Grenade Attack at
Aden Civil Airport
I was born in South Shields but flown to Aden aged one with my
parents, my dad having taken a shore job as an
engineer on the BP refinery tug.
At about eight years old I went to the Isthmus School in
Khormaksar, but that was stopped after riots
affected the school bus. "Nasser mush
tammam" was a favourite phrase at the time.
after the riots BP flew families to Asmara for a
well-earned rest, I believe it was an Aden
Airways flight.
A
friend of mine was flying out from Aden, and I went
to the airport with the family to see him off.
I heard a commotion outside and went to investigate,
and overheard a sergeant posting soldiers at the
doors to watch out for a terrorist on the loose,
probably with a grenade, and they were to shoot him.
I went inside and pestered the family to move to a
table to the left of the door (as you enter the
building). They eventually relented and we moved.
The grenade came in through the window and exploded
at the table we had been sitting at. We all waited
outside in the heat for a short while before being
allowed back in. The cleaners had done a good job,
and there was a small crater ½” deep in the floor
under the table presumably from the grenade. A close
friend of my mothers told the story of this event
when she visited us about 10 years ago, surprising
my Mum who could never remember it happening, but
confirming my recollections. I believe the boy
leaving may have been Jackie Degg, and that our
friend Tommy Allen may have been there. I still have
a lump of shrapnel in my head from the grenade.
After Aden, we ended up in Beirut.......
Now I live in South Shields, UK, which has a
substantial community of ex-Yemeni seafarers. I
don’t actually know any of the local Yemenis. They
are a peaceful lot and they run excellent “Indian”
restaurants along Ocean Road (about 20 restaurants
in 400 yards).
If you search the internet for "Mill Dam Riots", you
will see details of Britain’s first ever race riots
! I particularly like the bit about the Arabs
being able to withstand the heat of the stoking room
…this is a sure sign they were from Aden, since Aden
is legendary for being hot even throughout the Arab
world, and Aden was a long standing bunkering port
for our ships en route to the far east.
Gordon Clark
[Ed. I've been unable to determine if this
incident is a variation of the one on December the 10th
1963 involving The British High Commissioner of
Aden, Sir Kennedy Trevaskis . I've spoken to Gordon
Rayney, who was director of Civil Aviation, and he
is unaware of any grenade attack at the airport
apart from the one on Dec 10 1963. If anyone can
throw any light onto this event it would
appreciated.]
