1st of May 1972
A gibbon was sent down from Midway with a wasting disease.
X-rayed it, took its blood and filled it full of Alcopar, iron and vitamins.
The mumps has me strongly in its grip.
The glands but not the constitutional upset.
Hope it spares my balls!

2nd of May 1972
A couple of minor cases.
Only one fresh.

3rd of May 1972
Moved into the new Twynham hut at last.
Went on the most interesting tour of Salalah, old Salalah, Mamurah with  Jack Sullivan the Int officer from U al G.

4th of May 1972
One splinter wound, the CSE show and early to bed with one hell of a headache.

5th of May 1972.
Still the headache.
Two dead in today.
One SAF with neck, arm, wounds and leg blown off up by the hip.
AP mine at Akoot B I D
Second was our first BATT.
“B” Squadron only out here a week, his first patrol, married.
Four of them with a firqa at the border.
Also some camel handlers.
In the morning the camel handlers had vanished and three very accurate mortar bombs appeared from the skies.
Four of the firqa were killed and the BATT man (Tpr Martin) took mortar fragment in the right scapula, albeit a small one, which must’ve ploughed right through his main vessels.
Quite stiff on arrival.
We will deep-freeze him down to -25° C and then solder in a zinc coffin to send him home.
The death certificate, as the politicians insist, will be made out as “accidental drowning while swimming” with no other contributing causes.
Four hundred are said to be massing to attack Taqaa sometime in the next few days.
Akoot has had hell hammered out of it today – as usual.
They are going to abandon it for the monsoon.
The Jebel has been very heavily shrouded in mist until about 11:00 for the last two days now.
The no-moon period is coming so we should be attacked fairly soon.
MOD have said that the 0.5s  should be moved from the hedgehogs as it is escalating the war!
Early bed again with nothing but a headache to keep me company.

6th of May 1972
Fever in the comfort of the SMC.

7th of May 1972
Still fever.
And in the SMC.
Seven casualties today.
One a Brit I.O. from UAG.
Thrown out of three-tonner and landed on his head.
A depressed fracture.
Died.
Another  with the splinter wound of the frontal bone showed a star fracture.
We opened his head and he is alive and conscious.
The rest were minor.
The fort at Akoot has been smashed.
BATT are having to withdraw from the jebel because of lack of chopper and SAF support.
The adoo are said to be going to attack a prestige target on the plain.
And to top it all there is the possibility of a Mig strike from Yemen.
With their fuel capacity from their nearest suitable strip they could have 5-10 minutes over RAF Salalah.
The Sultan has also protested through the U.N. over Yemeni aggression.
Saw the James Bond film this evening.
Joe has discharged me from the medical centre.
Pargin discharged himself and is in “deep wasser”.
We had a Brit leg casualty as well.

8th of May 1972
Quiet day only one gassing.
Went to the circus.
They passed all the first aiders and the helicopters for evacuating the casualties -but not the FST for treating them.

9th of May 1972
Well things have really hotted now.
There is a strong possibility of a Mig-17 strike on this airfield.
If they came overland, which they probably would have fuel reasons we might have three minutes warning.
They don’t carry bombs apparently but strafe with rockets and cannon.
Not a pleasant thought.
Saw “The Railway Children” tonight. A superb film.
Also news of replacement – Brian Logan, “Cocky” Stocky and Mike Pinder.
Mid July.
The morale that fell with the Mig news rose with the letter from B. Logan.
I wrote one back to him……………….

10th of May 1972.
A quiet day.
One case.

11th of May 1972
Couple of cases and an afternoon by the sea.
There was report in the Telegraph on the ninth about the border incident.
The Americans have mined the N.Vietnamese ports.
They will start WW 3 if they are not careful.

12th of May 1972
Business in morning and afternoon.
Including one emergency BATT tooth expertly pulled by Robin.
Some drunk SAF major loosed off for rounds of SLR just outside the officers mess, just missing Bill the MATCO
When escorted off the station back to UAG he loosed off the rest of the magazine at the officers mess!

