64 Squadron

I was in 64 amphibious from 1971 (November) to 1975 (January). The squadron and the lads were ok but you either disliked or liked 28 Amphibious Engineer Regiment. I was one of the former. Having come from a very active 33 Field Squadron, I found myself in a squadron that only did one thing, amphibious engineering, namely the M2B rig. Previously as a survey engineer I had been involved in building permanent bridge structures, roads and airfields and spent 6 months on demolition projects. As a consequence i found working on the M2B monotonous after 6 months. Unfortunately i went off the rails until my wife joined me and I managed to pull myself around a bit.

Unfortunately for me someone found out that as a T2 surveyor I was earning more than some SNCOs which did not help, in addition some protestant Scottish soldiers were abusive to me, because I am a Catholic. Ironically at the time, none of them had done a tour in NI, which I had. Not all of the Scottish protestants were abusive but a significant number were. Luckily for me I made friends with lads in 35 regiment who lived in Quarters near me.

If you think I am moaning, at the time of my serving in 28, at least one third of the regiment either did not sign on again or purchased their discharge. This led to an enquiry into the Regiment which resulted in 28 being split up. After my posting to 8 Field Squadron things improved and I was offered the chance of a commission. Unfortunately I turned it down as I did not want any chance of going back to 28. I left the army in 1977 and became a senior officer in Lancashire Fire and Rescue. On a brighter note the Royal Engineers did instil a desire to learn and I managed to obtain a BSC in Psychology and a Masters in Business Administration. There is always a silver lining.