I was attached to 3 Battery. Capt Middleton was OIC of M&G Platoon (REME Wksps), WO1 Pete Woolford was the ASM and Cpl Ken Macklin and I were the
electronic "first aiders" at the launch site. In 1958 the White Sands firings all went well under the watchful eye of the Gilfillan reps. In
1959, 3 battery were the first to fire a missile at the new (and uncompleted) Hebrides range.
We used the old contractor's huts that had been
built on marshy land and on one very wet day the NAAFI sank at one end by about a foot making it an uphill slog to the bar.
Either that year or in 1960 we had a number of rocket motor problems. Most just resulted in poor thrust but one was quite spectacular.
REME were at hand during a firing in the form of the ASM and a Cpl whose job it was to carry the AVO and the EMERs - we stood
about 200yds from the launcher. Everything went well at the start, a perfect countdown, a good steady climb, but at about ten seconds
the side came out of the rocket motor and the missile started to come back to earth.
"RUN" said Bob Woolford and we ran - and we
didn't stop until we heard the crash as the missile fell in the sea just off-shore. We were well into the farmer's field and looking back
I was surprised to see a wire fence between where we had stopped and where we has started from. I have no memory of climbing
over that fence and I was still holding the AVO in my right hand and had the EMERs tucked under my left arm. Neither of us were
out of breath. Such is the power of adrenalin.