RAF Khormaksar

Sergeants’ Mess

The Sergeants’ Mess, which is one of the largest in the Royal Air Force, is situated on the south side of Air Traffic Control between Station Sick Quarters and the Transport aircraft dispersal. During the early months of 1963 the mess was given an extensive and costly face-lift to provide better amenities for its 700 members. These include new billiards, recreation and visitors’ rooms and the remodelling of the bar, which has been fully air-conditioned. A jungle bar, in its own small garden, has been built adjoining the enlarged main patio, which is the scene of most of the messes’ social activities. For the enthusiastic darts player the mess runs two teams in the Aden Garrison League, but the most popular entertainment has proved to be the Saturday tombola and social evenings.

Accommodation is provided for approximately 200 members, and a much needed requirement was fulfilled with the construction of three blocks of air-conditioned rooms for living-in members. Whilst these do not accommodate all, those members on an unaccompanied tour are assured of one of these rooms for the greater part of their stay in Aden. Guest Nights are Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays and a whist drive is held every Friday.

Other ranks

The President of the Services Institute at Royal Air Force, Khormaksar, is OC Station Services Squadron and he is assisted in his duties by the PSI Committee. The Committee is composed of the President as Chairman, one representative from each Wing, No. 5004 Squadron, Corporals’ Club and, as required, a representative of clubs run by PSI. The Committee meets once a month (usually on the last Thursday in the month) and the meetings are announced in SROs.

The responsibilities of the PSI include the welfare and social activities on the Station. Under the auspices of PSI, a number of clubs are run on the Station. The most important ones are the Camel Club, the Corporals’ Club and the Junior Ranks Club. In addition to that, PSI controls a number of clubs such as Amateur Radio Club, Sailing Club, Chess Club, Go-Karting Club, Model Railway, Photo Club and Motor Club (in formation).

The catering and bars in all major clubs on the Station are run by NAAFI. In addition to the NAAFI establishments in the Camel Club, Corporals’ Club and Junior Ranks Club, there is a small canteen at the swimming pool and NAAFI shop in the Air Move­ments section. NAAFI also run two shops, one situated in the Camel Club and one in JRC for single personnel selling articles of daily use and confectionery, as well as the Families Shop (grocery and butchery) and Services Shop which stocks articles such as radios, cameras, electrical appliances, etc.

All matters appertaining to NAAFI are to be referred to PSI (OC Station Services Squadron). Apart from dealing with NAAFI matters on the level of Committees of various clubs, there is also a Customers Relation Committee (known as the Corbett Committee) which represents the views of the customers in the two major shops on the Station, i.e. Families Shop and the Services Shop, and meets every second month. Wives of all ranks are represented.

This short account of PSI organisation is by no means exhaustive. Many seasonal functions, particularly Christmas time, are run under PSI auspices and many other activities are supported and organised by PSI.

Personnel who are interested in any special activities may join any of the Clubs already in existence, or if they get sufficient support from Station personnel, may ask PSI at the monthly meeting to form other Clubs. A few words are required to explain the activities of the first three main Clubs, i.e., Camel Club, Corporals’ Club and Junior Ranks Club.

Camel Club – The Camel Club is a social club run by an officer i/c and committee chaired by a Warrant Officer and is based on new concept club premises erected in 1962. The Camel Club runs regular social functions such as dances, tombolas and many others, and in addition to this, seasonal functions before Christmas, Battle of Britain, etc. All personnel of the rank of Warrant Officer and below are members of the Camel Club and there are no subscriptions. In addition to Station personnel, the Camel Club is open to wives and dependants of Station personnel over 18 years of age. Detailed Club rules are available in the Club.

Corporals’ Club – The Corporals’ Club is administered by PSI and run by an officer i/c and a committee. All Corporals belonging to Khormaksar are automatically members of the Club. Subscriptions are 4/- for living-in and 2/- for living-out Corporals. The Club is very active and runs social functions such as dances, weekly cinema shows, tombola evenings, etc. The premises are small but congenial and the Club is greatly enjoyed by Corporals of RAF Khormaksar and their dependants.

Junior Ranks Club – The Junior Ranks Club is run under the auspices of PSI and the daily activities are looked after by the WVS. It is open to all ranks below Corporal, single or married, but not to families, except on special occasions. The main activities are games evenings, weekly tombola evenings on Saturdays and a weekly musical circle. It is particularly popular with single airmen who do not wish to mix with families.

All personnel on the Station, particularly new arrivals, are invited to take interest in PSI activities on the Station and if they wish to sponsor any new ones, they are always welcome to represent their ideas at the PSI Committee.

Expansion Projects

Royal Air Force, Khormaksar, has grown out of all proportion over the past ten years and will carry on expanding for some time to come. Projects in varying stages of completion include an Airmen’s Mess (£120,000), Education Centre (£52,000), Component Service Centre (£124,000) and many other smaller projects. Future planning includes air conditioning of barrack blocks, dining rooms and offices and others to the extent of approximately three million pounds. Maintenance of buildings also costs half a million pounds per annum.

