can
hope for now is good news on the plans for flying us back to the U.K. Tony bought some nice pieces of gold in
Riyadh this afternoon. I would like to
get my beautiful little wife a nice something to wear if time and the pay
office allow.
Wednesday 6 March 1991 2/9*
No letter from Debbie today
but there was a letter from Ali with some excellent photographs of Debbie and
the children in them. They were taken at
Lucy’s birthday party and outside in the snow.
I was a bit upset after realising that I was looking at my children – at
first I did not really recognise any of them.
Lucy looks so different and so does William. I knew it was Emily because she was beside
her Mum, and Hannah was recognisable.
Debbie looks as beautiful as I have ever seen her and really suits her
short hair. I wrote to my dear wife
twice today. Another day is gone;
another day nearer to being at home. We
have completely dismantled our ward today; all the beds are gone; the out-of-date
drugs have been discarded and the rest await collection by the Med stores and
there is equipment for the QM. We are
supposed to go and sit on Ward 2 but why bother? Had my discharge medical today. That all went remarkably smoothly and
appeared to be well organised - a credit to 205 I would say – at least we are
getting things right. Jane and I did
confidential reports for the other ranks on the ward and she gave me mine. I was very pleased with mine, although I did
not know what to expect. A couple of the
other ranks will not be too happy with theirs but they deserve them. Came home early; spoke to Peter Adams in the
bus, he went to the mosque today with Amman Raja and said it was a wonderful
experience. Ian Jack came to pay me a
visit this evening to talk about our return and also about Benbecula. I have a headache, probably caused by the
cold water in the pool this morning. And also feel very tired so I am going to
bed.
Notes: *-no idea what this denotes
Notes: *-no idea what this denotes
Thursday 7 March 1991
Runing and swimming as usual
this morning. No Mass; the morale tent
is now dismantled anyway. Now on 24-hour
standby to come home – rumours flying all over the place. Apparently it has been announced in the U.K.
that 205 will return to Prestwick but as fas as we know we are going to Brize
Norton and on by bus to Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Sunbathed for too long today but thought it might be my last
chance. Took some photographs in the
afternoon with Tony and took a few of the tanks at the gates. Went to the British Embassy Club
tonight. Booze flowing freely and good
kebabs by the heated swimming pool. Had
a few Pimms No 2 and even a can of lager and far too many cigars. Just felt a warm glow from the drink. Phoned Debbie on the Desert Direct Phone
number; she sounded great and I spoke to Hannah and William. They both sounded so grown up the wee
darlings. Hanna said “Oh goodie”. Many people drank far too much tonight Celia
XXXX jumped topless into the pool followed by John Urquhart with nothing
on. About as exciting as two rhinos in a
mud bath. “Dr Jack” was well oiled but
very amusing with it. Rumours still
flying as to when we are due to return – at least we are almost certain to be
leaving on Sunday and getting back on Monday, but the route is very uncertain. Some ‘know’ for sure but there is nothing
sure. The lads next door are having a
sing-song with a guitar.
Friday 8 March 1991 2/9*
Morning swim in a slightly
warmer pool. Went in to work to “hang
around” for ages then do some very hard work indeed. Complex more or less cleaned up. Got a letter from dearest Debbie. Stood down early after loading up a lorry
load of water for Kuwait. Went into
Riyadh at night with Graham & Fiona; bought a watch for Hannah, an electric
game for William and some gold for Debbie.
After a struggle I got some little dolls for Lucy. Came back to see the much awaited Part One
Orders. I’m going on Sunday at 6am,
thank God.
Notes: *- no idea what this denotes
Notes: *- no idea what this denotes
Saturday 9 March 1991
Called in early to the
complex today for a final “sweep’ and an address by the CO. At least he expressed sympathies* that the decision to repatriate
205 (SCc) contingent before the rest was not his decision. We had a very good, rouding, Church
service. Padre Barclay (Ian) gave an
excellent sermon on the theme of “If you don’t want to find God, you will not be
disappointed”. Got off my final parcels of books; the PO had run out of stamps
but I managed with the help of my good friends Jane, Ian and John, to scrounge
enough to send them out. That will
lighten my load considerably. Debbie
wrote a real “letter from the heart” today and it was very fitting that it
should be my last letter from her while out in the Gulf. Some confusion still exists over what the
arrangements are at Prestwick, I can only hope and pray it will be over
quickly. We take our kit down to the
complex for X-ray this afternoon and then up early (2am) tomorrow morning.
This is my last entry in my
Gulf Diary Deo Gratias.
*Postcript: there was a greta deal of discontent at the 205 core being repatriated first and non-205 people saw this as the COs fault but it was a political stunt. We had been last to enter the war zone and John Major announced in Parliament that we would be repatriated first and that was it. However, it was almost impossible to speak to non-205 people thereafter and a great divide was established so much so, I heard from John, that when the CO tried to address them on return to Brize Norton, he was boo'ed, which must have been terrible. He was deeply unpopular with the non-205 personnel. I was always a great supporter of Col Glyn Jones and remain so; he was never anything but friendly and supportive to me. I think he quickly wanted to forget The Gulf and announced at a 205 Gulf War reunion in Peebles within a year of the Gulf War that it was time to forget it and move on; I did not agree with him.
*Postcript: there was a greta deal of discontent at the 205 core being repatriated first and non-205 people saw this as the COs fault but it was a political stunt. We had been last to enter the war zone and John Major announced in Parliament that we would be repatriated first and that was it. However, it was almost impossible to speak to non-205 people thereafter and a great divide was established so much so, I heard from John, that when the CO tried to address them on return to Brize Norton, he was boo'ed, which must have been terrible. He was deeply unpopular with the non-205 personnel. I was always a great supporter of Col Glyn Jones and remain so; he was never anything but friendly and supportive to me. I think he quickly wanted to forget The Gulf and announced at a 205 Gulf War reunion in Peebles within a year of the Gulf War that it was time to forget it and move on; I did not agree with him.