The First camp to be Attacked
By Rabbi Burns RAF Regiment
On the 21st January I was detailed for a detachment to go to Cyprus, as the EOKA were getting restless. We flew to RAF Nicosia and then were taken by convoy to RAF Akrotiri, where we had a meal and then loaded up our vehicles with tents, equipment, barbed wire sandbags, etc. Then we set off up the Troodos Mountains to a selected campsite near Khato Khivides village where we found an RAF radar unit ensconced awaiting our arrival to guard them. Once we had set up the camp and sorted out the defences we started our guard rotation with 12 men on guard, 12 men off and 12 men on camp duties.
This went well for a while, but one night in February and I cannot remember the exact date, (old age) when a goodly amount of the camp personnel were down at RAF Episkopi for R&R at the NAAFI and a film show, just about the time they were due back, we were hit with automatic fire from several points around the camp. It would have been about 0030hrs, I had not been long off stag and was in the Guard Tent lying on a bed and chatting to LAC Geoff Toes, when the crap hit the fan. Geoff jumped from the bed and smashed the light bulb with a brush and we all hit the deck.
Cpl. McLeod, the Guard Commander, ordered us to get our rifles and get outside. I grabbed a Bren and tried to get out to the sandbagged position at the
camp gate, which was about 25 yards away from the front of the tent. However,
the fire was pouring in to the front of the tent so Geoff and I tried to get out from the side forgetting that the tent was ringed by barbed wire. Anyway, I finally got out and so did Geoff who had grabbed a box of magazines and we got the Bren set up on the tripod at the post at the front gate and I opened up on the muzzle flashes that I could see. Just at that moment
we could hear the sound of transport approaching the camp from the road. All firing from outside ceased and we stopped also but kept alert just
in case they started up again. Round the bend came the 3-tonner with all the blokes on it that had been down at Episkopi, and they got the shock of their lives when they found out that we had been under fire when they arrived.
The thing was that there was only one guy armed on the truck who was on escort, while all the rest were unarmed. If the EOKA terrorists had only hit the truck, all of them would have been casualties, if not killed. We went out in patrol strength with most of us carrying automatic weapons i.e. Sten guns and I had the Bren and had a good search but the terrorists had taken off. Sgt. Black and Flying Officer Minto reckoned they had thought that the truck was bringing reinforcements to help us. This was one of the first attacks on camps, if not the very first, and was reported in most of the newspapers and also in the Scotsman as SAC Scobie, one of the boys, had it sent to him by his Mum and we read all about our action.
Stan Batson adds:
I was on detatchment from R.A.F.Nicosia to 751 Signals unit. I was a M.T.M.D(H) and together with 2 other drivers was responsible for ferrying all the radar equipment up the mountain, scanners (2 I think) ops.room mobile generators and all ancillary equipment and buildings. On the night of the attack I was the driver of the 3 toner (I thought it was a Austin 1 toner) but the item is probably right as my memory is a bit suspect these days. On the way back from Episkopi that night, one of the airmen fell off the back of the truck as we were going through the hairpins which delayed us a few minutes otherwise the outcome could have been very different. My memory of the Officer i/c. name I cannot remember but he was a Flying Officer, was that he was nicknamed 'Fred the Sheriff' as he used to swagger around camp with his hostered piston slung very low from hiws webbing belt. There was a Corporal Ivor ????? who was in charge of the NAFFI tent, the next morning when the damage was being assessed, 3 bullet holes were found entering Ivor's tent but not exiting, on closer inspection they were found in Ivor's mattress (biscuit) and he had slept through it all, how lucky he was. I have many photos of the camp but they are of very po9or quality, I also have photos of No.1153 Marine Craft Unit, Xeros. I hope that this may be of interest to you. I am Stan Batson and waqs 4112125 SAC Batson S.R. I was demobilised is Sept.1956 direct from Cyprus one week at Innsworth to finalise things.
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