A History of RAF Saxa Vord

Information Booklet 1973

2012-01-26T11:05:00.000Z

Once again I’m grateful to Pete Brindley, this time for sending me his copy of the RAF Saxa Vord Information Booklet (1973). It certainly brings back memories for me having left Unst in 1969 – not much had changed. The main Married Quarter patch at SHE had only been open for a few years. The information about heating quarters is fascinating in retrospect. At the time the RAF Power house was supplying electricity to the area and there was a limit to the output. Still, there were remote parts of the Highlands & Islands without any form of mains electricity at the time.
Pete was also good enough to send the 1977 booklet at the same time and I will issue that some time in the future. If anyone has similar information from other periods and is prepared to lend or part with the documents, I would be pleased to hear from them – gordon.carle@gmail.com

Event with Children – 1998

2012-01-14T11:36:00.001Z

I’m not sure what event the following photos commemorate. My best guess is that the 2 children involved had won a competition and had been given the freedom of the Station for a day. The event took place in late 1998 and the two children appear to be a Miss Laurenson and a Master Smith. If anyone can provide more information or identify any of the people in the pictures I would be pleased to hear from them.
gordon.carle@gmail.com (Left click on pictures to enlarge).

R101 – The Interior

2012-01-03T11:41:00.004Z

Almost certainly due to security issues I’m very short of material from inside the R101 and particularly the earlier Ops Building, the R10. If anyone has photos or information from either location I would be pleased to hear from them: gordon.carle@gmail.com

The R101 was constructed in the period 1976 to 7 and I believe it was first occupied in 1978. The new Ops facilities were then in use until 1984 when a complete refurbishment took place. Whilst new equipment was being installed operational commitments were met by using a stripped down GL161 system, which had be shipped in from Wattisham. I have already written about this interim system here: http://ahistoryofrafsaxavord.blogspot.com/2010/10/interim-ops-room-1984.html
I’m not sure when the re-equipped Ops Room was ready but it was in use until the late 90’s. By then the only sections left in the R101 were Comcen and IT Coord and they moved out soon after. The few Ops staff left had moved up to the Type 93 on the Tech Site. I have divided the few photos I have into 3 groups:
1. The early years - 1978 to the beginning of 1984
2. The refurbishment phase
3. The period after the new equipment had been installed until Ops staff left the building.
1978 to 1984
The first photo was taken in Sep 1979 and shows the OC Ops, Flt Lt Dick Waters, briefing the Rt Hon David Howell MP. At the time of the visit David Howell was the Secretary of State for Energy in the Conservative Government of the day: (Left click on photos to enlarge).

The next two pictures are copied from an article which appeared in the RAF News and were sent to me by Bob Jenner.

The following photo shows the Operations room just before the refurbishment started:

Refurbishment Phase

The sequence below shows various parts of the R101 during the refurbishment phase.

The Final Phase in the R101
As the Link 11 Aerials were not erected until 1984 I presume this photo of the Link 11 console belongs in this part of this section:

The next 2 photos are of the ESM suite:

I’m not sure why the gentleman is sitting in the centre of the next picture – he’s Fg Off Andy Brittain, OC PSF (ie, an Administrator)

I don’t know the gentleman in the following shot either but I believe he’s from Trade Group 12 and belongs there (even if he’s not holding a chinagraph!). "Smeek" informs me that it may well be "Taxi" Marsden - Saxa 93./4 ish.

The last 4 photos were taken during visits by senior officers, I have added the names that I know and would be pleased to add others if anyone wishes to get in touch.

AOC’s Inspection 1971 – AVM IG Broom CBE DSO DFC

2011-12-27T16:04:00.000Z

The AOC’s inspection in 1971 took place on 10 Jun whilst Sqn Ldr AP Melbourne was the CO. The Inspecting Officer was AVM IG Broom, AOC 11 Gp, who must have visited Saxa on at least half-a-dozen occasions during his appointment. The first picture is a copy of a clipping from the Shetland Times. (Left click on pictures to enlarge).

A better quality version of the photo from the newspaper is below:

The next photo is of the AOC at the saluting base in front of the Power House:

During the visit the AOC presented a Long Service & Good Conduct Medal to Cpl Horton:

Whilst at Saxa he AVM also performed the official opening of the first version of the Penguin Club – an event which has been covered elsewhere on the blog.

The final l photo shows the AOC & his wife at the Unst Airstrip alongside an RAF Percival Pembroke C1:

Christmas Parties for Children & Senior Citizens

2011-12-18T23:26:00.002Z

Saxa (as 91 SU) became operational in Oct 57 and very soon thereafter planning for the first Children’s Christmas Party began. Ninety-two children attended the party in December and this was just the first of many. In the early 60’s it was decided that it would be better to have 2 parties, splitting the children into different age groups. The parties proved to be extremely popular - for around 40 yrs somewhere between 70 and 110 children attended the annual festivities each year. At the beginning most of the children were from local families but, as the number of married service personnel increased and quarters were built, the percentage of Service children attending increased.

The parties were arranged by a number of different sections, clubs and organisations. The Catering Section, Corporals; Club, Airmens’ Social Club, Sergeants' Mess and Wives' Club were amongst those helping out. The RAOB was even involved with at least one party.

The 1962 Children’s party was mentioned in the Shetland News:

The Invitation and photo below relate to the party in Dec 1963:

The 1964 party was covered in a short article which appeared in the Shetland Times of 18 Dec 64, which is copied below:

The event in 1965 was also mentioned in the Shetland Times:

I’m not sure when the first “Senior Citizens” Christmas Party was – the first record I have is the early 70’s. In those days it was the OAPs or Pensioners Party - most people wouldn’t have had a clue what qualifications were needed to become a “Senior Citizen”. These parties became very popular and, unlike the Children's Parties, a small amount of alcohol was sampled. In fact I’ve heard stories about families being slightly hacked off when Dad or Granddad was returned to them slightly the worse for wear – but it was Christmas!

The next two pictures are of Pensioners Parties in the 70’s:

The following 2 photos are from 1982:

The next picture is from 1984:

These events were frequently reported in the Shetland times:

The popularity of these events was evident. Every year there were plenty of children and senior citizens looking forward to them and more than happy to attend. On a number of occasions letters of appreciation were received by the Unit or published in the Shetland Times. An example from the Shetland Times in 1982 is reproduced in the final picture below:

Children’s parties continued for many years after that but I believe that eventually the invitations to local children had to cease due to the increasing number of married RAF couples with children – the logistics just became too complicated and it was found too difficult to cater for the numbers involved.

Article in the Shetland Times 1990

2011-12-12T17:03:00.003Z

The following article is copied from a 1990 copy of the Shetland Times. The optimistic tone about the future of the Unit is perhaps forgivable considering the Domestic Site was nearing the end of a complete rebuild and a new Quarters patch at Nordabrake was being built. Plans were in being for the installation of the Type 93 radar and most of SHE was to be rebuilt in the early 90’s. One has to feel sorry for the Stn Cdrs over the next dozen years who were expecting the Station to stay open for a long time and indeed were being briefed accordingly by MOD. In retrospect, with advances in technology and the ability to supply secure data links over long distances, it is perhaps surprising that Saxa lasted as long as it did. The eventual closure, when it did come, was not well handled as far as the local community were concerned. Whilst the servicemen on Unst did their best to ease the blow, the overall aim of politicians and the MOD was to save money. In an attempt to make the article easier to read I have split into 3 parts. (left click on each part to enlarge).

Functions in the Sergeants’ Mess – Again

2011-12-05T19:45:00.000Z

Most of the following photos are undated. Some will have been taken in the “Old” Mess and Some in the “New.” Whilst I could make a reasonable guess as to which is which I’ll leave it to the experts. Apart from the 5 photos which haven credited the collection comes from a photo album which was left in the Mess when it closed. I’m happy to credit photos to the photographers if they let me know who they are. (Left click on pictures to enlarge).

I anyone has other photos of Saxa Vord and is prepared have them published, I would be pleased to hear from them. gordon.carle@gmail.com

Penguin Clubs and Skittle Alleys

2011-11-29T18:00:00.002Z

Many ex Saxa personnel remember nights in the Penguin Club, various quantities of alcohol and many more games of skittles starting than finishing. However, on closer questioning it is noticeable that there are disagreements about buildings and internal layouts. This is because there were a number of Skittle Alleys and because the “Penguin Club” was located in 3 different Buildings over the life of the station.

I believe the first Skittle Alley was constructed in an unused billet in the mid ‘60s. I don’t think it was a “licenced” premise and the main purpose was to be the venue for the Station Skittle League. These activities came to a temporary halt in Apr 68. In that month a detachment of sappers from 15 Field Sqn, Royal Engineers arrived on Unst to build the airstrip. The original plan had been for the army personnel to live under canvas in field conditions – not sure I’d be that keen to do that for months on end in Unst. The camp had some surplus accommodation and decent facilities so the invitation was made and readily accepted. The Wives Club and building housing the Skittle Alley were used to augment the barrack blocks. I’m not sure how long the sappers stayed, probably 4 to 6 months. Their presence had a significant impact, bar profits soared, sporting fixtures were arranged and for the first time there were dodgems on the Norwick Beach using bulldozers! An extract from the Station History follows: (left click on pictures to enlarge).

Following the departure of the army detachment a few enterprising personnel decided to refurbish and improve the Skittle Alley. One of those involved was Jeremy Thornton:-

“The skittle alley was set up down below where the squash court was in an unused billet. Once again the CO was sympathetic and helped us to obtain wood and panelling to make the runway and build a bar. He allowed us to have a barrel of beer behind the bar each skittle night - in the heady days we even provided hot dogs and onions!”
The Building is indicated in the three pictures below:

A party was held in Oct 70 to celebrate the opening of the new Skittle Alley:

The venture was so successful that it was decided to turn the building into a new social club. The official opening of the “Penguin Club” was on the evening of 29 May 1971, after the Station Sports Day. It was, I believe, possibly the first all ranks club at Saxa – handy for section functions, charity events and sporting occasions.

The next reference to Skittles I’ve found is in the Official Station History for 1973 when a dance was held in the Viking Club to celebrate the end of a very successful Skittles season, I presume it was held in the Viking Club because it was a larger venue. An extract of the “History” is below:

Nevertheless, by 1975 the Penguin Club had been demolished. It looks as if it was a wooden building and it had probably been on site since the beginning - so maybe it was just old age!

Fortunately there was a prefabricated building on the Ops Site which was surplus to requirements.The structure, known as a Cosley Building, had been erected in 1960, and for 3 years housed generators producing 120volt electricity for trials carried out from the Admiralty Building. By the end of 1963 the trials were over. This building was dismantled and part of it re-erected on the Domestic Site, mainly due to the efforts of a scopie called Harry Bowyer. Photos of the Cosley Building at the Ops Site and at the Domestic Site follow:

I don’t know if it was Harry who was responsible for the interior of the building but, whoever it was, a good job was done. I have tried to contact Harry on a couple of occasions – maybe I have the wrong email address.

This, the second version of the Penguin Club, was officially opened on 8 Jul 75 by a politician. Having done a lot of the work, I understand that Harry Bowyer was (not unnaturally) upset not to be invited to the opening! An extract of the Official Station History is shown below:

Mick Standen (Saxa 78-80) has kindly allowed me to use the following photos, taken in this incarnation of the Penguin Club, from his tour at Saxa Vord:

The next photo from Mick shows a team of 6 runners who had just won a 12 mile relay race from Belmont to Saxa. The CO, George Keith, made the trophy presentations in the Penguin Club – he’s in the middle of the back row. (Any help with missing names would be appreciated).

As “they” say – all good things must come to an end. This version of the Penguin Club was also demolished – I’m not sure when, but by the early 80’s there was another building in its place. I don’t know why, but I suspect that a metal building, designed to house industrial equipment, may well not have met Health & Safety requirements for an entertainment venue.

So – to the third building! This was, I believe, the last of the Penguin Clubs:

This building was not an expensive build, single breeze block construction, supporting a metal roof:

However, it was the longest serving Penguin Club and the one which most personnel remember. It was in use for 20 years or so and is still on the site today. I believe that in its later life there was less of the Skittle League atmosphere and a slightly more alcoholic glaze as time went on. I’m grateful to Megan Fielding (Saxa 95 to 2001) for permission to use the following photos:-

Unfortunately I have to report that, following the closure of the station nearly six years ago, the Penguin club is not looking too good!

Functions in the “New” Sergeants’ Mess

2011-11-20T15:47:00.001Z

The “New” Sergeants’ Mess was officially opened by ACM Sir Patrick Hine on the 29 Mar 1989. (Left click on photos to enlarge).

The rest of the the photos used in this section have been copied from an album which was left behind when the Sergeants’ Mess closed. I will be happy to credit the owners should they get in touch.
Functions in 1989

Functions in 1990

The Cairn – 1989 & 90

In 1989 it was decided to erect a cairn beside the Mess (with suitable plaque), in honour of one of the earliest members of the first Mess:-

I can confirm the cairn is still on site and will attempt to photograph it when I’m next in Unst.

