Doug Slade was posted in to Saxa Vord in September
1965 from RAF Honington, a "V" bomber base in Suffolk. He was a medic
and was employed in the old Station Sick Quarters with Dr Robertson (Doc
Robbie) as the Civilian Medical Practitioner.
Doug and some of his contemporaries soon formed a group called "The
Embers" and, by Christmas '65, were playing at functions on the Station.
The members of the group were Doug and Dave Truman (both from SSQ), and Tony
Reid and Rod Paton (both from Stores). A short piece about the group was
recently added to this section of the Blog:
http://ahistoryofrafsaxavord.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/saxa-groups-bands-late-60searly-70s.html
Doug has kindly allowed me to share some of
the photos he took during his tour and to repeat some of his anecdotes. Like
most of us spending a winter on Unst, a little bit of snow comes as no
surprise, (left click on images to enlarge):
The Shetland weather is certainly changeable and the
place can look totally different on a good day, as the following pictures illustrate:
According to Doug -Tony Reid really liked his
"camp bike":
The next picture shows Rod Paton
attempting to start a Moped outside SSQ. What he probably didn't know was that
it almost certainly belonged to a young lady who worked part-time next door,
doing the Officers' Mess bookkeeping - the young lady later lent the Moped to
me when we were courting:
Two of the medics, Doug & Dave Truman, managed
jollies to Lerwick on alternate weekends taking medical items to the Gilbert Bain
Hospital for sterilisation. Using the overland they had to stay in the
"big city" at her Majesties expense for the whole weekend, leaving on
Friday and not returning until the following Tuesday. On one weekend it was
Dave Truman's turn for the Lerwick trip and, at the time the NCO i/c SSQ - Cpl
Pete McGarry - was away on the UK mainland on leave. Doug was left as the sole
Medic on the Station. As luck would have it Doc Robbie, with the CO's
permission, admitted a patient who was an alcoholic undergoing withdrawal
symptoms, Doug was on his own and had to attend this hallucinating patient 24hrs
a day until Dave returned. In Doug's words " I spent the next three days chasing him round the Med Centre giving him
injections to keep him sedated and hydrating, feeding him when he raised his
head. The mess brought me food and kept me going and the Doc kept coming in!.Anyway he was shipped out
on the Tuesday overland and Dave came back with the re sterilised drum, all
chirpy. I was by this time stir crazy and just wanted a good kip"
The first opportunity he got he decided to go for a
long walk in the fresh air after being cooped up with a demanding patient for
so long. The following photos were taken on that walk at Lambaness, the site of
the WWII Chain Home Radar Station - RAF Skaw:
The road in the
previous photo, which for many years was the vehicular access from Norwick to
Lambaness and Skaw, is now too dangerous to use and a new road has been
constructed. The photo below shows the current state of "The Floggie":
Doc
Robbie and Sqn Ldr Stevens recommended Doug for an advanced trade course. In
his own words Doug describes his selection,
" I would have to go to RAF Hospital Ely for an
interview (which would of course entail a week away!) When I got to the
interview the panel asked me the usual questions and then said did I know what
my CO and MO (Medical Officer) had written. I of course didn't , they said it
was a description of my three days continuous duty which impressed them enough
to offer me a place on the course".
Talk about doing the right thing at the right time......... In June 1966 Doug
was posted to Wegberg in Germany to complete his course. Although he regretted
leaving Unst after 8 months, it was too good an opportunity to miss. He stayed
in Germany until 1969, joining a new band, before a posting to RAF Gan. He had
subsequent postings to Salalah and finished off at RAF Chessington
Rehabilitation Unit. In 1976 he had applied, and been accepted, to complete 22
years in the RAF, but he was made redundant in 1978. His advanced training
allowed him to land a job with a hospital in Truro, Cornwall and he still lives
at the opposite end of the country from Unst. Not only that, but when he retired from the NHS in 2006, he got back into the music scene with a local group
called Merlins Rockit. The band members eventually went their separate ways and he is currently working with a new group.
My thanks to Doug for sharing his Saxa Vord memories.
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