Not quite to Wembley standards but adequate for competitive football, the main pitch at Khormaksar was overlooked by married quarters. (Wille Marr)	One way to cool off after a hard days graft! Khormaksar swimming pool looking towards the diving board end in 1961 (Des Meek)	The swimming pool at Khormaksar in 1964. (author)	View from one of the barrack blocks depicting tennis for the energetic and car maintenance for the more leisurely inclined (Bob Hambly)	To the north of the main barracks lay the Astra cinema, swimming pool and 37 Sqn Shackleton hangar (Bob Hambly)	The open-air Astra Cinema was a popular venue for an evening out, Khormaksar, 1963. (author)
The Aden races were held once a month and run over a makeshift track to the east of the civil airport buildings (Bob Hambly)	To give the Aden races a bit of variety, a number of camel races were also run. (Bob Hambly)	Late evening at the Aden races in 1958 and excited spectators cheer the speeding participants towards the line (Bob Hambly)	The 'Wembley' of the Middle East complete with VIP accommodation, 'bar' and floodlights, as viewed from another vantage point, Block 6 (Bob Dargue)	A grandstand view of league and cup matches was a privilege for airmen accommodated in Block 6, 1962 (Bob Dargue) Of note are the married quarters in the background.	For those with an urge to speed, the Khormaksar Go-Kart Club provided the ideal outlet (author)
Alternatively, a gentle trot around the Khormaksar Horse Club ring might suit: a competent rider, Bill Ormiston is seen here on Major, 05-62 (author)	Bill Ormiston and Tony Peacock get their bearings with a gentle stroll on Khormaksar Beach soon after arriving in Aden, 05-62 (author) Bill, Tony and the author had 'cruised' out to Aden together in HMT Nevasa the month before this photograph was taken.	The fledgling sport of Go-Karting took place on one of the aircraft pans using a different circuit each time as it was .....	..... it was lined with beer cans. Here, trackside furniture goes flying as a driver tries too hard to cut a corner (both, Keith Webster) Rumours abounded that the cans were full and each time a driver knocked one over he received a ten second penalty; just enough time to empty the dented can.

The Combined Services Entertainment Shows

One of the few highlights of a tour in Aden for service personnel were the Combined Services Entertainment (CSE) shows which were held every six months or so and were played to packed houses. They provided the opportunity for the stars of UK TV and radio to perform live on stage to enthusiastic audiences and were a welcome relief for servicemen and women. Malcolm Stelfox had the privilege of attending the last CSE show to be held at Khormaksar, the star of which was Harry Secombe.

Shows for the Forces such as depicted here in 1961, were regularly held in the Airmen's Club where the entertainers included well known TV stars (Bob Dargue)	With the show over, the entertainers board a 233 Sqn Valetta at Khormaksar in 1961 before departing for another MEC base (Keith Webster) Keith Webster captained this flight and took the photograph from the vantage point of his cockpit.	Souvenir programme for the 1967 CSE held at Khormaksar in 1967, bearing the image of Harry Secombe (Malcolm Stelfox)	'The Diamond Twins', singing their hearts out to the accompaniment of Les Baguley (Malcolm Stelfox)	Already a national treasure, Harry Secombe made his name from the popular comedy radio series of the fifties, The Goon Show (Malcolm Stelfox)
Harry also had a wonderful singing voice and had several hit songs during a career that lasted some fifty years (Malcolm Stelfox)	Bearing herself to largely male audience in a desert setting did not concern Joan Rhodes as she was a woman with immense strength (Malcolm Stelfox)	Joan's trademark was the tearing in half of a telephone directory; this one is about to get the chop (Malcolm Stelfox)	As the applause rings out from a somewhat stunned audience, Joan lifts the separate halves aloft (Malcolm Stelfox)	A singer with a powerful voice, Leslie Dawson was a name that would become very familiar with the advent of a famous comedian (Malcolm Stelfox)
The end of the show and the cast take their bow to the accompaniment of a rousing reception from an appreciative audience (Malcolm Stelfox)

After the series of show were over, the cast were flown up to the route stations in one of the newly arrived Andovers to give further performances.

What a Mess!

Malcolm Stelfox recalls that life on Khormaksar deteriorated markedly during the final twelve months or so of occupation. “In 1967 as things started to get really rough, airmen housed in the air conditioned blocks rioted - not sure what about exactly - life in general I think. The Airmen’s Mess had been a disaster since the day I arrived - crap food served up in a filthy environment - in short, a pig sty. I ate cheese rolls from the bearers more often than I ate in the mess it was so bad. To be fair to the cooks, a lot of the staff were local Arabs who were on strike more often than they were at work. The Argosy and Beverley squadrons spent much of their time shipping in fuel and food from Djibouti and Kenya. With drinking water rationed at the time, the situation was exacerbated when the Station Commander was seen watering his lawn! In short the place was falling apart; Khormaksar was in some sort of time warp when, at the height of the ‘swinging sixties’, we found ourselves in the sort of environment that Pvt Mulvaney of Kipling fame would have been at home - The Raj.”