Note added 17 Jan 2012. The photo below was taken on 5 Jan 2012. Whilst the Cairn remains the plaque is missing.

Undated Functions – Believed to be in the New Mess (help appreciated)

AOCs Inspection1966 – AVM CM Stewart

2011-11-13T15:00:00.001Z

The AOC's Inspection for 1966 was carried out between 31 May and 2 Jun by AVM CM Stewart. The Station Commander was Sqn Ldr W Stevens, who was just 3 months from Tourex.

Functions in the “Old” Sergeants' Mess

2011-11-06T16:51:00.001Z

The rebuild of the Domestic Site was spread over a number of years. The accommodation and messing facilities for the Junior Ranks were opened well before that of the SNCOs & Officers. It’s not surprising - the old billets and NAAFI owed a lot to WWII design and were in dire need of replacement. The New Sergeants’ Mess was officially opened in Mar 89. I believe that all the photos in this section were taken before that date.

A couple of photos of the Mess from the east, in slightly different weather conditions, are shown below. (Left click on pictures to enlarge)

I’m grateful to Chris Walker and to Bob Hall for allowing me to use the next sequence of photos:

The remaining pictures in this section all come from a photo album which was part of the memorabilia left when the Mess closed down. I am unable at this stage to give credit to the photographers but will be happy to do so if they get in touch.

Functions in 1985

The key to those in the last picture is wrong (unless there are some competent cross-dressers in attendance. Individuals listed include, Jan Loates, Mal Whittaker, Dot & Ted Hanning, Carol Whitaker, PeteBrusby, Julie Lathbury, Sid Kasim, Debbie Kasim & Graham Lathbury.

Functions in 1986

Function in 1987

Functions in 1988

A section on functions in the “new” Sergeants’ Mess is in preparation and will be put out in the coming weeks. I am always on the lookout for material on Saxa so if anyone can help with photos of people, places or equipment, it would be appreciated;

gordon.carle@gmail.com

The Admiralty Building and Underwater Cables Part 4

2011-10-30T11:08:00.005Z

This section will raise more questions than it will provide answers. However, by telling what I know (or think I know), I hope to trigger some memories which, in turn, may provide answers to outstanding queries.

As far as I can tell, all US/NATO activity in the Admiralty Buildings at Saxa had come to an end by 1964. Bertie Henderson had been left as a caretaker for the buildings but I can find no record of new “outsiders” on site again until May 67. In that month 4 visitors from MOD(Navy) arrived and spent up to 11 days on site. Two of the visitors came from the Admiralty Research Laboratory at Teddington, the organisation which had run the earlier trials in the 50’s. The other two visitors, a Mr Williamson & Mr Packman are noted as belonging to MOD(Navy) Submarine Cables.
My best guess is that the visit in May 67 was to determine the condition of the Admiralty equipment and cables left behind from the 50’s trials – hence the inclusion of 2 cable experts. In the following 10 years I have been able to discover 25 further visits by MOD(Navy) staff, mainly from Teddington but there were a couple from Mr Marchant from the Department of Naval Security. Sometimes the visits were just by one person, most of the time they were by 2 people and occasionally by up to 4 at a time. The visits were not normal MOD jollies – they took place in mid-winter as well as the as the mid-summer months. There could well have been more frequent visits but I have names & dates for those mentioned. (Note 1. Is a list of dates, names of visitors and purpose of visit, if recorded, between 1959 & 1977. The data has been gleaned from Visitors’ Books etc and is unlikely to be complete – I publish the list in the hope that one of those listed reads it or an acquaintance reads it – I really would like more information!).
Unless new equipment had been installed – for which I have so far found no evidence – part of the old system must have been reactivated. They could not have been working on the US/NATO System as no appropriate 60Hz/120volt power supply was available. Of the subsequent visits I find it particularly annoying to know that 8 of them happened when I was serving at Saxa. Indeed people could have been working in the Admiralty buildings whilst I was on duty in the R10, clueless as to what was going on!
The last 2 visits that I know about were at the end of March and at the beginning of May 1977. Coincidently, Bertie Henderson, who had been associated with the Admiralty Buildings for over 20 years, died in Jan 77. After May 77 I have found no mention of MOD(Navy) activity on the site.
A number of people have mentioned that Bertie Henderson visited the site once a week and had an office on the top floor of the Admiralty Building with a great view of Muckle Flugga. They have also told me that once a week Bertie would deliver a “tape” to the local post office for onward transmission – where it went & what it contained has yet to be discovered.
After 1977, MOD(Navy) appears to have lost interest in the site. By 1980 the 2 storey Navy Annex had been transferred to the RAF. In subsequent years the use changed but initially the bottom floor became a radar workshop and the second floor was occupied by the R10 Registry, OC Eng and OC Radar Servicing Flight Offices. The 3 storey Admiralty Building may have been transferred at the same time but was not put to use by the RAF until much later (1987+). This is probably because the building did not meet Health & Safety Standards. Fire escape from the upper floors was a situation where you wouldn’t want to be last in the queue. According to John Stott a fireman who was at Saxa in the seventies :- “Hapless firemen had to test the old escape system. These were Davy Escapes, single harness and a steel cable fed from a slow release drum. They went back up for the next evacuee to use. They really were horrible and were outdated in the seventies when I was there”.
The drum was securely attached to the wall and it was one person at a time out of the window. In 1987 HQ Strike Command approved the building of an emergency stairwell and at the same time approved metal cladding and a peaked roof for the building.
The appearance of the building changed from this (left click on pictures to enlarge):-

To this:-

Once the alterations had been made to the building the RAF began to make use of it. According to Frank Joseph, who spent many years at Saxa both in the RAF and as a civvy: “On the ground floor first right there was a large kitchen area where food was prepared on night shifts and exercises. Two or three offices were also in this corridor which led to the canteen/TV room at the bottom left and opposite this was an office used by the radiotech guys. From the canteen there was a door which led into a porch area with a choice of using the emergency exit door to outside or a stairwell which led up to the next two floors, the first of which was used to store lockers which housed site personnel personal gear, with good views out to Muckle Flugga. I always remember that I used to go up there for my lunch break as it was also handy to look for any birds on the fence wires. I cannot recall what was on the top floor but sure that I did visit it”.

The use of the building changed as time went on. Someone has mentioned that the “war rations” were kept there at one stage. A major reduction in establishment took place prior to the change in status to Remote Radar Head (RRH) Saxa Vord (effective Apr 2001). It became no longer viable to have a small number of service and civilian personnel spread over such a wide area. In Aug 2000 the SHQ and Main Guardroom staff were moved up to the Mid (Ops) site and this led to a reallocation of space, especially in the Admiralty Building. Less than 3 years later, with the announcement of the closure of RAF Buchan and the reinstatement of separate Unit Status to Saxa, the SHQ and main Guardroom staff returned to the Domestic Site. I believe that the Mid (Ops) site became almost derelict after this and that all operations were carried out from the Type 93 at the Radar Site. By this date the number of service personnel at Saxa had reduced to about 65 – for most of the life of the Unit the strength had been around 190. I have been unable to find evidence of the Admiralty Buildings being used after Feb 2003.

RAF Involvement in Admiralty Trials?
There are a number of scraps of evidence to suggest that the RAF had some direct involvement in the trials:
The 1953 outline of plans for the Admiralty Building, included in the section http://ahistoryofrafsaxavord.blogspot.com/2011/09/admiralty-building-and-underwater.html
required the provision of a radar similar to the Type 277 (about the same vintage as the Type 13 & 14). Another plan from 1954, also provided by Bob Jenner, required that a Type 64 console be installed:

(AXA was the Rotor Code for Saxa and Building 7 was the Admiralty Building)

Whilst the trials were “Top Secret” two mentions of RAF Controllers from Saxa being involved appeared in the Official Station History – which was just” Secret” at the time – I suspect the entries should not have been made and that there were other occasions when a control service was provided but not recorded – who knows?

Another indication of some participation by the RAF was in Aug ‘61 when Fg Off ND Gaskie from a Shackleton MR2 Squadron, based at RAF Ballykelly, visited the Unit. The purpose of the visit was given as “AES” (Admiralty Experimental Site) - I’m sure it wasn’t just a casual liaison visit to a Top Secret location.

The last small pointer I’ve found also comes from the Official Station History. In June 1970 Eng staff recovered the Type 64 console from the Admiralty Building for RAF use:

This indicates, firstly; that RAF Engineers knew it was there and, secondly; that the RAF knew it was no longer required by the Admiralty.

The Admiralty Experimental Site and RAF Saxa Vord co-existed for 20 yrs (’57-’77). There were common access routes, water supplies and power supplies. Formal agreements at MOD level must have existed between the RAF and the RN. The fact that none of the these arrangements were openly shared at a working level by RAF personnel , suggests to me that during the period there was no “operational” use of the Admiralty Buildings, only intermittent occupation for trials and/or data gathering! I would welcome more information should anyone be in a position to supply data:
gordon.carle@gmail.com
Note 1. List of Known Visitors to the Admiralty Buildings -1959 to 1977

1959
14 Aug Mr Wallon Bell Telephone Co USA

1960
2 Aug Mr RI Black ARL Teddington Liaison
29 Nov Cmdr CH Blair (USN) Off of Naval Research, London AES

1961
30 May Cmdr CH Blair (USN) Off of Naval Research, London AES
1 Aug Mr JR Boettler Off of Naval Research, London Liaison
9 Aug Fg Off ND Caskie 20? Sqn, Ballykelly (Shackletons) AES

1967
6 to 11 May Mr Stamp MOD(Navy) AES Teddington Duty
6 to 17 May Mr Williamson MOD(Navy) Submarine Cables Duty
6 to 17 May Mr Packman MOD(Navy) Submarine Cables Duty
10 to 19 May Mr Field MOD(Navy) AES Teddington Duty
4 to 6 Oct Mr NH Field ARL Teddington Duty AESU
4 to 6 Oct Mr JC Marchant MOD(Navy)(DNSY) Duty AESU

1968
12 to 14 Feb Mr DJ Parkes ARL Teddington AESU Visit
12 to 15 Feb Mr R DE B Max ARL Teddington AESU Visit
12 to 15 Feb Mr NH Field ARL Teddington AESU Visit
25 to 26 Mar Mr Webber ARL Teddington AESU – Routine Visit
25 to 26 Mar Mr Marell ARL Teddington AESU – Routine Visit
6 Jun Mr DG Parkes ARL Teddington AESU Visit
6 Jun Mr KR Williamson ARL Teddington AESU Visit
6 Jun Mr T Packman ARL Teddington AESU Visit
16 to 19 Jul Mr Parkes ARL Teddington Routine Visit
16 to 19 Jul Mr Cumber ARL Teddington Routine Visit
12 to 16 Aug Dr Webber AEL AESU Routine Visit
12 to 16 Aug Mr Pye AEL AESU Routine Visit
12 to 16 Aug Mr Williamson AEL AESU Routine Visit
16 to 18 Sep Mr Pye ARL Teddington AESU Routine Visit
16 to 18 Sep Mr Somner ARL Teddington AESU Routine Visit
29 Oct Mr Marchant Dep of Naval Security ARL Ext Routine Vis

1969
30 Jan to 6 Feb Mr NH Field ARL Teddington Duty at ARL Ext
30 Jan to 4 Feb Mr NRD Godsell ARL Teddington Duty at ARL Ext
15 to 18 Apr Mr Parker ARL Teddington Duty at ARLEU
15 to 18 Apr Mr Cumber ARL Teddington Duty at ARLEU
15 to 21 May Nr NH Field ARL Teddington Duty at ARLEU
15 to 21 May Mr GH Pull ARL Teddington Duty at ARLEU
24 to 30 Jul Mr NH Field ARL Teddington Duty at ARLE
24 to 30 Jul Mr NRD Godsell ARL Teddington Duty at ARLE
5 to 17 Sep Mr NH Field ARL Teddington Duty at ARLEU
5 to 17 Sep Mr NRD Godsell ARL Teddington Duty at ARLEU

1972
19 Jul 72 YP Sale ARL Teddington
19 Jul 72 RJ Morris ARL Teddington
14 Aug 72 ASO YF Sale ARL Teddington Trial
14 Aug 72 SO Morris ARL Teddington Trial
26 Sep 72 AT Parsons ARL Teddington
13 Dec 72 Mr NH Field ARL Teddington -
13 Dec 72 Mr RB May ARL Teddingon -
13 Dec 72 Mr NH Field ARL Teddington
13 Dec 72 Mr RB May ARL Teddingon

1974
14 Feb 74 Mr Morris ARL Teddington
14 Feb 74 Miss Sale ARL Teddington

1975
24 Jun 75 Mr Morris ARL Teddington
24 Jun 75 Mr Matson ARL Teddington
4 Sep 75 Miss Sale ARL Teddington
3 Nov 75 RJ Morris ARL Teddington
3 Nov 75 Y Sale ARL Teddington

