Following on from the previous blog, I should explain that towards the end of last year, I was contacted by someone who was involved with the RASC Company where I attended an amphibious training course before going out to Christmas Island in 1958. Evidently, he had heard that my web-site contained photos of DUKWs and wondered if I would mind if he 'linked' it to their own.
At the same time, he mentioned that our 'old' barracks was in the process of being sold-off by the MOD and that a final reunion of their 'association' was being planned to enable those who were interested to have the opportunity to see the camp before it was turned into a housing estate.
That 'Final Fling' - as it was called - took place last weekend and, along with several other former DUKW drivers, I enjoyed four most enjoyable days which combined some extremely well-organised visits to where we did our training together with two informal and one formal dinners at an hotel which had been 'commandeered' for the occasion (click to enlarge - below).
In addition to the actual visits, as I mentioned in the previous blog, a highlight of the weekend was being invited to drive a DUKW in and around the estuary where we had trained all those years ago. However, a more lasting testimonial might be the establishment of new friendships.