David Sparkes - Memories of Cyprus, 1974-75


I arrived in RAF Akrotiri in August 1974 and remember the heat burning the inside of my nostrils as I breathed in. I had just got married 2 weeks before and was told while on leave if you only get one ticket guess who is going to Cyprus! So I was on my way for a 7 month unaccompanied tour.

Due to the political situation movement off camp was restricted for a while and although we were allowed to visit Limassol during the day there was a curfew at 10pm. I made great friends with Nigel Round and Geordie Bruce (the latter followed me around in my 23 year career). I made several convoy trips up the mountains to the Mount Olympus site and to the High Commision in Nicosia. The Sqn was also involved in erecting tents for refugees who were streaming in from Famagusta.

I seem to remember an incident where one of our roommates kept playing a record When will I see you again? Geordie really missed his wife and family (they were evacuated) so he told the chap, "Play that again and the record player is going out the window." Yes, it went out of the window!

I continued to take PT in 259 Sig Sqn, and took up squash and running from Episkopi to the radio site at Akrotiri Salt Lake. I must have been mad.

After around 3 months we had an RandR flight home for 2 weeks. On landing at Brize Norton I recall an RAF bod shouting "Compassionate passengers to deplane first." When every man stood up he shouted, "I said compassionate NOT passionate." The RandR flights soon became known as the Rape and Reproduction flight.