After completion of basic Para & Boating courses by the middle of July `77, All of the guys designated to serve in A troop under Capt Bob MacKenzie, drove up in convoy to Kanyemba to Join A Troop who were already encamped there, next to the dirt Airfield. At the bottom of the Alpha Trail, at Mushumbi Pools, The smell of the `potatoe Bush` which exudes it most distinctive scent at sundown and sunup, remains to me , as the most distinctive smell of Africa.

My first recollections after settling in, were being taken aside by WO11 Pete Cole who instructed us on the finer points of mine laying. At the time, we came to learn that there was a c/s deployed on O.P. on the Rhodesian Bank of the Zambezi, on the lookout for river crossings by Zipra. I think there was another C/S deployed East of our Loc in Moz.

We then began a Mortar course on 82 mm Hotchkiss-Brandt mortars, the senior instructor being the Sqn SSM, `Snake` Allen. It was a comprehensive course, that culminated with us engaging the Zambian Army camp on the Northern side of the river, with live fire. They couldn`t have chosen a worse time to Stonk the BSAP camp on the Rhodesian Bank of the river, As we had just completed our course, & were very Sharp. The OP talked us onto target, & we were so on Target that the Hunter upstairs had no need to put in a strike, and scurried back to Gwelo for Breakfast .

Shortly afterwards we were deployed across the river by Alo`s, to lay an ambush/snatch on the Feira Kavalamanja track. This was my very first operational deployment, so understandably once the choppers had departed, the silence was all enveloping until the all clear was given, and we formed up to begin the walk in, in a Northerly direction. I recall the heat and the Black is Beautiful mixing with my sweat as it ran into my eyes. As we advanced in single file along a game trail, close to the top of a steep ridge, as most of the Chewore is, I was probably towards the back of the file, keeping the proper distance from the guy in front of me, whilst scanning the bush left & right as we`ed been taught at Gwaai Mine, when all of a sudden, I saw all the guys in front of me springing off the trail towards the right, which was quite a steep down hill. My first thoughts were, Gooks ! but there was no firing & everyone had baled to the right, instead of moving alternatively left & right into an extended line as we had been taught for encounter actions.

As I followed the rest of the guys off the trail, I spotted a massive Grey form baling down the path that we had all just abandoned. I can remember a loud huffing noise as it charged past me in the direction from which we had come. That was my first wild encounter with a Black Rhino, and wasn`t going to be my last, on this trip !

The ambush group went into an LUP around last light, again on a very steep slope, but i don`t recall sleeping much that night, being my first night actually deployed on Ops. The following morning we moved down from the high ground onto the valley floor and reached our objective, which was a 2 spore vehicle track, which ran quite far inland from Feira on the Zambezi where Zambia met Mozambique, to Kavalamanja , the site of a gook camp, Upstream from Feira.

I recall that the Operational Leader was C/Sgt Darryl Watt, but Col Ken Harvey who was posted to KG V1, was along on the Op. We Approached the road to set up the ambush. A site was chosen around a small detour that had been created around a large tree that had been pushed over by Elephants and blocked the road. We then dragged another fallen tree and placed it over the track that made the small detour . To the immediate South of the position was a piece of raised ground much like a very large ant hill, which made a good LUP.

The following day I was detailed to accompany Les Van Blerk as an early warning group to the East of the ambush site, so we set off through the Thick Jesse bush that night. We must have moved about 4 km that night, moving along game trails because of the impenetrable Jesse bush. The next day we positioned ourselves under very sparse cover, from where we had a good view of the road. The hardest part of this task was the oppressive heat and the lack of good shade, coupled with the damn Mopane flies. This all boiled down to a serious lack of water , and after a fair number of days, we were in dire straits. The only relief came at night, and because we were only Two, we stayed awake as late as possible & then both slept. As I was to come to learn as time went by, sleep consisted mainly of cat naps, never a deep sleep. Even the slight scurrying sound of a field mouse would wake me up. To make matters worse, the only clear ground to be found in that Jesse bush was on Game paths, which is where we slept. It didn`t help with Les regaling me with tales of guys sleeping on such paths and elephants stepping over them in the night. Sometimes a rumbling could be heard and all the stars had disappeared, and then the Jumbo would move off. Scary for a Fresh Puss ! The main activity every night, However, were the Hyenas. They or it would circle us continually, periodically letting out its very recognisable whoop. It would approach closer with every circuit of our sleeping position until their stink was very noticeable, when one of us would sit up abruptly, and the beast would take off at full speed through the thick bush.

