Makes you think !

I was just looking at The Journal of The Queen's own Hussars (Apr 71).

In there is an account of a journey undertaken by a party of eight men from A & C squadrons, in HK and Singapore.

Starting from Calcutta, in two Rovers, they drove from India and Pakistan, via the Khyber pass (!) through Iran, Turkey, Greece, Yugoslavia, Italy and France where they took the ferry to the UK.

How the world has changed, I wouldn't give much for their chances of a repeat performance these days !

(The BAOR link is that they were joining the regiment in Hohne).

besides the all the baddies and the IEDs the price of fuel would make it a no no

And they'd be arrested as they crossed the border and charged with being imperialist spies!

Didn`t Blashford-Snell do something similar?..Driving from Alaska to the tip of South America.

I only rode a motorbike back from Cyprus via Malta, travelling initially on an RN Minesweeper - HMS Santon. So my journey was nothing compared to the QOH boys.

Jimsigs1

brum wrote:

I was just looking at The Journal of The Queen's own Hussars (Apr 71).

In there is an account of a journey undertaken by a party of eight men from A & C squadrons, in HK and Singapore.

Starting from Calcutta, in two Rovers, they drove from India and Pakistan, via the Khyber pass (!) through Iran, Turkey, Greece, Yugoslavia, Italy and France where they took the ferry to the UK.

How the world has changed, I wouldn't give much for their chances of a repeat performance these days !

(The BAOR link is that they were joining the regiment in Hohne).

I served with 51 (Kabul) Bty from 73 - 76, the BC at the time thought that it might be a good idea for members of the Bty to visit Kabul - he was dissuaded by the FO.

Presume nobody was allowed to visit Kabul then.

Jimsigs1

I served with 51 (Kabul) Bty from 73 - 76, the BC at the time thought that it might be a good idea for members of the Bty to visit Kabul - he was dissuaded by the FO. [/quote]

My old battery,"N" Bty ( The Eagle Troop)'s battle honours were "Hyderabad" and "Afghanistan".

Even in the days of the British Raj things did not go well for the army in that region !

jimsigs1 wrote:

Presume nobody was allowed to visit Kabul then.

Jimsigs1

Not in those days, Jim. You could be captured by baddies and taken up the Khyber.

From 1971 to 1973 I was posted at the British High Commission (aka Embassy) in Islamabad having just transferred from Dhaka (at the "request" of the Pakistani Military Governor there). On my mid tour leave in UK I purchased a special Ford Motor Sport - built Ford Escort Mexico and in the company of a female friend drove it from London to Islamabad in winter. Anyone familiar with Eastern Turkey, the Iranian mountains and parts of Afghanistan will know about the weather we had. The journey was written up for the Ford Motor Sport magazine and took us 14 days which included non-driving days in Istanbul, Ankara (looking for snow chains), Teheran and Kabul. Had no problems such as would be found today.
Two years later in summer 1973, again with a female companion I drove back to UK using the same route except for a northern trip via the Black Sea in Turkey and the coast road via Dubrovnik in Yugoslavia, this trip took only 10 days.

Not put off by these two long drives, in 1974 I drove from London again in winter to Jedda in a Mark 4 Lotus 7, I've never been so cold in my life, especially on the southward stretch from Ankara to the mediterranean coast.

PS does anyone know how I get rid of the picture showing me as a sergeant in the Royal Artillery when I was in REME ?

brum wrote:

I served with 51 (Kabul) Bty from 73 - 76, the BC at the time thought that it might be a good idea for members of the Bty to visit Kabul - he was dissuaded by the FO.

My old battery,"N" Bty ( The Eagle Troop)'s battle honours were "Hyderabad" and "Afghanistan".

Even in the days of the British Raj things did not go well for the army in that region ![/quote]

Any army that has dared to invade, or whatever word you might wish to use, Afghanistan has met with hardship and defeat....the Russians basically abandoned their attempts and, as brum mentions, the British Raj didn't fare too well here either.

So when the Americans/Brits/Canadians and what-have-you decided to get involved in AF I thought to myself "does no one ever learn from history?" Guess not....

Not sure what it is about the place...certainly the Afghanis are deeply territorial even "patriotic" although not in the sense we know in the West. And they know those mountain passes like the back of their hands. There's a thousand plus year history of invasion and nobody has succeeded, not even Alexander the Great or any conqueror to come after him.

The whole thing is basically tribal strife plus plus plus....and while I recognize the strategic importance of Afghanistan, given its geographical location and all, and I understand the humanitarian aspect of liberating it from the clutches of the Taliban, I think we should have left them to sort it out the best way they knew how. Democracy, as we define it, will never be established in such countries. It is a completely foreign concept, totally alien to them. The corruption is too deep and too much a part of the culture for it ever to be eradicated. The vendettas have gone on for generations and won't end just because 'the western powers' establish a presence and try and impose democracy.....there's a thousand years of imposition of some wonderful ideal of governing and none have 'taken'. Leave them to themselves unless they pose a threat to us (i.e. the West).

Hi Malaboman,

You say you arn't happy being a Sgt in the RA. Wait until you are promoted to S/Sgt you will then be in the Royal Armoured Corps !!!

Cheers

Jimsigs1

Could be worse...Could be RA

Gordon,
The picture already shows him as a Sgt in the RA. That was what he was commenting about.
Jimsigs1

Oops sorry Jim...

Alas it can`t get any worse