Accommodation

Transit Block at Khormaksar in August 1959. Of interest are the fast spinning 'cooling' fans in the ceiling and the greatcoat!!! (Ronnie Hush)	When it rains it pours! With no drainage system on K'sar, the camp was liable to flooding during the rare heavy downpour, August 1959 (Ronnie Hush) The view is taken looking north across the main football pitch with to the left, the open-air Astra Cinema and with Airmens' married quarters on the right	Another view of the flooding that would occur during heavy showers, this time seen from a Block 6 balcony in 1962 (Bob Dargue)	A 3-storey airmens' barrack block at K'sar in 1960 with beds lined up on the balconies - it was cooler to sleep outside (Ronnie Hush)	Kuwait in the stifling heat of July 1961 and many airmen preferred to sleep outside where it was cooler (Mike Halpin)	You lucky lads! C rations topped the menu in this field kitchen in Kuwait, 2 or 3 days after 8 Sqn's arrival in July 1961 (Mike Halpin) Jock Richardson (on extreme left) heads off to find somewhere comfortable to sit.
With temperatures of 40 C+, the airmens' quarters in Kuwait comprised this unfinished hangar with no air-conditioning or cooling fans. Being located right next to the fuel storage depot, all it needed was a stray shell! (Ronnie Hush)	The primitive conditions encountered in Kuwait required innovative solutions to everyday needs. Here, Windy Gale and Chiefy Appleyard indulge in full body washes while sitting in C Ration packing cases and drawing water from adjacent fuel bowsers (Ronnie Hush)	On returning to Bahrain from Kuwait, 8 Sqn airmen moved into more 'upmarket' accommodation (Mike Halpin)	Barrack Block 6 was one of several older blocks that had no air conditioning, ventilation being provide by roof-mounted fans (Bob Hambly) During the summer months of the early sixties, when temperatures reached unbearable heights, many airmen would sleep on the balconies to stay cool. Before that, in the fifties, airmen were forced to sleep on the balconies on account the blocks were full. A close look at the photograph reveals a number of beds and cupboards out in the open.	To the south lay a distant Aden Harbour and Steamer Point. The main access road into Khormaksar camp can be seen between the two blocks (Bob Hambly)	View looking north west across enclosed Twineham and open-type barrack blocks to the 84 Sqn Beverley pan in 1960 (Bob Hambly)
Two styles of married quarters can be seen in this 1960 view looking east from one of the barrack blocks across the main football pitch (Bob Hambly)	Looking more like a car dump, the newly constructed Hunter block, seen when new in 1961, provided air-conditioned four-man rooms (Des Meek)	Hunter and Valetta blocks were completed in 1961 for unaccompanied airmen and comprised fully air-conditioned four-man rooms. (author) Taff Price (on the right) can be seen making his way to the Camel Club next door. At this time, 8 Squadron occupied the ground floor of Hunter Block, 208 the middle and 43 the top floor.	The new Airmen's Mess, opened in 1963, seen during the only rain shower witnessed by the author at Khormaksar during his tour (author)	Looking across to the Airmen's Mess in 1963 from the 2nd floor of Hunter Block, home to 208 Sqn. The Camel Club was by the parked car (Ted Lambe)	Said, the head bearer for 8 Sqn in Hunter block, about to leave for home on his trusty ex-RAF bicycle, 1963. (Dave Barnes)
Shoeshine mister! Mieub, one of two Arab bearers who cleaned an tidied for 8 Squadron airmen accommodated in Hunter Block, Ksar 1963 (author)	The 208 Squadron bearer who, in 1963, was a Yemeni lad named Ahmed (Ted Lambe)	The few downpours that occured in Aden were usually short and heavy, leaving huge puddles on the surface. Khormaksar, 1967 (Malcolm Stelfox) This rainstorm, which occurred on 1 April 67, brought much abuse onto the Met Office staff who hadn't predicted it!	Several hundred flats were built along Maala Straight on reclaimed land from 1960 through 1962, many of which were used as service hirings (author)	Two scenes from Roger Wilkins showing Officers' MQs at Khormaksar in 1964; the first depicts the view from Barney Lydiate's balcony .............	......... and the second, a general view from the access road with barbed-wire security fencing.
Soni House in Crater was typical of the hirings provided for Officers in 1962 (Robin Morrell)	The Officers' Club at Tarshyne Beach in Aden depicting its pool and shaded bar as seen in March 1963 (Robin Morrell)	Accommodation blocks at Khormaksar. Can anyone identify where these were located and whether they were RAF or Army please? (Roger Wilkins)	These twin, pylon-mounted, water tanks were situated just inside the Khormaksar main gate, close to the Airmen's Mess (Keith Webster)	Looking across the spacious sports stadium at Khormaksar towards Mount Shamsan in 1962 (Keith Webster)	The Officers' Mess at Eastleigh in 1960 (Pete McLeland)