1976
19 Jul 76 RJ Morris ARL Teddington
19 Jul 76 Y Sale ARL Teddington

1977
31 Mar 77 NH Field ARL Teddington
31 Mar 77 AJ Kirby ARL Teddington
3 May 77 RJ Morris ARL Teddington
3 May 77 Y Sale ARL Teddington

As I said in the main part of this section, I suspect there were more visits than those listed. Anecdotal evidence I have suggests Cdr Blair (USN) visited Unst on more 2 occasions and that Mr N H Field from ARL was a fairly frequent visitor, with friends among the local population of Unst. I’m sure that more information is available – it’s just a matter of locating it!
gordon.carle@gmail.com

Sailing at Saxa

2011-10-26T17:10:00.000+01:00

Sailing has been one to the favourite Shetland sports for many years and it was logical that the RAF became involved in this activity soon after their arrival at Saxa. I don’t know what type of craft “Mandy” was but, crewed by RAF personnel, she was successful at the first attempt. The following clipping is part of a large article which appeared on the front page of the Shetland News in Sep ’59:

(left click on pictures to enlarge)

Very early on some Albacore 15ft dinghies were delivered for RAF use. I presume they arrived after a trip north courtesy of the St Clair and Earl of Zetland. I also don’t know who paid for them, possibly the Nuffield Trust who provided a mini-bus & sets of golf clubs later in the life of the Unit. The Albacore was fairly new design (1954) and the RAF probably received the first Shetland models. I believe they must have presented the officials with a problem at early regattas as they would have been faster that the local Shetland boats (perhaps less stable in rougher water), making handicapping a difficult call to begin with. Knowing little about sailing means I’m making lots of assumptions! I think 3 Albacores were delivered early in the 60’s and the RAF “fleet” included a smaller dinghy, type unknown, called” Whiskers”

The first section of photos come from John Courtis, who was an Admin Officer on the Unit 1961/2. A short clipping from the Shetland Times in 1963 givnng details of what was one of the earlier Lerwick Inter-Club Regattas in which the RAF competed, folliows. Should anyone ask me to sail from Baltasound to Lerwick in something the size of an Albacore they should be prepared for a short answer. There were also regattas each year on Unst, at Uyeasound and at Baltasound. RAF crews took part in most of them except when they clashed with exercises & TACEVALs etc.

Flt Lt Bob Sawyer, who appears in 2 of the pictures above was the Station Educarion Office and was the person responsible for the start of the excavations of the archaeological site a Underhoull near the Westing on Unst.

The following clip is a report on the 1965 Uyeasound Regatta from the Shetland Times.

The next 3 photos were taken by my wife in 1967 and they are followed by a report on the Inter Club Regatta of that year from the Shetland Times – RAF crews achieving success!

In 1969 a sailing event was part of the midsummer celebrations; however, unusually for Shetland the lack of wind was a bit of a problem.

I’m not certain as to the date of the 2 photos of the Uyeasound Regatta which follow. I think that the person nearest the camera in the first is Graham Massie who was an Admin Off – if so this event was probably in 1969.

The final picture is a copy of a large article from a 1991 issue of the Shetland Times. The event was to celebrate 100 years of sailing regattas at Baltasound. Once again there was significant participation from RAF crews.

The Admiralty Building and Underwater Cables Part 3

2011-10-16T01:35:00.002+01:00

The next stage of Saxa Vord & the submarine cables is a little more complicated to recount. Data is difficult to come by but I can at least shed some light on what went on. The US equipment, mentioned by John Marchment in an earlier section: http://ahistoryofrafsaxavord.blogspot.com/2011/10/admiralty-building-and-underwater.html

http://ahistoryofrafsaxavord.blogspot.com/2011/10/admiralty-building-and-underwater.html
was finally ready in the late 50’s. The second trial was under the auspices of NATO but the equipment and personnel involved were mainly American. A US cable laying ship, accompanied by a support ship with a small Landing Craft, laid the cables & hydrophones on the sea bed. The land route used was different from that chosen by the Admiralty a few years earlier. Whilst the route was similar from the Admiralty Building, it then deviated and descended into Burrafirth about a mile north of where the Admiralty cables lay. The cables went down at a point called Hagmirs Geo (this name cannot be seen on modern 1:25,000 scale maps but is shown on earlier 6” to the mile maps, or it may be visible on Admiralty charts). I have marked its location on the map (kindly provided by John McMeechan for the Cables Part 2 section) below. (Left click on pictures to ennlarge)

The next 2 pictures were taken from Hermaness in Sep 2011 and show Hagmirs Geo. They were taken from about 1km away. I will try to confirm the exact location of the cables next summer but I may have to take up rock climbing, abseiling or sailing to do so. The possible route is based solely on what looks like concrete on the beach – it could just as easily be a slab of rock!

The equipment used was designed by Bell Telephone Labs Co (US) and one of their employees paid an early visit to Saxa on 14 Aug 59. When the trials took place there were watch-keeping US civilians, employed by the Bell Telephone Co and attached to the US Navy, working on the Mid (Ops) Site. There were only a small number of them (maybe 4 or 5) and they were accommodated in the Officers’ Mess on the Domestic site. For the living-in Officers this was a useful addition to their numbers. As civilians they paid higher extra messing fees and, as Americans, they had access to items which were not normally available to the RAF. They were able to use US Commissaries – including the one at RAF Edzell and this, combined with the extra money, furnished the Mess which all sorts of unknown luxuries such as blueberry pancakes and maple syrup.

The fact that there were classified anti-submarine trials going on in the area seems to have been a poorly kept secret (apart from the RAF personnel on site). The following picture is a copy of a clipping from the 27 Feb 62 issue of the Shetland News and, in itself, is a copy of an article which appeared in the Observer Newspaper. (Some enlargement may be necessary).

As this trial took place on UK soil and in Admiralty facilities there had to be a UK Officer in overall charge. Lt Cdr Frank Spragge was at Saxa from 1961 until 1963 and fulfilled this role. It certainly eased dealings with local authorities and people.

As in the earlier Admiralty trials, much of these operations were dependent upon local workers for construction work. Bertie Henderson, mentioned by John Marchment when describing the earlier Admiralty Trials, was retained as the Caretaker of the Admiralty Buildings right up to his death in Jan 1977.

Of course American designed equipment had a major drawback at Saxa – no American power supply. The problem was easily solved (NATO money) – put up new building, install generators producing 120v/60Hz and get on with it. A pre-fabricated structure, called a Cosley Building, was ordered from a Midlands supplier and shipped north. Who supplied the generators - I don’t know but it’s fairly certain a landing craft would have been needed.

The Cosley Building was connected to the 2 storey Navy Annex by a specially built passage – the outline of which can be seen in this recent photo:

How did the trials go? To be honest again, I don’t know! By this time the US had an extensive system of submarine cables in existence as part of the SOSUS System (Sound Surveillance System). The system had its’ origins in 1949 and was intended to provide a method of detecting/tracking submarines. Parts of this system had been in operation for some time in both the Atlantic & Pacific Oceans before the “Top Secret” Projects began at Saxa. So – what were they trying to do at Saxa. Once again I can only guess. When the UK Admiralty started its’ trials they had been expecting the Americans to be ready with their equipment so it must have been new. Possibly something intended to be a “next generation “ SOSUS. Whatever it was by the end of 1963 this NATO funded trial ended, the Bell Telephone Co personnel left and much of their equipment was dismantled. The generators in the Cosley Building were removed and the building itself donated to the RAF (saved the money of shipping south). This trial was over – what was learned - I don’t know, but no great NATO or US operational system came into being. As far as I have been able to determine, nothing very much happened in the Admiralty Buildings for the next 4 years.

The building which had housed the generators for the US power was left in place until 1974/5 – when it was dismantled and re-erected on the Domestic site. It became the new Skittle Alley and Penguin Club – much of the work being carried out in off-duty time by a serving “scopie” - Harry Bowyer. In the later 70’s an emergency water supply tank was built on part of the foundations of the building.

So we have seen 2 projects, one UK Admiralty and one US/NATO. By the end of 1963 both projects appear to have been wound-up, equipment dismantled and personnel gone. On the surface it looks like the end of the story but I have some unanswered questions about the 2 projects and it is apparent that the Admiralty became re- interested in the site a few years later. Another section will be issued soon.

Recollections of Saxa Vord – Harry Cairns

2011-10-09T20:53:00.000+01:00

The main part of this section is reproduced from an article which appeared in The Shetland Times issue of 14 Apr 2006. The pictures have been changed and there are a few small additions at the end.

SAXA MAN RECALLS HALCYON DAYS OF THE SIXTIES
When I was posted to Unst in November 1962 I did know a little of what lay in store for me.

I had been serving at RAF Trimingham, another radar station, in Norfolk and anybody posted from there to Saxa Vord was invariably asked “What have you done wrong?” If only the sceptics had known how welcoming the Unst folk were and how relaxed the way of life was!

I took over as Accountant Officer at Saxa Vord from Flying Officer John Courtis, who was a keen photographer. During a visit to my training unit he gave me some idea of the scenery and wild life to be found in Shetland.

In fact, the visit and slide show were for the benefit of another young officer who was due to replace John but I was sent instead as the Air Ministry seemed to think that I was more temperamentally suited to service in the Islands than he was!!! (Friends and acquaintances in Shetland may or may not agree.) He went instead to the Isle of Man and the flesh pots of Douglas!

Like many others, such as Ken Shaw, Len Bowyer, Mike MacDonald, Tony Fry, Eddie Barclay and Dennis Bright, I made use of Jimmy Leask’s Special “Overlands” at weekends to accompany the football team to Lerwick. (Duty trips to the RAF Units at Mossy Hill and Collafirth Hill helped to nurture love’s young dream!!)
The main aim for me was not to watch the football but to do my courting, as I had met my first, and present, wife early on in my tour. Lesley’s grandmother and mother owned the Grand Hotel, which was very convenient, and after numerous trips to Lerwick we had a memorable wedding in September 1963. Johnny Leask commented about the “overland” taking our RAF guests across Yell the following day that he “had driven noisier hearses”!

After our wedding we set up home with Viv and June Owers in Hamarsgarth until Lorna Saxby’s Wulvershoull became available. We eventually moved from there to Keldabrunn, a “butt and ben” near what was then called the Springfield Hotel, We were very happy, if somewhat cramped there, holding jigsaw puzzle and scrabble parties in the absence of TV. It is sad to see that the enlarged house is no longer in use and has looked rather weary for the past few years.

The house was also convenient for food parcels from Lesley’s mother to be placed on the gate post by Graham Hunter as his bus passed the road end. RAF pay wasn’t all that great pre 1970!

One of my fondest memories is of playing badminton, and drinking tea, for hours in the 3 village halls and the Camp gym. Clare Hunter from Haroldswick was my mixed partner and I remember playing against Cathy and Agnes Priest, Brian Hunter, Harold and Roderick Jamieson and Patty and John Sutherland. My apologies to others still with us but whose names escape me. It is good to see Brian’s son Peter and his son are involved in the sport and that Brian himself still has a keen interest.
Other memories are of buying both meat and fish from Bertie Jamieson at bargain prices. All cuts of meat cost 4/6 during this first tour. Needless to say, scrag end of neck wasn’t on my menu.
I also got my lobster very cheaply from John Henry Robertson, who charged the Officers’ Mess twice what I paid. When challenged about this by the Catering Officer John Henry explained that “Mr Cairns is a local” – an accolade indeed.
Local dances were always interesting, especially if you had a drop of Louis “the brew’s” home bru inside you.
As Accountant Officer, I used to get my supplies of bank notes by registered post from the Commercial Bank in Lerwick. On Mondays I’d phone Cammie Gordon or Neil Graham who would put my “order” in the post on Tuesday to come up by Earl of Zetland on Wednesday. My cheque and the cash would cross in the post. On occasions when the Earl was delayed I would borrow cash for the airmen’s pay from Bertie Jamieson free of interest. Bless him – he would even deliver it to me and his wife Charlotte would give me a fairly large dram when I repaid it – regardless of the time of day!
I would get any coin I needed from Sandison’s Haroldswick shop, also now closed, and it wasn’t uncommon for me to wait 20 minutes whilst Albert Gray and Arthur Spence served the one customer who was ahead of me. I didn’t mind as I was included in the chat!

One interesting feature about my job was that the Losses Register I maintained included details of the cost of replacing the Type 80 radar that was blown of its plinth in, I think, 1958. I can’t remember the final figure but it was considerably less than £500K.

Another story that might be of interest relates to the time that a Russian trawler went aground at Skaw. The indications were that it was an Elint(Electronic intelligence gathering) vessel as the crew hid what they were doing from an RAF Shackleton that flew overhead as part of the Search and Rescue mission.

