Fred Caroe part 6

 

From SAC Caroe CF APL Aden Dec 30th 1955 5.45 pm   Dear Dad,   Thank you very much for your last letter - postmarked 7pm 28th Dec: - that is very quick, less than 2 days !

Christmas having passed life is almost back to normal but unfortunately we have another outbreak of polio in A.P.L. too. and the two who have it are good friends of mine, they live in the next billet. On this camp there are 22 in isolation and they have a medical every day. Technically I should be isolated but if it were to be there would be an acute lack of medics, there are only 2 of us for 200, and the other one is married and lives out, the others who duty medic are not proper medics !!

APL Medical Inspection Room 1955

You must have misread my letter, you sent me my driving licence last May what I want now is an application form to renew it, could you please send me the form and I will fill it in and send it +licence back for renewal.

It is an old custom to have something wrong at Christmas - mostly "loose" tummies the remedy here is Mist Kaolin et Morph, take 1/2 a fluid ounce -- 4 teaspoons- 3 times a day, it seizes one up, and for ordinary tummy pains just get Mist Mag:Trisil: and take the same dose.

I played 4 sets of tennis today, it was quite cool (83° F).

I take your point about not driving if I have had too much to drink - I never drive under the influence ! I use my Aden licence when I can find it, about 30% of the people on the roads here have NO licence at all.

A 1965 Aden Driving License

Well we are nearly in '56 my year of demob.

Did you see the article in the Sunday Express about Bethlehem? I have got photos of the same place mentioned from my visit in September. Must close now, roll on demob

Love to everyone, Fred

From 2734823 SAC Caroe C.F.

Billet 8

RAF/APL

Aden

Monday afternoon 9th Jan 1956

Dear Dad,

Thank you for your letters of the 3rd and 5th Jan + enclosures received today. No mail had arrived here for 5 days due to fog in the UK.I heard on the news last night it was cold to say the least with gales and a bit of snow in the east - its 85F here!!

The other day a large scale burglary took place during the night, 7 of us including me lost our wallets, my lock was picked and it was taken from my drawer, not one of us in the billet heard the thief. My Driving Licence, £3.10.0, photos and numerous odds and ends including my RAF Identity card were in the wallet.-- I enclose my completed Driving Licence form with attached note to say how the previous licence was lost.

As a result of the increased pilfering 10 searchlights have been set up round the camp and the four on guard every day (& night) now have the new Belgian Rifle with permission to shoot. Last night we were all woken by the clatter of automatic rifle fire but no one was hit.

The polio has just about finished and no new cases have occurred. New trouble and shooting has begun up country, one Government guard was shot in the head and died and two were shot in the leg and one in the hand, all are in the APL Hospital.

The weather is better now after some very heavy rain, we had 1.72 inches in the first three days of Jan, more than the average annual total !! It is fine and windy now with a max of 85°Fand a min of about 70°F. The other night I wore a tweed coat, pullover, shirt tie and long trousers at the cinema!

I have reached the semi finals of the men's singles, I won my last match 6-0, 6-2, I meet Karl Levy in the next round, he is the strong favourite. We had a "48" last weekend, I spent it playing tennis and sun bathing (both in moderation).

All the hills around Aden have quite a greenish tint because of all the rain--just like home. The large flat expanse of sand we sit on is still bare, rather more muddy perhaps.