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 It
was on December 5th 1966, that troops of the 3rd
Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, found the terror campaign
being carried right to their "doorstep", in the tented
Radfan Camp, sited on the sandy stretch between the sea and
Sheikh Othman - Khormaksa / Crater road.
Company's forming up ready to move out on operations suddenly
scattered with soldiers diving for cover as the crump of
exploding mortar bombs filled the air along their lines and in
the Sergeants Mess area.
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 This
was the Battalions introduction to the terrorist device known as
the Drainpipe mortar. Fashioned from steel drain-pipes the
weapons were set into the ground by the terrorists who made their
getaway before the bombs where fired by electrically operated
time switches.
After this attack on Radfan Camp, 30 of the mortar tubes were
found on the outskirts of the nearby Arab village. A faulty
wiring system had fortunately, prevented 18 of the home made
weapons from launching their bombs |
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 Since
then the Pompadours have come under fire from a further 19 mortar
attacks during which nearly 100 bombs have been fired. Since the
Battalion arrived in Aden in October 1966, it has been
responsible for "Area North" which is the largest of
all the areas covered by units of the "Aden Brigade".
The terrain varies from sand-baked desert to the muddy soil of
the Saltpans and from the massed rubbish and old iron dumps of
the Drain area to the comparatively palatial buildings of the Al
Mansoura district. Nearly all areas have their clusters of "Kutcha"
hut villages made up of discarded packing cases and corrugated
iron and cardboard.
In the center of these areas lies the dirty though comparatively
orderly building blocks of Al Qahira and the main trouble spot of
Sheikh Othman with its infamous grenade corner.
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And
what a trouble center it is ! During their seven months in Aden
the Anglians have been involved in no less than 430 security
incidents. Their patrols have come under grenade attack on 158
occasions and they have undergone 10 attacks by rocket launcher,
20 by energa grenades, 20 mortar and 190 by small arms fire and
seven other devices. Sixteen electrically-detonated mines and six
pressure mines have added to their trials.
The Pompadours have not always been on the
receiving end however their patrols have shot and killed six
sneak bombers and injured a further 11. They have also made
several arrest |
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