GUARD DUTIES - RAF DEVERSOIR
As Remembered By Cpl “Pete” Peters RAF Deversoir Signals Section 1954
I expect there isn't anybody in the Canal Zoners who cannot remember doing some kind of guard duty. At Deversoir, ss a shift worker I was lucky but one day the luck ran out and I was called for Deputy Guard Commander – Bomb Dump!
The bomb dump was located way across the far side of the airfield and adjacent
to an Egyptian village. As most service men and women will know, the duty period
was 2 hrs on and 4 off. I was trying to get some sleep in the middle hours when
the Guard Commander woke me by kicking my feet and in a very agitated state,
“Quick, get up” he shouted waving a .38 calibre revolver a bit too
close for comfort. “There’s trouble at the North West post as we
cannot raise the guard on the phone”. So grabbing my trusty Sten off we
went, the Sgt. was behind me still with the .38 in his hand and I remember telling
him to come along side me or the recce would stop there and then!
I had located the phone line and followed it until we came to a break, that sorted the lack of communication. We then continued and eventually came to the guard whom we had to wake up! I do not know the outcome of that but I thought he was very brave or stupid to sleep in that portion of the airfield.
Another time on the North West guard house I was designated Bomb Dump Guard Commander. This meant that guard duty for me took place inside the bomb dump which was surrounded by a high fence with a guard tower in each of the four corners. I had to patrol at ground level for the 2hr period. One night one of the guards (RAF Regt) fired a round which really got my attention. I carefully made my way around to the tower and asked the lad what the problem was. “It’s OK Corp, I thought I saw a rabbit!”. It seemed instantaneous but the Guard Commander appeared like magic – some fast talking followed and I think there was some trouble ahead for the guard – fortunately the RAF Regt were out of my jurisdiction.
Another night about 0100, I was doing my 2 hr on in the bomb dump and a Land
Rover pulled up at the locked gates. I went to see what was going on and there
were two men – one officer in uniform and one in civvies. The civvy told
me to open the gate in slightly slurred tones to which I replied “identify
yourself”, this went on for what seemed to me to be a long time and the
speaker was getting more irate by the second and telling me that he was the
Station Commander! The officer was trying to get the man to move on but no,
he kept having a go at me. I was not feeling too brave inside but managed to
sound confident whilst saying “if you don’t show me some identification
, there’s no way you are coming in here!” With that the man jumped
into the Land Rover and off they went, when I got back to the guard house I
reported the event to the Sgt to which he replied “If you had let him
in your backside would not have touched on the way to the guardroom, that was
the Station CO and he’s done that before!”
My last experience was in the Main Guardroom as Deputy Guard Commander, this
was much more demanding and not so friendly as the North West location. Guard
duties were a bit horrendous at Deversoir as there were not a great compliment
of men to share this duty. At that time guard duties
were coming round every three days, this particular occasion there was a shortfall
of about ten men and it was my job to find some. The Nissen type huts at Deversoir
had a door at each end and as I went in one door the occupants went out the
other! I managed to reduce the deficit to four and thought the Sgt Guard Commander
would let me off, no such luck "“keep at it until you get '‘em
all”. Eventually he felt sorry for me as he told me to go to the RAF Regiment
lines and see the Cpl in charge, this I did but felt sorry for those lads as
the Cpl mercilessly ordered 4 to get their gear and report to the guardroom.
As a final word on Deversoir guards in 1954 the guards were issued with Greener
shotguns which were not a weapon for guards working in a tented area. One night
on guards parade somebody bumped a Greener butt down and it went off blowing
a large chunk out of a veranda pillars – the use of Greener shotguns was
discontinued forthwith.