To the Administrator
Sorry about the double entry .I was Typing when everything vanished so started again.
John 42A

JB Jambo
The dreaded Sten. When we came up from Egypt we had Lee Enfield Rifles ,then shortly after we were replaced with Tommy Guns. A lovely weapon with few problems although we had one men who managed to put some rounds through the Guard Room roof when he came back in. At the time we carried weapons at all times At night ,at work and off duty. This included off duty visits to the towns. The only guidance we received was that we could only fire the weapon if we were in danger. Precisely at what point this occurred we were never told of loosing it. Did you wait until your attacker had his ha

Hello JB remember our days in Palestine. I remember having to convert a Bedford i5 Cwt into a hearse at short notice .You probably remember that bodies were not kept for long due to lack of facilities.
We completed the hearse only to receive a call the morning of the funeral, to convert to take two bodies as there had been further killings.
John 42 A A Coy

My computers difficultiesr are getting worse I was writing about the reason I tell the tale that my visits to Africa were 9 or ten and the whole lot vanished. When my temper has cooled I shall try again --- maybee is it not worth the bother.... Cheers! JB..

Hi JB this is one of the problems that we have living in Africa. Distances are far more than in Europe. My longest drive has been from Cape Town (South Africa) to Kitwe (Zambia) which is only a short drive from the Congo. I was bringing a new car from the UK to Kitwe and came out on the Windsor Castle. We use to drive a lot in Zambia up to the Angolan border and down to Rhodesia., and up to Tanzania. However when the war started in earnest in Rhodesia (I had my brother in law living in Salisbury (Harare) trips there were curtailed a lot as we had to travel in convoys for safety. to avoid being attacked by terrorists.
The resentment against British troops was very high as well as the British Government.

Hi Ray,
Thank you. No, dont bother sending anything. I have a file on it all somewhere among my heap of paperwork that I shall get to sorting -- one of these days.. It was that when I was in Africa 9 or ten times I kept meeting Brits and Europeans that spoke of places just down the road that were often in other countries.... Compared with Britain it is a continent, of course.
Stay cool and Cheers!
John

Hi JB.. Choma in Zambia is not just round the corner from me. It is some 1505 kms away, a 18/20 hour drive,plus 2 or 3 border posts depending on the way you go. I am not sure if he is still at his crocodile farm in Choma or in Livingstone. I have obtained some information on him, which mentions he is a ex boy soldier; and that he arrived in Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) in 1954 and was a garage mechanic in Lusaka. I can send this information to you about him if you let me know where I can send it to.He has had two books written about him, one by Elizabeth Balneaves Elephant Valley,and his own book Siawinda which was published in 2009 by Safari Press in the USA.

Hi JB, sorry never heard of him. On my various travels i have meet very few Beachley Old boys. we seem to have moved in different circles.
I, or should I say we, my 2nd wife, (my first wife died of emphysema in 2006 after a long battle being unable to breath due to smoking) go walking with a group called Run walk for life;. which is run by our Medical Aid Group. We met twice a week (Tuesday and Thursday evenings) and walk from 1700 hrs for an hour or so. I walk up to 5 km per session. My wife and the others do above this. I am the only male in a group of 15 . Must have some pleasures in life?????
Because of the long hours we work (up to 60 plus per week), We try and take long weekends in the Bush or up in the mountains. Covid put paid to this but we are hoping to get back to this as restrictions are lifted. Had a good trip to Southern Mozambique (Ponte De Oro)a couple of years ago to attend Julies sons wedding.
He is a plastic surgeon with his Practice in Durban. These days it is dangerous to go there due to the war in the north of the country..
We might even get back to riding horses amongst the game in the various wild life parks we go to. Why dont you try it?

I have kept tabs on the news of Beachley for a number of years. I was in 55b (C company) and initially trained as an Engine Fitter IC&P before going to Cove. (9th Training Regt RE) Was selected for NCO training, ( 3 regular NCOs cadre) and had a bad accident on Dartmoor (February 1959) when the TCV we were in left the road and plunged down the embankment. This cost me some 8 months in hospital (Plymouth Naval hospital and Aldershot) with head injuries. Back at Cove they said I was unfit and retrained me as a Clerk.When I was fit again i went to the RSME for trade upgrading, then deployed to Germany 44 Field Park at Paderborn. Then Christmas Island (running the main camp Power Station). Then deployed to the 17 Port Regt in the UK. I did not want to be re badged when 17 Post was moved out of RE control. Was then re-deployed to the Joint Services Bomb disposal unit, initially at Horsham and then Chattenden. By this time I was married and my wife did not want me to continue in the military, so her brother suggested I get a Job in Zambia (He was a Chartered Accountant there). . I did and was offered a position on the Copperbelt as an Overseas Service Engineer. When I got to Zambia they wanted me to work on the Management accounting side. By this time I had 5 O and 5 A levels (mainly from London University) and studying for the LLB Degree. However they wanted me to qualify as a Company Secretary which I did. I left Zambia (localisation) and moved to SA where I was an investment manager for a listed engineering group. Then to Botswana as a Company Secretary for De Beers Mining. Then to Papua New Guinea as a manager in a international shipping company. Then back to South Africa and joined Deloitte and Touche (the international accountants). I then took the plunge and formed my own Accounting Tax and consulting firm, I still run this today and have over 200 clients. (Local and International)
I put my success down to the excellent training I received at Chepstow and in the Royal Engineers. I do not think that I would have become a Chartered Company Secretary and a qualified management Accountant without this training.
I am still in touch with two others from these days, namely Jim Windsor and Barry Spooner in the UK. I was also in touch with John Ingram (we met up in Zambia) and stayed with him in Australia. Unfortunately John died a number of years ago from what appeared to to radiation problems he contacted whilst at Malaringa during the nuclear tests with the Royal Engineers.I am still in contact with his wife Genny.