With tribute to:

Martin Spirit

James Paul

Co-written by:

David Carter

Britain's Small Wars

The preservation of British Military History

Launched, Sunday 11th November 2018. Dedicated and paying tribute to veterans who have served in small conflicts since World War Two. This is an unofficial website with no ties to the Ministry of Defence. We would also like to pay a special tribute to Martin Spirit. For more information please read the About BSW page.

Latest updates

Last updated: Feb 10, 2019

The Aden Withdrawal November 1967 - Aden - 1964-1967

In 1966 whilst onboard H.M. Submarine Auriga, I spent a most enjoyable stay in Aden stopping there enroute for a long commission based on Singapore. From my diary of that time, I note that we arrived at 1340 on Sunday the 20th February when the weather was 85f... read more.

Last updated: Feb 10, 2019

The Ever Readies Aden 1965 - Aden - 1964-1967

I became involved in the British Army's operations in Aden as a member of the Territorial Army; I was not a regular soldier. I had originally joined the services as a boy seaman in the Royal Navy, aged 15, in 1951.... read more.

Last updated: Feb 10, 2019

Tales from Aden 1955 to 1957 - Aden - 1964-1967

I remember when we were in Aden in 66 Rifle Squadron and we used to go up country when the natives got restless. One time we were going up with a convoy of supplies and we came under fire.... read more.

Last updated: Feb 10, 2019

RASC in Aden and the Radfan - Aden - 1964-1967

I was posted to Aden from Aldershot in Feb 1964 after basic training as a driver in the RASC, at Yeovil, & Aldershot. I was so excited to be going to a place like Aden and not Germany... read more.

Some of the Featured

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Monks Field was a tented outpost on a flat plain near Wadi Taym on the Yemeni / Aden Protectorate border. Wadi Taym provided one of the main mountain passes through from Yemen into Aden. The plain was almost completely surrounded by mountains, most of them over 1000 ft.... read more.

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The war in Europe was over and we were stationed in the Syrian orphanage just outside Jerusalem. Having got through six years of wartime service without seeing any active service due to an injury to my feet... read more.

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When the Cabinet mission arrived in Delhi in March, it had three members, Cripps, A.V. Alexander and Pethick-Lawrence.... read more.

The Dhofar - Oman - 1969-1976
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By July 1970, the province of Dhofar in western Oman was almost entirely in the hands of Communist-backed rebels belonging to the Popular Front for the Liberation of the Occupied Arabian Gulf (PFLOAG).... read more.

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On 24th February, at 1 am GMT. Just before dawn in the Gulf, the army of the 28-nation alliance rolled into Kuwait and Iraq.... read more.

Radforce - Radfan - 1964-1967
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With 'Cap-Badge' secured, the forces composing 'Radforce' now consisted of 39 Brigade under Brigadier Blacker, a force containing 45 Commando, the 1st East Anglians, the 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, the 1st Scottish Borderers and the 1st Battalion, the Royal Scots,... read more.

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The SAS Selection course was, and still is, incredibly tough, designed to weed out the candidates not suited to the service's special sort of operations. At that time, the SAS was only operational unit in Malaya,... read more.

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This collection of East African Military Postal history covers the post World War II period of the area up until the three countries gained their independence.... read more.