Oxfordshire

Contributed by 
Danny Sails
9/12 Royal Lancers

I joined the 12 lancers in 1958 and was posted to Wolfenbuttel.then on to Cyprus in 1959  sailing on troopship SS Devonshire. I did many  land rover patrols with MP's around the murder mile in Nicosia in that year before a peace deal was signed, we Amalgamated with the 9th lancers on our return to Tidworth 1961  and then it was off to Omagh for two years. N.Ireland was trouble free, believe it or not and a good time was had by most .then out to Aden towards the end of 1962 on the SS Oxfordshire which I believe was her last voyage, We had lifeboat drills when waiting to go through the Sues canal even lowering the rowing boats and a paddle around the Med. been a troopship we had priority going into the canal first and a safe passage through, it was,  then  the  overpowering  SS.Canberra sailed past us as if we had stopped and everyone cheered as we knew the England tesk cricket team were on board. or for some other reason who knows. Aden was to be  like the year we spent in  Cyprus, trouble  for the first few months,  Crater the hot spot and the eye of any storm. my journey home after that year was another first, for me anyhow, as the Comet jet was new into servise,and we were on it heading for blighty.Our next posting to Osnabruck,was very cold after the middle east, the years had passed quick,i was edging into my 8th year of a nine year engagement, to be a full corporal and driving the CO col brockbank who is now a maj gen rtd was the icing on my cake, and to share the staff car with capt pye .now brig pye on the return trip from our successful ski team trip in OBERJOCK who could ask for more except there was more, the queen mother who was our col in chief  had visited the regt in osnabruck a while earlier, not quite a hand shake but been the CO's driver I was mighty close and im sure I got a smile.