Whether there was any spying equipment on board is debatable. In any event, the Unst folk did well in “liberating” fishing nets and sundry bits and pieces including the steering wheel, which was subsequently returned to the Russians. (Editors note: The ships wheel found its way to the Methodist Kirk near to the DomesticSite – it can still be seen there – obviously a “miracle”. The photo below was taken in September 2011).

However, 2 RAF lads - a steward and a cook – found signals, maps and other papers in the skipper’s cabin, some of this hidden under his mattress. They brought these back to me and our Station Intelligence Officer had a look at them. By chance he was a Russian linguist and was able to provide a summary of what was in the documents before they were forwarded to the RAF Intelligence Staff at the Ministry of Defence.
One of the documents proved extremely valuable to the Navy but what amazed them was that the translated summary had been done by an RAF Flying Officer on Unst. On being asked about this by his Naval counterpart, the RAF Air Commodore intelligence supremo was reported to have said “Didn’t you know old chap, every man we send to Saxa Vord can speak fluent Russian.” I’m not sure which cheek his tongue was in at the time.
I finished my first tour in November 1964 but, after a year at RAF Turnhouse and a year of unaccompanied service in Aden, I was lucky enough to get back to Unst in December 1966, staying until September 1968.
During my Aden tour I managed to get some leave in June 1966 to come back to Lerwick to see my wife and bairns – the younger for the first time as he had been born 3 weeks after I left Lesley in the Grand Hotel. The shipping strike was on but Jerry Pottinger, the senior barman in the Grand, arranged for me to get a lift on the Morning Star from Fraserburgh. I didn’t smell too sweet when I eventually met my family but the kippers and baps on the boat were great – for tea and supper!
By the time we got back to Unst we had 2 wee boys, both born in Lerwick, and after living for a couple of months at Viewforth in Uyeasound we moved to No 2 Gue in Baltasound.

Sheep and ponies walking on the path round the house at nights kept the boys amused and Lesley and I awake. Our landlord was Bertie Jamieson and he allowed us to get whatever we needed for the house from Hay and Co in Lerwick.

I can recall all 4 of us being driven, with pram, across the fields to Skibhoull on the hay rack of Hunter NIsbet’s tractor when snow blocked the roads.

During that same period a sudden snow storm blocked a lot of the roads between the camp and Setters Hill Estate and I joined Ken Shaw, in waterproof rubber suits, guiding the snow plough and RAF bus and keeping them out of the ditches.

The plough and bus stopped at the married quarters and Ken and I had then to make our own way, along the top of the dyke, first to his house next to Dr Bobby Robertson’s place and then, across the fields to the light burning at No 2 Gue. Without that light I suspect I would have been well and truly lost.

Sadly, the price of meat had gone up by the time we came back. Bertie seemed to have learned what the various cuts were and comments by the “green” RAF wives about how cheap meat was did not escape him! Mind you, none of the new wives wanted the offal or cheap cuts and Lesley and I got our sweetbreads and oxtail for next to nothing.

I think it was during this tour that Jimmy Willie lost his bus when driving it back, empty, from the Uyeasound Up Helly Aa. The reason the bus was empty is best left unsaid but the event was immortalised in song.

The Army built the runway in Ordale during 1967: they had intended to sleep under canvas but we managed to squeeze them in to wooden huts behind the gym and the Ice Cap. The NAAFI profits were almost as high as when the hard drinking Norwegians who built the first “dome” lived on the camp!! Sandison’s and the NAAFI shop also did well from the Norwegians who needed a high calorie intake of food as well as triple drams of all spirits.

Also during this tour I managed the Hustlers, a “Shadows” type band, who were very talented and played regularly at dances on the island and at the Planets. A photograph and an article about them appeared in the Unst Millennium Handbook - a copy of which we picked up in the Haroldswick shop in 2001 during one of our frequent day visits to Unst.

The whole pace of life on Unst in the 60s was a great attraction for me but there were also career benefits, as I trust Flight Lieutenant Antrobus will find out.

Although the station was small its remoteness required appropriate decision making by relatively inexperienced staff. There were 3 administrative officer posts available during my second tour and I did all of them in turn, ending up as OC Administrative Squadron.

The experience I gained stood me in very good stead 9 years later when I performed the same duties as OC Administrative Wing at RAF Leuchars. I had over 300 staff there – more than twice as many as the total serving at Saxa Vord when I left.

Whilst I was much saddened by the announcement last year of the closure, the decision was inevitable.

I trust that the various authorities and groups of islanders looking at the future development of Unst will be successful in their efforts. Hopefully, at least some of the buildings and married quarters will be put to good use.

Those that remain in the hands of the Defence Estates Department must not be allowed to become dilapidated as Unst does not need the sort of eyesore seen at the defunct Toft Camp on Mainland.
I will be watching developments with interest in the coming years and hope that the island and its inhabitants will flourish.

And finally:

Well worn or worn well, make your own decision?

The Admiralty Building and Underwater Cables Part 2

2011-10-02T16:42:00.003+01:00

I am grateful to John Marchment for allowing me to publish his memories of Unst.

Unst Memories – John Marchment

"In 1955 I was working at UDE (Underwater Detection Establishment) at Portland and was appointed to a top secret project charged with laying a hydrophone array north of the Shetland Isles to detect Russian submarines coming out of the White Sea. Apparently we had agreed a joint project with the Americans to lay a series of listening devices on the deep sea floor to detect said submarines. The UK system would use a brand new process called cross correlation, which had just been invented by our research establishment in Teddington ARL (Admiralty Research Laboratory). Initially we were interviewed by the authorities to see if we were good enough to be cleared to top secret (and it took so long that we were all off the project 2 years later before we were officially cleared!!).

I was then given the task of measuring the earth currents in the ground as there were fears that our hydrophone cable up from the beach which had very small signals in them would be interfered with by the high power cables going up to drive the radar system. This meant making a small portable amplifier and many a pleasant day was spent on the cliffs around Portland Bill making our measurements. I was then involved in finding a suitable site for the hydrophone array north of the islands.
I first went up to Unst in March 1956. The journey itself was quite an adventure, train from Weymouth to Waterloo, underground to Euston, night sleeper to Aberdeen, then sail to Lerwick on the St Ninian steamer. ( Left click on pictures to enlarge).

At Lerwick. John Leask was requested to fix an ‘overland’, which was taxi to Toft, ferry to Yell, taxi to Gutcher, ferry to Belmont and, finally a taxi to the Springfield Hotel in Baltasound. If all worked well, one could leave Weymouth about noon on day one and arrive in Unst in the afternoon of day three, but it could take much longer than that due to weather conditions etc. Some people opted to fly but that was no better as sometimes the planes didn’t fly for days due to fog or high winds!

I spent days on the cliffs delineating the route of the cable from the beach at Burrafirth to the lab on the second floor of the Navy building. The work was quite strenuous walking up and down the cliffs to the station but made even worse by the skuas which were nesting at the time and really did not want to be disturbed at all. I suffered repeated bombings and had to ask for assistance from the local team. (See Note 1. For the route of the Admiralty Cable to Burrafirth).

At that time there were, I think, 4 large diesel generators in a building at Valsgarth which we were told had been put there by the RAF to run their radar installation. We had the sole use of one generator. It is a well known fact that diesels do not like to run on light load and during 1956 most of the island had been wired with 230 volts from the generators (but it was intermittent as when the radar was at full power ‘they’ shut off the islands supply). This caused little or no problems to the bulk of the islanders as most of them just used the electric light to enable them to light their paraffin lamps more easily! The hotel, however, had quite a problem as they had fitted a 48 volt DC generator which charged a bank of 4 x 12volt batteries and all the bulbs were 48 volt. When the 230 A/C came all bulbs had to be changed but the 48 volt ones were kept handy as, when the A/C power went off, all bulbs had to be changed back and the hotel generator started. For entertainment we, the trials team from Portland, had installed a large tape recorder in the guests’ lounge to give some background music to the guests but I remember the recorder did not last long as someone tried to play it when the 48 volt DC was on and neither the batteries nor the recorder liked that at all.

We had a team of about 8 people staying up there and a hut was built alongside the hotel as a sort of overflow sleeping accommodation. When the ‘posh’ guests, who came up to fish, had the rooms in the hotel we were moved out to the hut. I think we integrated with the locals very well – we were invited to sheepdog trials, which seemed to involve drinking a lot of the local home brew – a sort of poteen made from potatoes I believe – and then going on to a supper, dance and singsong. This went on to the early hours – we didn’t really know the time as it was light all night.
I can remember the team being invited to a wedding ceremony of Bertie (Black or Johnstone - I cannot remember his surname?? ). Bertie had been assigned as my beater when I went up the cliffs as he came along to (a) help carry the gear and (b) he carried an axe handle to beat off the skuas that used to attack us as we wandered through their nesting sites. Not a safe occupation! Anyway Bertie (aged about 26-30) was courting a local widow who had 3 teen aged daughters and when they got married we were all invited to the ceremony which went on for best part of a week. The bride and groom left on the ferry for their honeymoon early in the proceedings and the crowd all went down to send them off. It was interesting to see Bertie give a peck to his new wife and then he went into quite a necking session with his 3 step daughters!! We always wondered how Bertie got on but we were leaving the island shortly afterwards as that was the virtual end of the project.
One other little ‘occupation’ that amused our team from the south was the fact that as Unst had the ferry on their side of Bluemull Sound when anyone wanted to come to Unst they had to call for the ferry. When the police did this (on their infrequent visits to the island) the few cars that were on Unst suddenly all went up on concrete blocks and of course they were never taxed!!
We went to sea in the ACS (Admiralty Cable Ship) Bullfinch (or sometimes ACS St Margarets), lowered a hydrophone to the bottom and had HMS Undaunted run towards us from beyond the Arctic Circle dropping 1lb. charges every 15 minutes so we could measure the received energy.

Picture courtesy of Bill Glover at: http://atlantic-cable.com/

Photo courtesy of John Bryant at: http://www.hms-undaunted.co.uk/

After several runs we chose the most favourable position, went back to base and loaded the 12 hydrophones and about 100 miles of cable. On a personal note, those of you that know the area will know the wind blows quite hard most of the time and, effectively moored to the bottom (by the hydrophone and 15 miles of cable), we were exposed to the worst the weather could throw at us – it is lucky I am immune to seasickness!! The hydrophones were laid in the chosen position and the cable was taken back to shore in Burrafirth.

The rest of the team back in Portland had been developing the electronics and with the array down and the cable at the beach, the equipment was loaded onto a LCT, sailed up the North Sea and offloaded at the Baltasound pier. The main local organizer of the transport and the station was a large gentleman called Bertie Henderson, who had been a whaler in his youth.

Bertie was a tower of strength throughout our stay in Unst. The equipment in the lab consisted of 12 amplifiers to bring the small signals from the cable up to a reasonable level and then the signals were fed to a large magnetic drum, 2 feet in diameter and 2.5 feet high, which rotated at high speed. The delayed signals were taken off and formed about 20 beams looking out northwards from the array. The beams were split in two and effectively multiplied together and when there was a source in each half beam it would show on the paper display, whereas the more normal noise would not be correlated and simply form a grey background.

While writing these ‘notes’ I think it worth mentioning the tragic story of HMSTiree.
This patrol vessel was one of the last coal fired vessels in the UK Navy, only did about 8 knots and was used as a target for a variety of trials by Admiralty Research Laboratory, our companion establishment in Teddington. It was fitted with a 1 Kilowatt transmitter which drove a large transducer which was towed over the stern; it could represent a submarine or a ship or virtually any signal one was prepared to feed into the transmitter. This gear was fitted into the store below the ratings mess deck and it was run by a man from ARL whose name, unfortunately escapes me at this range! Anyway during one trial the gear broke down and he removed the cage surrounding the gear in an attempt to mend it at sea. The Tiree was distinctly unstable and rolled a lot and one roll threw this poor fellow into the gear which was on (there was a safety lock when the cage was removed and the gear could not be turned on but this fellow may have over-ridden this so he could work on the gear!) and at 3000 volts he didn’t stand much of a chance. The poor fellow was found a bit later still draped over the gear but dead as a dodo. Tiree returned to Lerwick and after the police and everybody had finished I was sent down from Unst as we still needed the source for our trials. The reason I was sent was that I am immune from seasickness so, naturally, I drew the short straw. Needless to say, I was ever so careful with the gear which I managed to mend whilst alongside. Then off we sailed to the north and did the trial successfully. We sailed on east-west courses at varying ranges from the hydrophone array so the team could set the gear up. At the end of the trial the weather deteriorated and we were tossed about so much that even the stokers were getting sick. In fact it got so bad there was a danger of losing steam pressure, which had to be avoided at all costs so the captain called for volunteers to man the boiler room. As I wasn’t sick, I felt it right that I should assist so I shovelled coal for several watches (as did the captain I should say) until we reached the safety and calmness of Lerwick a day or two later.

Photo courtesy of the Shetland Museum Photo Archive: http://photos.shetland-museum.org.uk/

At other times during the trials we worked on board HMS Fetlar, which was of the same class as the Tiree (Isles Class - Trawlers & Minesweepers).