13th of May 1972
 The new RA a replacements come in the middle of next month including Tony Crichton as O.C. and Ashton-Wicket as 2 I.C.

14th of May 1972
Joe carved out an enormous thyroid lump yesterday – 3hrs worth.
The woman appears well today.

15th of May 1972
The war in the West appears to have quietened down but the ZB contacted three camels and two men going north-east last night.
Mortars engaged.
Henry saw 30 camels on the far ridge at first light and scrambled the Jets to them.
All movement now appears to be towards Taqa which the adu always had during the monsoon.
Maybe they want it again.
BATT are not happy, they are getting virtually no co-operation from the firqas or from SAF
The death of Tpr Martin has made UK newspapers – as did the fight at Habrut.
With had no casualties in for a week.
Started running three days ago to get my weight down.
Judy the Gibbon has died.

16th of May 1972
The war seems to have died down in the West but 480 adu -hard-core -reported to have surrounded the plain and intend to take Taqa and try and take Ma’murah.
This presumably during the monsoon.
The diet goes well and the training goes well and the weight comes down.
Made up a parcel of bits and pieces for Marian today – slides, MT, Cards and some to the children.
Removed and an enormous tumour from a woman’s belly.
First air raid warning today -mid-afternoon.
Seem to have plenty of time to read at the moment.

17th of May 1972
Only spent a very small time in hospital this morning.

18th of May 1972

Had a woman in from Taqa last night hit by RCL in the arm – the worst wound I’ve seen in ages.
It was just below the bifurcation of the brachial.
It was warm though this morning in spite of the tied vessels.
We had a surprise Masalaam arm for Ted last night – the case interrupted it a fair amount and we eventually at curry at 23:00

19th of May 1972
Salalah Sunday.
Worked it up to 6 times around the pitch in three goes of two.
It’s still coming off.

20th of May 1972
Opened at tubercular kidney in the hospital this morning-took three hours.
Once more the “Haloxaire” triumphs!
Went to the souk yesterday to take photographs and the fish market.
There were some reporters there from the outside world who were a bit offended when “Minoxed”.
They tried to gain admittance to the camp the day before yesterday.
John Clemenger has returned from his visit the sultan’s horses.
The SAF dentist was there and condemned some of them on account of rampant caries.
We operated on a cat this afternoon.

21st of May 1972
Nick, Gerry Farrell and Bud Holder went off to Muscat yesterday for a weekend off.
We had the stumpy’s walking on the wooden leg also yesterday.
One BATT Capt, a member of the Sultan’s bodyguard came in on the plane from Mutrah today.
He had a bad compound #  of the ankle two days old and filthy.
Robin Garnett rescued him from the “hospital” up there.
Robin leaves at the end of the week and someone called Brown from Millbank replaces him but only five weeks!

22nd of May 1972
Brian Morgans, the RAF surgeon from Masirah has come down for a few days to see what goes on.
Ian Rumfitt of all people replaces him there in two weeks.
I have met the new BATT doctor somewhere before but can’t figure out where – he came in today.
Had a letter from Bernard Logan who seems to be quite keen to come out.
They expect to be here on the 25th and UK have promised that we will be back in the UK by 1 August-I’ll return home by train.
Gassed Joe Nickson this morning for a tooth.
Janet is at Woolwich.
Young Nick Downie is leading a firqua up at Midway.
Brian Porter went out with a patrol this afternoon and brought down some fire on the adu.
The helicopters went off down to the West, four of them to do something this afternoon.
It’s all go!

23rd of May 1972
One or two things in the afternoon but otherwise quiet.
Went to “alpha” this morning with Brian Morgans and Hugh Stott.
Fired a vast quantity of SMG ammunition.
The going home fever has become very severe.
Partly I think to the lack of mail planes.