I can`t recall how many days we were on early warning, but after possibly 4 days , Les told me head off deeper into the bush to look for water. Loaded with my rifle and webbing and all our empty water bottles, I headed off in a southerly direction, being very careful to look for and memorise landmarks such as high features and prominent trees, to enable me to find my way back to our position. Around Midday, I was picking my way along the base of a thickly wooded ridge line, when all of a sudden there was a tremendous sound to my left , and a Large bull elephant came crashing through the Jesse bush straight towards me. In a millisecond, I took off at right angles to the bull, and strangely, he didn’t change his course to follow me, but stayed in a straight line and bulldozed a course straight up the ridge.

The heat , Flies and dry mouth was taking its toll on me, especially after digging in the bend of a dry river bed to no avail, and by mid afternoon I started my return to our early warning position. After the narrow escape with the Jumbo, I was even more nervous and alert, and as I was heading North, I had a strange feeling that I was being followed. I remember the sun being quite low to the horizon to my Left which cast a warm light over the dry winter grass. I of course imagined that possibly gooks had picked up my spoor, and I kept on stopping to survey the area behind me, when in the distance, I saw movement level with the tops of the grass. As I carefully looked to identify what was on my spoor, I was shocked to identify the heads of a pack of Wild dogs. I had seen their ears bobbing above the grass, but now they were closing in on me. I was armed of course but I knew that if I Let off any shots, the Op would be compromised, and I hadn`t even been awarded my colours yet !

Needless to say, the hairs on my neck and arms were at attention, and I was now moving at a fair pace, when all of a sudden the whole pack suddenly veered off to the west, and they were gone. Must have been my Body Odour !! The next day, we were told over the small means, to rejoin the ambush group, so at last light we started our return. It was a very moonlit night, and every time that I checked behind us, I noticed a large dark shape following us. Les and I assumed that it was the damn Hyena that had been giving us sleepless nights, and after following correct procedures with the main group so that we could come in without being shot, we rejoined the group. As we were making our hushed greetings, I said to the guys, ` You should see the size of the Damned Hyena that’s been following us !!` The next second, Our `Hyena` charged !!!

The sight of Battle Hardened SAS Troops trying to clamber up Slender Mopane trees was worthy of a Monty Python Skit. Thank Goodness, the Hyena/Black Rhino ran slap bang into a large dead Hollowed out Leadwood tree, which sounded akin to Big Ben, and took off into the night !

In the days that followed, I came to realize that the first principle of ambushing, `The determination to wait and Kill` was just that. One must be very Determined ! Darryl Watt was having a real problem with having Col Harvey on the Op. I wasn`t privy to their disagreements, but the final straw for him was when Harvey had Howard Muggeridge & myself scale a mopane tree directly opposite the ambush site, and chop open a Meyers Parrot`s nest with a panga, to retrieve the chicks . The thudding noise of the panga on the hard Mopane tree must have carried hundreds of metres, but the good Colonel cared not ! Harvey thought he possessed good bush craft skills, when he ordered us to cover the panga marks in the tree with Black is Beautiful cream !! Darryl was furious & wanted to rather take off to shoot a big tusker that had passed behind us the previous day.

Eventually the ambush was sprung, and went like clockwork. A small Russian made Staff type Jeep approached the fallen tree & drove around the little detour, only to find that also blocked by the fallen tree that we had placed there. As the vehicle stopped at a distance of only about 4 meters away from the grass hides that we had constructed, in a semi circle around the tree, I was amazed to see that in the incredible Zambezi valley heat, all the windows were up ! I think there were 4 or 5 men in the vehicle, and as they piled out we suddenly appeared around them, bristling with weapons, barking orders at them. I had 3 of them in front of us, who obeyed and stood still. One of the gooks, however ,kept on running up and down from the front to the back of the vehicle. Darryl ordered him to stay still but he refused so D shot him through his stomach, and he went down. At the same time, I ordered the one in front of me to lie down , which he did and I lay my AK down with Pete Leroux covering him, so I could put on the Cuffs, which were the Large cable tie type. As I was about to put on the ties, for some inexplicable reason, Pete ordered him to stand up. My Rifle was on the ground and in the confusion, 3 of the gooks tried to take off. We all opened up and dropped all of them before they`d even covered 10 meters. Someones tracer however had started a bush fire which spread rapidly , burning some of the bodies, and we moved as quickly as possible to remove any evidence of our presence. While all this was going on, the gook that had been shot, lay there with his guts out, cursing us in no uncertain terms, and imploring us to put him out of his misery, until someone did.

The vehicle was driven deep into the bush, and as I moved one of the burnt bodies, the flesh came off in my hands, as did his shit !! Of course there was no water to wash with, so after a sand wash, I still had to endure another day and a night with the stench on my hands. Not Fun. On the exfil, I had to lead one of the captives, who gave me no problems. Amazing things, those cable ties. Especially if tied above the elbows, and linked to a length of Para Cord. I believe that the primary target of the snatch, was the Battalion Commander from Kavalamanja. SB wanted info on the ground to air capabilities at that camp, which was attacked about 7 months later. Unfortunately he was not one of the captives.