Having set the gear up in the lab at Saxavord, the final trial was to be with a submarine but one problem that the initial trials with Tiree had thrown up was that the navigation systems available in those far northern waters were inadequate to give the accurate positions that were really needed for the system to be proven properly. Decca had not long been invented but, as the company had no plans to put one up in the Shetlands, we set one up ourselves. The master station was at the top of Saxavord, with the 3 slave stations fitted in caravans and spread around as best we could. One was on the cliffs above Skaw, I remember, and we tied the caravan down with wire ropes so that it wouldn’t blow away. Just before the trial started we went out and started the generators which would run for 24 hours - the length of the trial. The submarine arrived and it was the time that we had a strong wind (which blew the 20 ton radar aerial into the sea – it was never found to my knowledge) and we got a message from the submarine that there were only 2 slave stations operating.

We went to the one at Skaw and that, too, had disappeared into the sea. Winds certainly do blow in those latitudes!!

Everyone had stories to tell of the ghastly journeys to and from Unst - like waiting for 3 days in Lerwick for the ferry to arrive, and latterly, when some people used the flights from Aberdeen to Sumburgh, the delays were even greater - sometimes the planes didn't fly for a week. The accounts people at UDE were very sceptical at some of the subsistence claims that were submitted but the cream of the submissions was due to the head of the division, our boss. By September 1957 we had completed the station and were due to do a 2 day trial with a submarine to show the effectiveness of the system. The boss and a senior Admiral set off from Weymouth on a Sunday evening to arrive in Unst in time for the Thursday trial. We expected them to arrive on Tuesday evening but when they hadn't arrived on Wednesday we phoned John Leask who confirmed he had arranged an overland for them on the Tuesday. Now the overland had 2 boat trips, neither of which started in Yell.

Yell at this time had no boats and, more importantly, no hotels and what had happened was that the taxi, on arrival at the north end of Yell, had found the Unst boat would not run because of the weather (it was blowing up!). The boss ordered the taxi to return to the south end but by the time they arrived there the mainland boat said it was too rough to come over and pick them up. They were marooned on Yell, slept in a barn for 2 nights, missed witnessing the trial, which went well, and went home without reaching Unst at all. The final ignominy was that the boss and the Admiral arrived by ferry at Aberdeen too late to catch the night sleeper to London so the boss hired a train to take the Admiral back to London - that claim took several months to work through the system and from that time the boss never doubted another claim from anyone on the project!.

However, we completed the trial successfully and, although not witnessed by any Admiral, we told the US that our system was up and running and asked if we could do a joint trial with their equipment? Sadly, the US did not get their equipment into sea for another 4 years, by which time our equipment was in a poor state: it never really worked again and was mothballed in year 1960. I would have loved to have known what happened to it all and wonder where the cable is now – it contains miles of copper!!

Note 1. Route of the Admiralty Cables from Saxa Vord to Burrafirth.
I am grateful to John McMeechan for allowing me to reproduce the map below. He has walked to route that the cables took and used GPS to record each marker post on the cable route.

Some of the route markers near the Admiralty Building can be seen in the three photos below:-

The current state of the cables below Buddabrake is evident in the next 3 pictures:-

Note 2. Report of the Fatal Accident Inquiry into the incident on HMS Tiree

The report below has been copied from the Shetland News dated 28 Aug 56. I believe that the Shetland News ceased publication in the 60's. Use of some zoom/magnification will be required.

From: The Shetland News 28 Aug 56

The Earl of Zetland Again (amended 10 Jan 2012)

2011-09-25T12:56:00.001+01:00

The Earl of Zetland known by personnel from RAF Saxa Vord, was the second ship of that name. She was built by Hall Russell, Aberdeen in 1939 and purchased by the North of Scotland, Orkney and Shetland Shipping Company. Her length was 166ft and her weight 548 tons. She operated for a short while in Shetland waters before being transferred south soon after the outbreak of WWII to operate in the Pentland Firth area. After the end of the war she was transferred back to Shetland.

During the lifetime of the camp there were three Skippers. Captain Jimmy Johnson held the position for 15 years until late 1965 when he moved on in the Company to take command of the MV St Clair. The mate, Willie Sinclair, took Command of the Earl until 1972 when he retired. He, in turn, was followed by the man who had replaced him as mate. Captain Michael Gray who was in command from the summer of 1972 until the sailings ceased. Her last trip from Shetland was in March 1975 when she left for Aberdeen. (Left Click on photos to enlarge).

Her normal schedule called for 3 trips a week to Whalsay, Yell and Unst and once a week to Out Skerries and Fetlar (dependent upon weather of course). At some of the ports of call her draught and tide state could be such that she had to anchor off and small craft, known as Flit Boats - manned by local folk, were used to transfer passengers and cargo ashore. Whilst that was her normal schedule it was frequently altered for events like cattle & lamb sales. Sometimes extra trips were laid on to take visitors to places like Fair Isle & Muckle Flugga. In Lerwick the Earl was normally berthed at the Victoria Pier. This was quite handy at times as frequently passengers & cargo from the Earl were transferring to the St Clair and vice versa. It was a familiar sight to see the Earl at one side of the pier and the MV St Clair at the other. The next photo, from the mid 60’s, was taken by a passenger on the St Clair as she was leaving for Aberdeen and shows the Earl berthed at the pier.

The next two pictures were taken from the Earl as it left Lerwick by the North Mouth early in the 60’s. For someone living in Lerwick today I find it interesting to note how much the north end of Lerwick has changed in 50 years:

Having left the shelter of Lerwick you might be lucky enough to have a calm voyage and have a memorable trip with wonderful scenery. If, on the other hand, the weather was terrible you could still have a memorable trip (is that what is meant by a win, win situation!).

The first port of call was usually Whalsay. The next picture is of Symbister, taken from the Earl in August 1966.

The two photos below were somewhat earlier and show the North Voe, Whalsay from the Earl in 1960 or 61:

Once a week the next port of call was likely to be Out Skerries. Routes were usually decided by weather, cargo & passengers. I’m afraid I don’t have a photo associated with the Earl & Out Skerries so I have attached a snap taken recently from the Fivla, the inter-island ferry currently serving the Out Skerries.

Once a week, after visiting Out Skerries, the Earl would call at Fetlar. I have no pictures of the Earl visiting Houbie in Fetlar either so again I have attached a recent photo. Fetlar was another place where Flit Boats were needed as there was no deep water berth suitable for the Earl.

Mid Yell, with it sheltered anchorage and the largest population centre on the island, was hardly ever by-passed. The photos below show the Earl berthed at the pier and Flit Boats in action at Mid Yell.

From Mid Yell the Earl would head north-east to Uyeasound at the south end of Unst:

From Uyeasound it would then be up the east coast of Unst to the most northerly destination on the route -Baltasound. Sometimes, when running late or due to winds or tides, Baltasound would be omitted from the schedule with everything possible for Unst being offloaded at Uyeasound. Unfortunately, whilst Baltasound had a pier that the Earl could use, Flit Boats were the order of the day at Uyeasound. Heavy cargo like vehicles could not be unloaded. Shipments occasionally ended up back in Lerwick. The next sequence of photos were all taken at Baltasound. The St Rognvald appears in three of the pictures and I have added a short note about her at the end of this section.

Continuing the sequence at Baltasound, the next four pictures give a fair representation of why the service was operated. I know that beef is supposed to be hung before sale and consumption but the next 3 shots seem to be taking things to the extreme:

And finally, the human cargo disembarking at Baltasound:

The working lives of the Earl and St Rognvald in the Shetlands came to an end with the advent of the RoRo Ferries in the 70’s. The Earl of Zetland is now a floating pub/restaurant on the River Tyne at North Shields.

Note 1. The St Rognvald III
The St Rognvald III was built by Hall Russell in Aberdeen in 1955 and, like the Earl, it was owned by the North of Scotland, Orkney and Shetland Shipping Company. It was significantly larger than the Earl being 1024 tons and 244ft in length. Its main purpose was to carry cargo but did have accommodation for 12 first class passengers. Because of her size she was very limited in finding places in the Northern Isles where she could berth. In the summer months she also offered cruises to the Northern Isles from Leith (Edinburgh).
Note 2. Earlier Section on the Earl of Zetland
A much shorter section on the Earl was published in 2009 here: http://ahistoryofrafsaxavord.blogspot.com/2009/11/earl-of-zetland.html

The Admiralty Building and Underwater Cables Part 1

2011-09-18T19:49:00.004+01:00

The Admiralty Building was constructed as a 2 storey building as early as 1954/5 and a year or so later a third storey was added. At the same time that this storey was added the Navy Annex was constructed. The following notes from The Public Records Office, referring to a 1953 document, show an outline of the original plan for the Admiralty Building – the notes were kindly provided by Bob Jenner.
Notes from PRO (NA) File AIR2/12064-Saxa 18-05-1953
Design and construction of a Laboratory site 70 feet North of R10 and connected to it by a corridor. It is a two storied building with a flat roof capable of carrying an additional storey later of 60’ x 30’ x 9’.
The Building to contain: Dark Room, Battery Room and Store and a Workshop to contain: 4.5” Lathe,.25”Drilling Machine, Bench Grinder, Hand Folding Machine, Small Guillotine, 120’ of benching, 100’ of steel racking, Component Storage Cupboard, Office Furniture and Stools.
Cable ducts for cables to hydrophone arrays at sea to come ashore at Burra Firth. A Naval Radar Type T277 or similar will be required. (See Note 1.)Staff will be accommodated at Haroldswick. A new RAF pattern ‘Canberra’ bungalow will be provided for Admiralty use .

Officially RAF Saxa Personnel were barred from both buildings and they were therefore associated with an air of mystery. (Left click on pictures to enlarge).

Many personnel posted to Saxa and serving on the Ops & Radar Sites for much of the life of the Unit were intrigued by the apparent Top Secret goings on associated with these buildings and rumours of underwater submarine cables were commonplace. Certainly in the early years many a serviceman left Unst with photos of Russian Trawlers in Burrafirth which were reputedly spying on these submarine operations. Stories of soviet divers going over the side to see what was going on were rife.

In fact, there were top secret “goings-on”. The copy of an obituary from an Oct 2007 Daily Telegraph (sent to me by Bob Jenner), gives an idea about how concerned the government was about the security of the project in the 50’s.

With the passage of time much of the operational work has been declassified. It came as a surprise to me that there were 2 separate projects and at least 3 phases to the operations. The first project was controlled by the Admiralty and involved scientists from Teddington and Portland – this took place in the mid to late 50’s. The second was NATO controlled and involved the use of American equipment and personnel – this happened in the early 60’s. Recently I discovered that there was a third phase to this enigma – after the US equipment and personnel moved out around the end of 1963, the UK Admiralty became active again. I have been fortunate enough to get hold of some of the data and even luckier to be given anecdotes by some of those who were involved with the projects.

Whilst this facet of Saxa Vords life did not officially involve the RAF Unit greatly there were some implications for the camp. For a period, some of the people who worked in the Admiralty Building lived on the domestic site, for part of the time the RAF Power House was needed etc. If construction work was required a number of local people were employed by firms such as Cubitts or Pearson and Tawse. Later on one of the buildings, which had been erected for the trials, was dismantled and re-erected on the Domestic Site as one of the incarnations of the Penguin Club/Skittle Alley. However, I have recently discovered a small amount of evidence of some direct RAF association with the work being carried out in the Admiralty Buildings.

When I first started looking at this subject I thought I would add a section to the blog. However, there is so much interesting material now available that there will be at least three more sections over the coming weeks.Whilst these sections will not answer all of the queries about this intriguing part of Saxas history they will provide some indications of the work undertaken. The first of these sections, to be issued in a couple of weeks, features the memories of John Marchment, who was a Scientific Officer working for the Under Water Detection Establishment at Portland. He visited Unst on a number of occasions in 1956 & 57 and has been kind enough to allow me to publish his memories of the period.