24th of May 1972
One hydrocele in the hospital this morning.
We also discovered a woman who had been there for 36hrs without GSW of the face.
A terrible mess.
The war seems to be on the increase again.
The Adu attack the “Royally” reoccupied position at Habrut each night with small arms, LMG and an ” artillery weapon not yet identified”.
The opposition is quite fierce.
0P Simba has moved into phase II and Capstan feature has been occupied and the plain dominated.
The BATT have moved down to positions overlooking the wadi from White City and exchanged fire.
A 25pdr has been moved up to Taqa.
The fort at Al Mamurah is being wired to the DG.
Still no mail plane in.
Five casualties in this evening all minor from capstan-after they consolidated their position, they used un-scalable cliff as part of the position – the adoo scaled it with a 2ins mortar and played havoc.

25th of May 1972
 Hugh Stott found a 13lb mine between A and C.
U al G thought it’d only be laid about 8 hrs
The Strike masters laid into Hawf this morning.
This is about 3 miles over the PDRY border and the divisional headquarters of six section.
Apparently all the intended targets were hit and shipping sunk in the harbour.
A pre-emptive strike I suppose.
It may though attract the Migs to us.
Talking to the station’s OC Hawf was the’s HQ of PFLOAG; an organisation not ‘in’ with the PDRY and just tolerated.
The PDRY jets are Russian manned and are very tied up with the Saudis at present.
The OC’s visit with Peter Hulme to Muscat was to point out to Qaboos that HMG would or won’t threaten to withdraw all military help if SOAF struck across the border.
At about 06:00 anyway they knocked out the HQ, the stores, a training camp and three dhow transports in the harbour.
Peter Hulme had his plane shot up.
One bullet going into the cockpit and nicking his leg.
Hauf apparently have no early warning system and apparently not even telephone communication with the rest of PDRY area.
I presume that they have a radio link.
Five casualties in from Simba this evening.
One with the wound deep in temporal lobe.

26 of May 1972
Called the hospital this morning to see a woman with half her face shot away.
Gerry said last night that she was and how do suspect because she ran away from the ‘Porter Patrol ‘
More likely she was just scared.
Peter Hulme returned again this morning with a new plane-shot full of holes and streaming fuel.
Another strike master burst a tyre on landing.
PFLOAG AA gunners are having a field day-in five days all the S/M will be grounded at this rate.
Another Caesar today for foetal distress.
Almost straight after a very pleasant curry meal at the Mehdis.

27th of May 1972
 A fairly busy day with two casualties from last night’s affair.
The adoo crept in behind ‘B’ and let them have it from the back.
Then on their way out attacked them from the front.
Something of a cock up occurred as Henry thought there was a helicopter over the position.
All this happened at 11:30 p.m.
Yimkin Airways plane in has gone u/s so no mail today.

28th of May 1972
The u/s plane has flown straight back to Akrotiri lest it breakdown here!
So again in no mail.
SOAF a have dispersed all their aircraft around the airfield and some choppers to Um al G in view of the expected air attacks.
Still no sign of the six Bofors from Cyprus.
It would appear that the last time Peter Hulme was hit his engine cut out 18 miles away and he had to glide in.
SOAF now have 4 s/m grounded with bullet holes.
Aden Radio broadcast today attacking the Oman for sending its planes over the border and threatening dire things for the monsoon.

29th of May 1972
Yimkin Airways- the plane was this morning said to be delayed for 3 hrs.
(  ) told me an interesting thing last night about (CV).
Typical of him.
Anyway the plane came bearing to very cheerful letters from Marian and one from mum.
Some slides also returned-everyone a coconut.
Jets from the PDRY flew over this morning and photographed the area.
If they came to fight I expect it will be at first or last light.

30th of May 1972
The affair of the jets it would appear was only a flag-waving thing.
Still it was strange as they came in dropped to a height where contrails would show, circled, three times and then climbed out again leaving no trails.
Well it looks as if we have beaten the Para-record.
A fairly quiet day today.
BATT go in tomorrow to a village in the wadi Arzat-they’ve “gone aggressive” again.
Last day as a Captain.

31st of May 1972
One BATT wounded with a nasty injury to the vastus lateralis – 5 adoo killed and an automatic weapon and some kit captured.
The adoo mortared ‘B’ with six 82mm from the wadi Jarziz at lunchtime.
Bloody cheek.
Green Archer did not get a fix on them.