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Soqotra (Socotra) Island
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My Diary from1961 January 1961 - Joined the Royal Air Force and trained as a photographer. June 1962 - Married Rosemary and in July was posted to R.A.F. Episkopi, Cyprus. Early 1964 - By chance I heard about an expedition going to Socotra. Volunteered to join the expedition. December 1964 - The Expedition left R.A.F. Akrotiri for Aden. We stayed four days in Aden and then we flew out to Socotra via Riyan. Little did I realise how my life would be changed when I set foot on Socotra. February 1965 - Left Socotra for Cyprus and eventually back to the United Kingdom. December 1965 - Demobbed from the R.A.F. and continued my career in photography. Raised a family which now comprises my wife, son and daughter and three grand children. Never forgot Socotra. The years go by ....... 1998 - Bought a PC and got on to the Internet. Very surprised at how much information there was about Socotra. 1999 - Made contact with a couple keen to go to Socotra and after much discussion we decide to go in January 2001. 13 October 2000 - Friday, 13th! Today we were going to send payment to a Yemen tour company for our trip in January but a bomb was thrown into the British embassy in Sana'a and the USS Cole was attacked in Aden. This is 2 days before my 60th birthday! 14 October 2000 - Following the news of the bombs in Sana'a, Yemen on 13 October 2000 and on the USS Cole in Aden, the visit to Soqotra planned for January 2001 was cancelled. 15 October 2000 - My 60th birthday but I do not feel much like celebrating. November 2000 - For some months I had been in regular contact with Peter de Geest of the Belgian Soqotra Karst Project. Peter, on hearing that my visit had been cancelled very kindly invited me to join his speleo expedition in January 2001. November 2000 - Some members of the speleo team express concerns about an unknown joining their team. Very understandable as the team members know each other well and are all used to working in arduous conditions. It is decided that I will not join them this time but most definitely will for their next trip. January 2001 - The Peter de Geest speleo team spend two very successful weeks on Soqotra and confirm that I can join them for the next visit. I only have another year to wait! February 2001 - The speleo team members are younger and fitter than me so I start going to a gym twice a week to get into shape. That was a wise decision. 26 August 2001 - The Friends of Soqotra society has been formed following the inaugural meeting on 25th August, 2001 at the Royal Botanical Garden, Edinburgh. To obtain more details please contact Dr Sue Christie. You also can find details on the Live-Travel website. In due course a website will be running at http://www.friendsofsocotra.org 6 December 2001 - The Soqotra Karst Project is due to fly out to Sana'a, Yemen on 26 December and to Soqotra two days later. The last few weeks have been a roller coaster of emotions as various problems arose and were solved. Visas and Environmental Protection Agency permits are now proving difficult to obtain. The Project is in real jeopardy with less than three weeks to go!. 13 December 2001 - The Soqotra Karst Project 2 has been cancelled! This was a huge disappointment to me after getting so close to the day of departure. A second visit is cancelled at the final hour! How much longer will I have to wait? 2 January 2002 - Good news!. A French film company has invited me to join them as their stills photographer. We leave Heathrow on 9th January. Can it be true? It is! 11 January 2002 - I set foot on Soqotra again after 37 years!!! Two weeks on Soqotra and I am delighted to find the people as friendly as ever. A very memorable time which would have been even better if I could have communicated with the French film crew as I can speak virtually no French. Two days before we left in 1965, we had made a cement plaque and written on it "RAF/ARMY Expedition Socotra Dec 64 to Feb 65". Using photographs from 1964/65 I was able to locate the precise spot of our camp and found the broken remains of the plaque with enough writing to easily indentify it. That brought the memories flooding back Another amazing find was that the tall, dark man standing behind Wazir Ibrahim in my Gallery 1 photo was the father of Abdullah, who works in the Hadibo office of Yemenia airline! Not only that, but Ibrahim was his uncle, now dead from a gun shot. I was able to give Abdullah two copies of the photograph. 25 January 2002 - Leave Soqotra Island. Was it for the last time? Only time will tell. 28 January 2002 - The two weeks we were on the Island was an experience I would not have missed. Much has changed around Hadibo, the capital, since 1965 but the Soqoteri are as friendly as ever, if not more so. 18 June 2002 - Very sadly I have to amend a statement above in "Raised a family". Today one of my grandsons, Jamie 12 years old, was involved in a traffic accident while playing on his scooter and later died from his injuries. You will not be forgotten Jamie. 18 October 2002 - I have been informed that my amateur radio operation as VS9SJF, in 1964/65, was the only amateur radio operation from the Island to have ever taken place. 17 November 2002 - I receive the Memorex Video Challenge Trophy for my video "Return to Soqotra" 5 December 2002 - Plans are progressing for the Socotra Karst Project 3 led by Peter de Geest. I have been invited to join them so hopefully, I shall be again on Soqotra on 10 January 2003, for 2 weeks. 27th January 2003. My third visit to Soqotra is now over as I was on Soqotra from 10th - 24th January with the Belgian Speleo Team, Socotra Karst Project 3. My very grateful thanks to all the team for making me so welcome and involving me in their activites. The SKP3 website has a full account of the expedition's activities. |
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26 May 2003. I was saddened to learn that Captain Peter Boxhall (later Major), the Leader of the 1964/65 Expedition, died towards the end of 2002 after a short illness. My sincere condolences to his family. |
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30 June 2003 - In 1956, Douglas Botting, the author, led an Oxford University Expedition to Soqotra. His 20 September 2003 - I attended the Friends of Soqotra AGM at Durham. Held over two days, Saturday afternoon was taken up with a variety of films on Soqotra being shown. Part of Douglas Botting's 1956 expedition film was shown. The AGM took up most of Sunday morning. It was a great pleasure to meet so many members of the Society and the future for the Society looks good. Plans are being laid for the Soqotra exhibition to be held in Edinburgh in 2005. 26 September 2003 - Peter de Geest married Heidi, his sweetheart of 13 years. My wife, Rosemary and I attended his wedding in Gent, Belgium and a most wonderful day it was. We offer Peter and Heidi our Very Best Wishes for the future. All of the SKP team were at the wedding so it great to meet up with them again. 21 May 2004 - Mick Guise, a member of the '64/'65 team left a message in my Guest Book. This is the first contact I have had with a team member in over 20 years, and the first with Mick for nearly 40!. It's great to be in contact again. 29 June 2004 - Following emails with Mick Guise I am now in contact with Jimmy Durup, another '64 team member. It is good to learn that the years have treated then both well and that they are in good health. So who is next? 5 March 2005 - Keith Austin has sent me photographs and an article by his father while on duty on Soqotra during World War II. The photographs and article provide a rare account of life on Soqotra at that time in the Island's history. It is well worth a look and a read. 24 August 2008 - My daughter gave birth to her first child, a son to be called Oliver John. |
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