Note 1. Radar Type 277
The Type 277 Radar was a Naval radar, first produced in 1943 and was normally used for height-finding. It had a wavelength of 10cm (S Band)

Type 93

2011-09-09T22:13:00.002+01:00

In May 2010 I published a section on the departure of the Type 93 radar in 2005 using a sequence of photos taken by the lat CO Sqn Ldr Phil Carpenter:-http://ahistoryofrafsaxavord.blogspot.com/2010/05/departure-of-type-93-radar.html

Since then I have gathered a number of other pictures of the Type 93, the equipment within the Type 93 radome and other equipment in the vicinity. Not having had recent experience in the air defence/radar world I am unable to identify some of the equipment and would be very happy if anyone could help out: gordon.carle@gmail.com

The Type 93 spent 12 years at Saxa Vord, arriving in the autumn of 1993 and departing in autumn of 2005. The Type 93 was designed to be a transportable radar but early use in this mode led to unserviceabilities and breakdowns. From the outset the Saxa equipment was intended to operate from a permanent site inside a very large radome. The reason the dome was far bigger than needed was the decision to build it on the same site as the old Type 80 radome base (with a 75x25ft reflector it required lots of space). As explained earlier in the blog, the construction of the radome was no simple matter – the first 3 attempts were destroyed by gales (twice in 1989 and again at New Year 1991/2). I suspect that the arrival of the Type 93 was a bit later than originally planned.
For most of its life on the Hill the Type 93 was the only active radar. Because it was a 3D radar, capable of providing both plan and height data on targets, the HF200 height finder which had been in service for 14 years, was decommissioned in 1993. The Marconi S649 search radar was also shut down in April l 1995. It had been left without a radome after the gales of New Year 91/92, salt corrosion and weather had taken their toll. As far as I’m aware that left the Type 93 from 1995 to 2005 without any on site back-up. I would like to say that that it operated without fault for 10 years; however, life’s not like that. There were a number of significant outages, one of which is mentioned later in this section.
The arrival of the Type 93 in Lerwick en route to Unst was covered in the Shetland Times in an article which is reproduced below.

The following sequence comes from an MOD collection and is self explanatory:

The Type 93 scissor lift from a different angle and the radome with the SSSB Building:

The Type 649 was decommissioned in early 1995 and therefore the 2 photos of the radome below must have been taken before that date.

Now come the photos I would have to guess at. Most of them taken within the Type 93 Radome but some of them are outside. I suspect at least one of them belongs to the Link 11/16. I’ll leave titling them until an expert enlightens me!

The radar was originally designed to be “mobile”, though the Saxa model stayed static for around 12 years. However, when the final decision to close Saxa was taken the ability to “fold-up” the equipment and take it away came in very handy!

So what’s left of the Type 93? As far as I know just the empty dome. At 110ft diameter you could fit a couple of badminton courts (44ft in length) or even a tennis court (78ft in length) inside – unfortunately they are not in much demand on the site anymore!

The Overland Part 2

2011-09-04T12:40:00.003+01:00

In Nov 2009 a short section about the Overland was put out:
http://ahistoryofrafsaxavord.blogspot.com/2009/11/overland.html
Since then a number of people have been kind enough to allow me to use some more photos of the “overland” route and so – “The Overland Part 2”. A collection of photos follow and I thought I would post them in the opposite direction from the first section; i.e. this set starts at Belmont in Unst and finishes at Toft on the Mainland.
Starting from the Camp the first segment of the trip began in an old bus, usually driven to Belmont by the late Graham Hunter. There are numerous stories about Grahams’ driving abilities but I am not in a position to be able to verify or deny any of them.
The Bluemull Sound Crossing from Belmont to Gutcher was the shorter of the 2 overland ferry crossings, less than a mile & a half - if the wind and tide would allow a direct crossing. From the opening of RAF Saxa Vord until the introduction of the RoRo Ferries in Nov 1973, the route was operated by the Tystie, skippered by Davie Johnston (Tystie is the Shetland name for the Black Guillemot). (Left click on pictures to enlarge).

The crossing was not always rough.

On arrival at Gutcher it was necessary to disembark – not always simple at low tides and/or rough seas, especially for the old and infirm. Luggage then had to be carried to the next bus before setting off to Mid Yell on the next leg of the journey. The OC Administration Squadron in 1964 was Flight Lieutenant Dickie Bird, who did not make himself popular with the ferrymen, or airmen travelling on the ferry, by taking his Honda or Vespa scooter on trips to the Mainland and expecting everybody else to heave it on and off the Tystie and Shalder (the Yell Sound ferry – see below).

At Mid Yell passengers had to transfer to another bus for the onward trip to Ulsta at the south end of Yell. The next picture shows the transfer at Mid Yell. The person second from left in the photo is the late Jo Grimond who was MP for Orkney & Shetland from 1950 until he retired in 1983.

I’m not sure if the next picture is taken in Mid Yell or not but it seems to fit in fairly well. It shows Jo Grimond standing by a 1935 Rolls Royce Shooting Brake (it must have been a notable vehicle in Shetland at the time). It is believed that the vehicle belonged to a senior employee of the Council. It came up for auction in 2007 down south and I have a attached a note with the auction details at the end of the section.

The next group of photos were all taken at Ulsta.

The Yell Sound crossing from Ulsta to Toft (Mossbank in the early Days) was just over 3 miles. The ferry on this crossing was the Shalder (Shetland name for the Oyster Catcher). I’m not sure how many skippers there were in the life of RAF Saxa Vord. I know Bob Jarmson was the skipper in the early 60’s and the by the late 60’s Harry Ritch had taken over. The photo following shows the luxurious luggage stowage facilities on the crossing.

The next 5 pictures show the Shalder approaching, or departing from Toft and are followed by one of the Shalder at the pier

On arrival at Toft it was simply a case of transferring to the final coach, operated by Leasks, for the trip into Lerwick. I say final coach but that would mean that the passenger would have been staying on the mainland or transferring to the MV St Clair in Lerwick for the 14 hour scheduled trip to Aberdeen. If, on the other hand, the passenger was flying south it would necessitate a further bus from Lerwick to Sumburgh. Weather permitting it was possible to make Saxa to Aberdeen in a day – it just seemed longer! Before the RoRo Ferries the roads were nearly all single track with passing places. Negotiating places like Dales Lees - the long hill north of Voe - when 2 large vehicles wanted to go in opposite directions were events to remember.

Note – 2007 Auction of CLB 891

A 1935 ROLLS-ROYCE 2 0/25 SHOOTING BRAKE Registration Number: CLB 831 Chassis Number: GBJ64 Engine Number: M6C Light Grey with Tan Leather Interior Engine: Straight-six, overhead valve, 3699cc; Gearbox: Four speed manual with side change and synchromesh on top ratios; Suspension: Beam front, live rear with semi-elliptic leaf springs front and cantilever, leaf springs on rear; Brakes: Four wheel mechanically-operated servo-assisted drum. Right hand drive. In the 1930's Rolls-Royce would supply the chassis (see original invoice for chassis number GBJ-64) for individual coach builders to build their own bodies to customers requirements and it is not unusual for a car to be re-bodied more then once. This car started as a saloon and was converted in the 1950's by Jack Conten of Kensington High Street, London, his trade plates affixed to each door sill. It was converted to a two-door, ash-framed, aluminium skinned shooting brake, seating four or five passengers and with a maroon "Everflex" roof. The dashboard is veneered walnut and the window screen is hinged at the top to allow fresh air to ventilate the interior. There is a substantial luggage area behind the rear seats, which requires cosmetic enhancement as does the interior roof which is unlined. The wheel discs are optional and could be removed to reveal the wire spoked wheels, for a more sporting appearance. The car has a current tax disc and MOT (although road tax exempt) and is immediately road worthy and drivable.

Senior Sky Pilots

2011-08-28T22:04:00.001+01:00

In June 1959 the Right Reverend EF Easson, Bishop of Aberdeen & Orkney paid an informal visit to the Unit. A year later he returned, accompanied by the Reverend FJ Bowen (Group Captain – Chaplain in Chief for Fighter command). On this occasion a service of dedication was held in the new Station Church. (Left click on pictures to enlarge).

From then until the closure of the station there were frequent visits by senior churchmen including Chaplains-in-Chief of the RAF, Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, Roman Catholic Bishops of Aberdeen and various other Bishops of Aberdeen & Orkney.

Two more recent visits, about which I have a little more information, are described below:

Chaplain-in-Chief to the RAF - 1991
The Venerable Brian Lucas visited RAF Saxa Vord late in 1991. His main purpose was to open the new Station Chapel, which replaced the old church which had been housed in a wooden building near the Ice Cap (the building also housed Radio Saxa Vord for much of its’ life). As that building had been demolished around 1980 to make way for the new MTSS I presume temporary facilities had been used for services on camp for over 10 years. An article from the Shetland Times reporting on the service of dedication is below:

The interior of the new chapel can be seen in the following photo

Anglican Bishop to the RAF - 1995

The Right Reverent John Kirkham AKC MA visited the Unit in late May 1995. He was up for 2 days. I’m not sure what he did on the first day, perhaps it was a Sunday and a working day for him. On the second day of his visit he toured Fetlar and was shown Brough Lodge and the Fetlar Interpretive Centre. He also took the opportunity to visit a community of Anglican nuns “The Society of Our Lady of the Isles” in their convent. A selection of pictures from that trip follow

More Shetland Air Travel

2011-08-21T23:45:00.002+01:00

A few more reminders of air travel as experienced by servicemen and their families travelling to & from Unst, either on posting or, on leave. The photos have been grouped into two sections, the first group being associated with Sumburgh and the second, with Unst. (Left click on pictures to enlarge).

Sumburgh

Unst

The picture below must be of one of the first aircraft to use the Unst Airstrip. Loganair did not start operating scheduled services to & from Unst until 1971.

The next 3 photos are of a Devon (the RAF equivalent of the De Havilland Dove). The Devon, along with the Percival Pembroke, was quite frequently used for transporting important equipment and senior officers to and from Saxa.

I’m grateful to Rein Boomsma (Saxa 71 to 73) for allowing me to use the next series of photos depicting Loganair operations in and out of Unst in the early years of the Airstrip.

Finally; two recent pictures of the Unst Airstrip. It is officially closed and unmanned. Very occasionally a private flyer may make a short visit but it is at their own risk – though the second photo below shows that the runway is still in good condition.

Previous sections associated with Air Travel are here:-

http://ahistoryofrafsaxavord.blogspot.com/2010/01/unst-airstrip.html
http://ahistoryofrafsaxavord.blogspot.com/2009/11/travel-to-and-from-unst-by-air.html
http://ahistoryofrafsaxavord.blogspot.com/2009/11/air-transport-within-shetland.html

AVM John Allison Visit 1994

2011-08-14T23:56:00.001+01:00

In the first half of 1994 AVM John Allison, who was AOC 11 Gp until 15 Jul of that year, visited RAF Saxa Vord. I’m not sure about the purpose of the visit, perhaps it was just to say farewell. The eight b&w photos in this section were taken whilst ne was on the Unit.
The first four pictures appear to show an exchange of trophies between the AOC and the Stn Cdr. The AOC seems to be presenting a cup to the station – the wording on it is indistinct in the pictures but it looks like “HQ 11 Gp Small Stations Performance Trophy”. In return the Stn Cdr, Sqn Ldr Kevin Hann, is presenting some kind of Puffin memento to the AOC.(Left click on photos to enlarge).

The last four photos were taken up the hill, either at the Ops Site, or at the Radar Heads (possibly one or more at both sites).

Pete Brindley – More recollections of Postings to Saxa

2011-08-07T16:39:00.002+01:00

Pete Brindley has been kind enough to let me use a number of his pictures previously in this blog. Amongst other things they formed the basis for 2 complete sections:-

http://ahistoryofrafsaxavord.blogspot.com/2010/10/life-at-raf-saxa-vord-196364.html
http://ahistoryofrafsaxavord.blogspot.com/2010/08/trips-to-lerwick-specials-196364.html
Pete was posted to Saxa on 3 occasions, 1963-64, 1973 -74 and again in 1977. The pictures already published came from his first tour and the pictures in this section were all taken in the 70’s. The first 3 photos show Pete + another at Transmitters and the type of VHF radio equipment which was in use in the earlier years of the Unit.

Although Inter-Island RoRo Ferries were operating in the first half of the 70’s, the sea link between Aberdeen and Lerwick was operated by the MV St Clair III until much later. Her last trip from Lerwick to Aberdeen was in early April 1977, after that she was replaced by the first RoRo Ferry on the route. Before then, those taking vehicles to & from Shetland were faced with slightly more old fashioned techniques as the next 2 photos show.

For those travelling by air, British Airways had replaced the Dart Heralds and Viscounts with Series 2 HS748s in 1975. The next 2 photos were, I believe, taken from an HS 748 – the first at Dyce and the second on approach to Sumburgh.

All one needed on arrival at Saxa was good weather and some time off to enjoy it – good weather & time off not always happening at the same time. However, in 1977 Pete managed to be lucky for a while as can be seen in the following pictures:-

The last few photos show the radar site on Saxa. The top of the hill was a massive construction site during this period. The second picture is an enlargement from the first and a large crane can be seen, possibly involved in the erection of the new S649 radar. The final pictures give an indication of why so many have wished to return to Unst!

Functions in the Officers’ Mess in the 90’s

2011-07-31T23:25:00.005+01:00

Towards the end of the 90’s the station strength was reducing as its’ role was changing, eventually leading to the combining of messes. I have already published a section on the last function in the Officers’ Mess:

http://ahistoryofrafsaxavord.blogspot.com/2010/07/last-function-in-officers-mess.html
In most Officers’ Messes there were fairly regular functions -Dining In/Ladies Guest Night every month or two, a Burns Night at the end of January, a Summer Ball and a Christmas Draw. Obviously there was also a fair share of informal gatherings such as Happy Hours etc. I hope the following pictures will give some indication of life in the Officers’ Mess at Saxa in the 90’s
Programme for Burns Night - 26 Jan 1991

Programme for the Summer Ball - 5 Jul 1991

Departure of Sqn Ldr Kevin Hann/Arrival of Sqn Ldr Bill Gray – 1995

I presume the 3 photos below are of some kind of send off and welcoming at the changeover of the Stn Cdr; the pictures were taken at the doors to the Mess.

