JUST 22 members of Crediton Probus Club gathered at Downes Crediton Golf Cub for our December meeting on December 6.

After some preliminary remarks the president, Gerald Hill, said that January’s meeting was due to be held on January 2 when many people would be still recovering from celebrations (which would probably reduce numbers greatly) and those present agreed with his suggestion that the meeting should be moved to January 9.

John Tutton then told us that this would be his last meeting as he and his wife were leaving Cheriton Bishop to live in clergy retirement housing at Broadclyst. We all wished them luck.

Grace was given by David Sylvester and then we settled down to an excellent meal.

Afterwards the quote was given by Eric Rodd and the draw won by Don Nicholson. Then Gerald Hill asked Brian Healey to introduce our speaker who was one of our members, David Moss.

In a very entertaining discourse, David allowed many of us to wallow in nostalgia as he told us about his National Service days from 1956-58. These two years included the Suez Crisis.

David’s constant theme through his talk was just how ill-equipped all three of British services were to fight such a War as the one involving the invasion of Suez, emphasising the sheer incompetence of most senior ranks.

He had decided to do his National Service at 18 and to start his university course after its completion and had enrolled in the RAF.

He has some painful memories of his initial training, particularly of his five foot nothing drill sergeant (possessed of Napoleonic strength), whose nickname revolved around him being a foot taller than he was.

After completing his initial training he was offered two alternative service careers, either as a Russian interpreter or a meteorologist. He chose the latter.

His first posting was to Boscombe Down and from there he went to Larkhill. In October 1956 Nasser had nationalised the canal in July so David was sent to Cyprus and then onwards to Malta.

After Israel’s invasion of Egypt at the end of October 1956 the forces of France and Britain made their own assault on the area of the canal (the attacks were supposed to have been simultaneous, but crass military inefficiency spoilt this idea). The USA had refused to join them. Dulles, the US Secretary of State had deplored the "Empire Mentalities" of both nations.

David catalogued some of the ways in which the British forces were lacking in preparedness. There were insufficient ships and other transport, weapons of the right sort and all sorts of other equipment. Chaos reigned.

At the end of 1956 David was meant to have been sent to the Pacific for the detonation of Britain’s first "H" bomb (he was to have been exposed to the blast as a guinea pig – to see what the effects of exposure to nuclear bomb blast and high levels of radioactivity).

Instead he was sent back to Cyprus, where the dispute between the Turkish and Greek communities was flaring up.

One strong memory of his time there is of being put on guard-duty one night and, hearing what seemed to be someone approaching him, gave a challenge. When there was no response, David fired his rifle only to discover that he had shot a donkey!

Raymond King thanked David for his amusing talk and the president gave the final toast "To the next time".

KB