After the meal at a Dining In Night 1995 or 96

Christmas Draw - 1995 or 96

I would like to thank Al Callow & Ian Price for help in identifying some of the people in the photos above.

As I have said elsewhere – I would like to be able to cover events in the other Messes and Clubs but unless someone else has material I can use I won’t be able to. gordon.carle@gmail.com

Type 93 Radome -1989

2011-07-25T18:05:00.000+01:00

Depending upon ones point of view 1989 was a good or bad year on Unst for scaffolders. Work started on the construction of a geodetic dome which was intended to house a Type 93 radar. The dome was much bigger than actually required for the radar itself but, because the plan involved the use of the old Type 80 base structure, the design had to be for a large dome. Early on there was an “event”. I don’t know if it was the weather (June is usually one of the better months), design, material or competence but in June the fledgling dome collapsed as noted in the Shetland Times. (Left click on picture to enlarge)

Work commenced to rebuild the structure and by August (as seen in the previous section about the visit of Air Marshal Sir Ken Hayr) the dome was nearing completion. However, 4 weeks after he left the Shetland climate intervened in the history of Saxa Vord again. The Shetland Times covered the event again.

The sequence of pictures below shows the results of this event. I am not aware that any injuries were caused at the time and, if that was the case, luck was a major factor.

Air Marshal Sir Kenneth Hayr Visit - 1989

2011-07-18T14:24:00.000+01:00

In 1989 AM Sir Kenneth Hayr, who was Chief of Staff UK Air Forces and Deputy CinC Strike Command visited Saxa. Two of the reasons for the visit were to observe the preparations for the installation of the Type 93 radar and to present medals. The AM would have been familiar with the station having visited on a number of occasions previously when he was AOC 11 Gp in the early 80’s.
The five photos I have of the visit are below. The first two pictures show Sir Kenneth outside and then inside the Radome intended for the Type 93. This visit took place in Aug 1989 and the Type 93 did not arrive until the autumn of 1993. A reason for this 4 year gap was almost certainly the weather. A few months earlier (Jun 89) the radome collapsed at an early stage in its construction. Within a month of these photos the nearly complete the dome collapsed again. Pictures of the damage done in Sep 89 will be published soon in the next section. As luck would have it there was then the big New Year Storm of 91/92 which has been covered earlier in the blog. (Left click on photos to enlarge).

The next three pictures concern the presentation of LS&GCMs to Sgt Rose and to Sgt Matthew.

Dance –Christmas/New Year 1967/68

2011-07-10T21:00:00.003+01:00

Christmas and New Year at Saxa were normally memorable occasions. Most of the main functions tended to be held fairly early on as many servicemen, especially single people, wanted to go on leave. With Christmas being more celebrated amongst the English it became something of a tradition that, where possible, they would go on leave before Christmas - returning after Boxing Day to allow a number of Scots to get away for Hogmanay. Unfortunately this arrangement didn’t always work when bad weather prevented travel between the holidays. Even with people on leave, significant numbers of servicemen had to remain on Unst to keep the Unit operating. Events continued to be held for those that remained and many RAF personnel had their first real experience of Hogmanay celebrations amongst the local Unst Folk.

The sequence of photos which follow feature a Dance in the NAAFI which took place in the 1967/8 festive season, but the exact date isn’t known. I’m grateful to Andy Anderson for letting me use 8 of the 9 photos attached. If anyone can help identify more of the “Flower People” in the pictures I would be pleased to hear from them. I would also be happy if anyone could provide any other photos or anecdotes regarding other events on the Unit - gordon.carle@gmail.com
(Left click on pictures to enlarge).

The last 2 photos are of the band for the evening.

Ops Site Questions

2011-07-03T20:03:00.001+01:00

Over the half Century of its active life the Ops Site (sometimes known as the Mid Site) underwent many changes. Obviously, after the initial building period, the most noticeable of these took place in the period 1976-79 with the building of the R101 etc. However, there were many other alterations, some of which are outlined below. In each case I would appreciate it if anyone able to supply information which would help answer my questions, would get in touch – gordon.carle@gmail.com
The R10
There were a number of structural changes to the R10 during its lifetime. I have a couple of queries from its later life. The picture below shows part of the rear of the R10 in 1984:

The next photo was taken earlier this year:

As can be seen, two windows, near to the covered way to the heads appear to have been “bricked-up”. This leads to:

Question 1 –Does anyone know when and why the windows were bricked-up?

Another question arises from the two photos. In the first there is nothing but a pathway below the window next to the corridor leading to the R10 Rest Area/Admiralty Building. In the second photo there is a masonry structure just below the window. Similar structures were positioned just below other windows on the site, as can be seen in the next picture near the R10 entrance.

Question 2. Does anyone know what these structures were for & when they were put in place?

The Admiralty Building
The next series of questions all concern the “off-limits” Admiralty Building. It’s now no secret that the building and the 2 storey, older building next to it) were used for trials of UK/US submarine detection systems. Most of the material surrounding this work was declassified by 1991 and elements of similar detection systems have been used in recent years for tracking the movement of whales! I hope to issue a number of sections about this work in the future.The earliest reference I have to the Admiralty Building comes from a 1952 document in the Public Records Office and was passed to me by Bob Jenner. It applies to the initial building plan:

"09 02 53 Design and construction of a Laboratory sites 70 feet
North of R10 and connected to it by a corridor. It is
a two storied building with a flat roof capable of
carrying an additional storey later of 60’ x 30’ x 9’."
The earliest picture I have of the building is shown below and was taken 10 years later in 1963. It clearly shows a 3 storey building. The next question applies either to the older generation or to someone who has early site information.

Question 3. Does anyone know when the Admiralty Building was erected?

Question 4. Does anyone have any data to show that it was originally built with 2 storeys and a third storey subsequently added, if so when was the third storey constructed?
Whilst I’m aware that the Admiralty Building was “off limits”, it too underwent a number of alterations which would have been obvious to many people working on the site. The next picture shows the Admiralty as it was in 1983:

Sometime between 1983 and 2011 the building “grew “an extension at the left-hand end (possibly an emergency staircase) and a metal cladding was added:

Question 7. What was the extension, when was it and the metal cladding added to the Admiralty Building?

Power

The following picture is another extract from a 1963 MOD over flight photo. It shows a single electricity sub-station to the west of the R10. This building remained the only sub-station in that area until after 1984.

However, when I visited the site in April 2011 it was obvious that another sub-station had been built. I presume it was a replacement for the earlier one but the earlier one was not demolished.

Question 8. When was the newer sub-station built?

For many years there used to be a Standby Power House & fuel tanks in front of the R10 entrance – a photo from around 1984 shows the location:

From the entrance to the R10 it looked like this:

They were still there during the big storm of New Year 91/92 but sometime between then and station closure the Standby Power House was demolished and the tanks removed. A recent photo of the area is below:

Question 9. When were the fuel tanks and Standby Power House removed?

If anyone can provide answers to these questions it would be appreciated if they would email me at: gordon.carle@gmail.com

I’m sure I will be asking further questions in the future!

SHE – 1974/75 Build

2011-06-26T21:13:00.001+01:00

In the previous sections I have written about Setters Hill Estate I have made a serious omission. A large construction phase has been overlooked and in this section I hope to go some way in rectifying the situation.

In Apr 74 a detachment from 53 Field Sqn Royal Engineers (based at Waterbeach, Cambridge ) arrived to work on services, drainage and access roads for a new batch of quarters to be erected next to the Dorran quarters at SHE. The Royal Engineers were scheduled to be based at Saxa for 4 months but in fact completed their work on 16 Jul 74.
The new Quarters were factory built and assembled on site - I believe some of the work was carried out by a Scottish company called “Pearson & Tawse”- they carried out a fair amount of work in Shetland. Not unusually the winter of 74/5 was pretty poor and by Mar 75 the Station History reports that the build was a month behind schedule. The RAF officially took over 12 of the new Quarters in Jun 75 and the rest were expected to be complete by the end of August (I don’t have a final completion date).
The first photo shows the first “Dorran” Quarters which were taken over in 1967 on the left and the taller 74/75 build on the right.

The next 3 pictures show this build of quarters probably in the 80’s. The quarter on the right in the third picture was the location of the “Hive”.

The “Hive” was still in the same place in 2002 as can be seen in this picture, taken at the time of the Annual Formal Inspection.

The photo below must have been taken around 1994 with the construction of the last build at SHE (93 to 95) well underway.

The quarters are still standing, some occupied, some empty and some for sale. The current look of the “patch” can be seen in the two recent photos below.

These photos below are included mainly for nostalgia. They are all fairly recent and show “the patch” from 4 different directions.

At some stage in the future, if the pace of life slows down a bit, I will attempt to amalgamate this section with the 3 previous sections on SHE. Hopefully, this will result in a more logical and readable narrative. I would welcome any suitable material:- gordon.carle@gmail.com

Links to the 3 previous sections on SHE below:-

http://ahistoryofrafsaxavord.blogspot.com/2010/01/she-setters-hill-estate.html

http://ahistoryofrafsaxavord.blogspot.com/2010/10/she-setters-hill-estate-1993.html

http://ahistoryofrafsaxavord.blogspot.com/2010/11/rebuild-of-she-1993-to-1995.html

Functions in the Officers’ Mess in the 80’s

2011-06-19T19:22:00.002+01:00

Once again all the pictures used here have been taken from the scrapbooks left by my late father-in-law, Hughie McMeechan. Therefore, I am unable to attribute credit for the pictures and will remove any of them should the owners object. I would like to acknowledge the help I have received from George & Anne Keith, Stew &Gisela Dorward & Hugh (Shetrad) in identifying some of the people in the photos.

From Jun 79 to Feb 81. Stn Cdr – Sqn Ldr George Keith

From Feb 81 to Sep 82. Stn Cdr – Sqn Ldr John France

From Sep 82 to Feb 84. Stn Cdr – Sqn Ldr Stewart Dorward

From Feb 84 to Jun 85. Stn Cdr – Sqn Ldr Ian MacDonald

Unfortunately I have no photos of functions in the second half of the 80’s and would welcome any contributuions.

gordon.carle@gmail.com

Soccer at Saxa Vord

2011-06-12T16:08:00.002+01:00

Like most sports, soccer at Saxa was popular, whether it was just inter-section 6-a-side tournaments on base or, representing the station. In the early years representing the station usually meant playing both home and away games on the Shetland mainland. In the days before the RoRo inter-island ferries local teams could not afford either the time or the money to make the round trip to & from Unst. For the Saxa teams the overland trip (5 hrs each way) was a more practical option. The services had a separate budget for sporting activities and most servicemen welcomed to opportunity of an excuse to get off the island for a while and the chance to visit the pubs and entertainment available in Lerwick – away matches nearly always involved a night stop in the “big city”. Three or four times a season the lads would be off down to Lerwick on a Friday afternoon, play a match in the early evening and then have a night out on the town. On Saturday they would spend the morning shopping or, more likely recovering, before playing another match in the afternoon. A special overland would be arranged to take them back to Unst early Saturday evening.

One unusual fact about soccer in the islands compared with mainland UK is that it tends to be a summer rather than winter activity. The weather and short hours of daylight meant that holding regular winter competitions was impractical.

The Most Successful Season
In 1962, whilst there were still some National Servicemen on the Unit, Saxa entered the Shetland football league for the first time. The team went on to win the Madrid Cup – the premier Soccer trophy in Shetland. The Cup was first presented in 1908 and is still keenly fought for today. 1962 was the only occasion when a Saxa team was able to lift this trophy. That year the team went on to win just about every trophy available to them. An article from the Scottish Daily Express and a photo of the seasons trophies are below. (Left click on pictures to enlarge).

The Le Cheminant Trophy

Sqn Ldr J Le Cheminant was the Stn Cdr from Jan 68 to Feb 70. In 1969 he introduced the Le Cheminant Trophy to be played for by the RAF Saxa Vord team and an Unst “Select” side chosen by the local footballers on Unst. This led to a series of matches over the following years. I’m not sure what the fixture consisted of in the early days but later on it was decided over two “legs”.

A couple of the fixtures are the subject of the 3 pictures below:-

The Astroturf Pitch

As part of the Station rebuild an all-weather Astroturf pitch was constructed near the site for the Nordabrake Quarters/New Officers' Mess at a cost of £900,000. An article about the official opening in 1991 from the Shetland Times is reproduced below:

During the period when the Unit operated as RRH Saxa Saxa Vord, the strength was reduced to less than 70. I suspect that Saxa could no longer field a full team and the pitch started to deteriorate. After the closure of RAF Buchan and the return to Station status it was decided to refurbish the pitch. In Oct 2004 a contract, worth £40,000 was awarded for the “rejuvenation” of the Astroturf pitch – shame the Unit closed 16 months later.

Three Team Photos
The first of these is from the 1970 era and I’m grateful to Andy Anderson, who appears in the picture and to Andy Parkinson who was at Saxa 69 -71 for helping identify some of those featured.

The second (slightly out of focus) photo comes from my late father-in-laws collection. There is no date but I presume it is an RAF Saxa Team playing an away game at an airfield.

The third photo comes from Frank Josephs and shows the Saxa Team 1986/87.

Help in identifying people in the pictures above would be appreciated.

Shetland Times Cuttings

The final part of this section consists solely of cuttings from the Shetland Times and is probably just of interest to those who were involved with soccer during their time at Saxa. I have attempted to put them in a chronological sequence – but it difficult as some do not have the day & month on them.

Radio Saxa Vord - RSV

2011-06-05T22:59:00.004+01:00

One day I hope to write a definitive history of Radio Saxa Vord. However, unless you take that first step, the journey never ends. A number of people have been good enough to share their experiences of RSV and, combined with my own experience as Officer i/c from Nov 1967 to Mar 1969, I am going to make a first stab at that history here. Because RSV had to go off the air on a number of occasions - unserviceability, need for refurbishment and, more than once, the demolition of its location, a number of people during its history feel that they were in at the start of RSV. In fact, the start of RSV was in 1959 and the original location was the Main Guardroom. The following is the part of the text of a letter I received from David Goodall, who was posted to RAF Saxa Vord in 1959.

“Radio Saxa Vord was not in the true sense a radio broadcast station but a wired speaker system with selectable channels the idea of, I believe from Flt Michael Daly, a very popular officer.

The main equipment was on site but not fully installed and working in all rooms and blocks when I arrived in October 1959.
The main equipment was installed in a room at the rear of the guardroom, and from memory not very large space, the equipment mounted in standard 19 inch racks. Later a studio was built across the road in one of the old contractors wooden huts opposite the main gate, with soundproofing and a separating glass screen, all looked very professional and well made by the AMWD carpenter. This was used to pre record homemade programmes, inter section quizzes and Music programmes - the most popular.
The routing of the cabling went through the heating ducts, which ran to every block on the site. The wireless section being the main contractor, By March we had connected all the camp. The equipment, donated by the J Arthur Rank organisation, comprised two high power amplifiers, record deck, Ferrograph Mk5 7inch reel to reel recorders, mixers and microphones, cable and switchboxes, also the RAF had found two wonderful AR88 Communication Receivers for us providing the BBC Home Service to keep us in touch with world and home news. The alterative channel was all popular music wherever we could receive it from, mostly Radio Luxembourg during the evening when reception was good.
When fully working there was no shortage of Tony Blackburn’s and producers “fighting each other for” airtime. The system worked well with only minor faults, all usually man made! I hated being tracked down in my free time by someone complaining at the sudden loss of Radio Luxembourg, only to find vital parts of the system missing and now being used for a dance at the Sergeants’ Mess! or, one person in particular, thinking all the control knobs looked prettier when all set in the same position, usually twelve o’clock!”

In about 1961 the equipment was moved from the Guardroom to a wooden building across the road near where the Ice Cap and Squash Court was to be located. The front half of the building became the Station Church – the rear became RSV (having separate entrances was handy). The photo below shows the building in the period 1961/3. (Left click on Pictures to enlarge).

I’m grateful to Patrick Bunn who sent me the clipping below. It is of low resolution but it is believed to show a DJ at work in RSV shortly after the move to the new location.

On many occasions during its history RSV took part in fund raising – and early example can be seen in the clipping from Station Routine Orders (SROs) in 1963 which belongs to Pete Brindley.

A number of attempts were made to break records set by other Units. The first of these that I have information about took place in 1966/67 Christmas/New Year period and is the subject of the Shetland Times article below

This led to a further record attempt about 6 months later as can be seen in this second Shetland Times cutting:

One of the RSV DJs at the time, Fred Curtis, was also a Radio Ham and featured in a number of articles, one of which from a 1967 issue of The Short Wave Magazine, is reproduced below:

Due to wear and tear (extensive use) the equipment was in great need refurbishment or replacement and so RSV went off the air for a rebuild. From being one of the most popular places on camp (DJs were almost like pop stars – or at least they thought so), RSV became almost deserted. It was left to a keen J/T, with a little help from a few others, to get the station back on the air. Of course all the work was done voluntarily in people’s off-duty time - in Unst there were plenty of other things to do in the summer/autumn months.

This is where I came in, arriving in Nov 67 – a snotty Pilot Officer on my first Operational tour. There were 14 officers on the Unit, including the CO. I attended my arrival interview with the Stn Cdr and left with 6 secondary duties, including Officer i/c RSV – didn’t have a clue what the initials meant at the time. At this stage I would like to claim credit for getting RSV back on the air, but I can’t. Early in the New Year (68) I was called into see the new Stn Cdr and told that PSI (Public Services Institute - non public funds in those days) had spent a fortune on RSV and it was still off the air. The ultimatum was – get it back on the air soon or funds will cease. Fortunately the hard-working J/T and colleagues were nearly complete (even enough egg boxes for the walls and ceiling to improve the studios acoustics!) By the spring of 68 we were back on the air.

Two things I will claim credit for. Firstly, I persuaded PSI to authorise a contract with the “Music Box” the main record shop in Lerwick. The contract was for them to post every record which entered the Top Ten (Melody Maker Charts I seem to remember) to Saxa on a weekly basis – no point in having record programmes without up to date material. Secondly, I wrote a number of letters to BFBS (British Forces Broadcasting Service) persuading them to start supplying RSV with their transcription services. I pointed out that Unst was far more remote than many of the Units they were supplying in Germany etc. I was amazed when the first 12” Vinyl Records started to arrive – Goon Shows, Round the Horne etc. To this day I regret obeying the BFBS caveat – copyright material and not to be duplicated. Everyone else from then onwards was merrily taping, but as Officer i/c I had to appear to maintain standards.
The next picture is from 1969 and is from a large article about Saxa which appeared in the Daily Express. It shows Andy Parkinson as a DJ in RSV – Andy worked in Supply and was member of a number of bands/groups on the Unit.

In 1970 another record attempt took place, this time a solo effort by SAC Mike Cutler in order to raise funds for charity. The article and picture below come from the front page of the Shetland Times of 18 December 70.

The next 3 pictures belong to Rein Boomsma, who worked as an Air Defence Operator at the Ops Site. In his spare time he was an active DJ at RSV. The pictures were taken around 1972.

Rein explains another “off the air” period in 1972 – “RSV was again re-equipped with brandnew decks, mixers and taperecorders, both reel to reel and cassette which at this time was becoming popular. This happened in 1972 during the summer. Both a tech J/T and tech SAC did most of the hard work with a few of us doing test broadcasts as and when required.
I am sorry, I can see both their faces but for the life of me can't remember their names.The station was off the air for about two weeks while this went on in Aug.The pictures of mine show the new equipment as installed. The radio (BBC radio 2) was left as the original setup. Radio Luxemburg was no longer available as we were down to just the one receiver and no more funds available for a second one, apart from the fact that the Don10 wiring was in a bad state of repair during this time and again, funding stopped any further modernisation. The CO at that time was not too interested in RSV.” He goes on to explain the disposal of some of the equipment which was stripped out.
“I remembered as I was reading it about the equipment that was taken out during the '72 refurb and the story about the Ferrograph Mk5 taperecorder. My friend --- --------, who was a fellow DJ on RSV bought it for about a pound I think and as far as I know, it still exists in Exeter to this day. I last spoke to him about 6mths ago and the story came up about RSV and what happened to the old stuff when he mentioned it. I do remember it weighed a ton. At the time no one else was interested in the machine as it was old tech, It took 5mins to warm up (valves) and hummed when switched on. I had a Sony 500A at the time, it too hummed but not as bad as the Ferrograph!
The joys of mains hum. The kids today are missing so much.”

Another record attempt was made in 1977, this time by SAC Alan Cooper. The 3 newspaper clippings below show some of the media coverage of this event.

Unusually for a historical story, the more recent years have been more difficult to research. Sometime around 1980 the building which had housed RSV was demolished. The demolition must have occurred in the preparations for the new MTSS complex. RSV had been located where the 3 portacabins are centre-right in the photo below.

I have conflicting advice as to where and when RSV started up again. What is not in dispute is that it restarted in the early 80’s on the main camp – i.e., on the other side of the Main Guardroom. I believe that the location was the old Ground Defence Section/Fire section, next to the Guardroom, as seen in the picture below:

RSV’s life in that building was comparatively short as it too was demolished as part of the Domestic Site rebuild, I’m not sure when this was but suspect it was around 1992/3. I do know that by 1994 RSV was operational in a new location and, for the first time, there was a transmitter, rather than fixed connections using Don10 cable through the heating ducts. A low-powered transmitter enabled reception over the domestic site – the signal could not reach as far as SHE or the top sites. Throughout its existence RSV was limited to the Domestic Site area. The new location was in the old PSA Building next to the NAAFI Shop. In the 1994/5 AOC’s Inspection photo below the transmitter aerial can be seen on the short pole just to the right of the AOC and Stn Cdr.

The next photo, from Andy Maddock, shows the RSV studio set-up as it was in 1995.

How long RSV continued to operate after this I don’t know. I suspect that, with the drawdown happening around 2000, the end must have been quite soon after that last photo. Diminishing numbers and access to other forms of entertainment would have lessened the need for RSV (multi-channel TV for example, when I arrived there was just one channel).

One aspect of RSV I haven’t mentioned until now is the provision of “Discos” at Unit functions. Throughout its existence RSV provided a pool of DJs, equipment and music which helped support many a function. Whether it was supporting a band or being the main source of music, the RSV Discos were booked to functions in all the Messes and occasionally were in demand off station. On more than one occasion they provided the entertainment at beach parties. The 2 pictures below show an RSV Disco in the NAAFI (date unknown but probably in the 70’s) and part of the programme for the Officers’ Mess Christmas Draw in 1993.

I’m sure that the final closing of RSV must have been celebrated in some way, hopefully it didn’t just fade away. If any of you feel short-changed as your part in the history of RSV hasn’t been related, I apologise. However, I can only use the material I have and will quite happily put out a Part Two or amend this section if I receive more photos/anecdotes. ----- gordon.carle@gmail.com

Charities Events Part 3

2011-05-29T00:00:00.002+01:00

A number of charity events have been covered previously. This section covers a few more – the generosity of service personnel, their families and local population was such that were charity events frequently throughout the history of RAF Saxa Vord. I can only include those occasions I know about so if anyone feels left out because their hard work is not included, I would be happy to put together future sections if I am given information and pictures.

Sometime ago I wrote a small piece about the Gala Day, which was held in May 1969, just a couple of months after I had been posted to RAF Buchan: http://ahistoryofrafsaxavord.blogspot.com/2009/12/gala-day-24-may-1969.htmlAt the time the following cutting from the Shetland Times was not available to me.At

The next 2 clippings from the Shetland Times refer to charity events in 1977. The first clipping mentions a performance of the pantomime Cinderella which will be covered in more detail in the future.

In 1979 a couple of servicemen, with support, took part in a sponsored cycle run from Saxa to Sumburgh and back in aid of the Shetland Multiple Sclerosis Society. The Shetland Times covered the event.

In the same year the Wives Club, always to the fore when it came to fundraising, held its Annual Charity Bazaar. The article below from the Dec 79 issue of the Shetland Times shows some of the crowd at the Bazaar. I have to admit that I find the sum raised - £1354 – over 30 years ago on an Island with such a small population phenomenal. Perhaps the figure is the sum raised over a number of events.

In 1980 the Station presented £100 to Da Longship Committee. The Viking Longship replica is still on the go. In recent years, crews with a different sense of self preservation from me have been seen in her as far away as mainland Scotland and Norway. The photo was taken in 2010.

The next series of extracts are from The Stockport Messenger (1983) and from the Shetland Times (1984).

The participants in the Sumburgh sponsored run in the article above are shown in the photo below.

In 1985 the proceeds from a Daft Pram Race (unfortunately no pictures) and the Wives Club Annual Charity Bazaar (also no photos) were used to purchase a computer for the Bells Brae Special Unit.

The next clipping from the Shetland Times is undated but, looking at the names of the people involved, I suspect it was about 1988

The next 5 articles are from 1989, the first from the RAF News and then 4 from the Shetland Times (two undated).

I believe that the picture below came from the RAF News in May 1990. Unst is still a great place for “Twitchers” with many rare birds seen each year.

Finally, in this section, the presentation of a reclining chair to Ward 2 of the Gilbert Bain Hospital which was featured in the 4 Feb 94 issue of the Shetland Times. I have also included a clearer photograph taken at the same event.