An account by Major Brian Fahy
‘The London Irish at War’ describes the last time London Irish Riflemen journeyed through Iraq in 1942:
“The battalion passed through the Persian Gulf to Basrah and thence upstream to Marquill, where they disembarked. Then followed a most uncomfortable journey in trucks through a desert sandstorm to a large transit camp alongside the Baghdad railway at Az Zubair, a small Arab village whose minarets were the only break on the dreary skyline. It was the battalion’s first experience of a sandstorm, and they were not prepared for it. Sand penetrated everywhere and everything and all ranks were glad of an opportunity for a wash when camp was reached. But water in that remote desert area was scarce, and the utmost economy had to be enforced.
A fortnight was spent at Az Zubair, during which there were desert marches to harden the battalion once again. On 15 November, the battalion entrained for the north. The journey was made in covered goods wagons with an opening on either side, at which guards had to be on the alert against prowlers, particularly when halts were made at lonely stations. Changing stations at Baghdad the next day involved a brisk march through the Iraqi capital, the legendary and romantic charm of which was lost amid the filth of its beggars and the squalor and nasty odours of its narrow streets. At midnight the journey northwards was continued, through land famed in Biblical history. All that could be seen were the countless stars in a wonderfully clear sky, with the occasional outline of a camel train or a palm-tree in the foreground of the desert.”
Reading this book some months before the recent liberation of Iraq, little did I know how familiar such place names would become to a new generation of London Irish Riflemen in the upcoming years. Soldiers from the Company served during the liberation, between January and May 2003. The Regular Army was beginning to depend upon the TA more and more on operations. Operations in Afghanistan saw the first compulsory mobilisation of formed TA platoons. In summer 2003, the London Regiment received orders to prepare a company for deployment to Iraq on in early 2004. I was delighted to be selected to command what would be known as ‘Cambrai Company’. Capt Maynard Williams, a former London Irish Rifles officer, was to be the Company Second in Command. The Company was to be made up of three rifle platoons and a sizeable headquarters. Soldiers from the London Irish Rifles would serve in No 1 Platoon alongside those from the London Scottish.
Although not to be officially mobilised until November, the Company began training immediately after Annual Camp. My own mobilisation was brought forward so that I could join a recce in Iraq. In mid-October I was on a flight to Basrah with the CO and Adjutant!
Our job was to be Force Protection Company for HQ Multi National Division South East HQ MND (SE), based at Basrah International Airport. At the time, C Company 1st Battalion The Royal Green Jackets was guarding this HQ, and a very professional outfit they were. I realised we would have to match their high standards but I was confident that we could do so.
The London Irish Riflemen mobilised in November 2003 were Cpl Roberts, Cpl Morbey, Cpl Sands, LCpl Amos, LCpl Groombridge, LCpl Yumkella, Rgr Clark, Rgr Henderson, Rgr Hill, Rgr Newnham, Rgr O’Clee, Rgr Sylvestre, Rgr Woods and Rgr Clement. LCpl Groombridge and Rgr Henderson were being mobilised for the second time that year, having already been in Iraq during the warfighting phase. We spent two days sat the mobilisation centre near Nottingham, undergoing briefings, medical tests, administration, and the issue of uniform and rifles. We then had three rather dull days being put through basic skills. That weekend, we were back in London marching in the Lord Mayor’s Show in our new desert uniforms.
Pre-deployment training commenced at a furious pace. The Company based itself at Wretham Camp in Norfolk until Christmas. The training package was run by our own Permanent Staff. This familiarised us with the weapons we would carry in Iraq, and gave us training in specialist medical skills, theatre orientation and counter terrorist operations.
We also worked hard on our physical fitness, for although we would not necessarily be running around carrying a lot of equipment in Iraq, the climate would certainly take its toll on those who were unfit. Long, arduous runs with weight helped to improve our fitness, build a controlled aggressive quality and to bring us together as a hardened company of infanteers. After an extensive range package and a demanding exercise, the Company completed its training and was declared ready for deployment. It was late December, and all that remained was Christmas leave.
On New Year’s Day, the Advance Party mustered at Connaught House. There was an atmosphere of expectation but tinged with some sorrow as soldiers bade farewell to their families. We were piped on our way by Pipe Major Murphy who played the Regimental March and of course, Killaloe!
We flew, after some delay, from RAF Brize Norton. It was a long and circuitous route, via Hanover. We arrived in Basrah on 2 January to find the weather surprisingly cool. It had been raining earlier in the day and for those who were expecting to arrive in intense heat, this was to be the first of many surprises that the weather would present us with. Waiting for us on arrival were elements of the TA’s Tyne Tees Regiment. They greeted us with the news that we would be taking over from them on 7 January, five days earlier than anticipated! They were understandably delighted to give us this news as theirs had been a difficult tour, through the intense heat of the summer months, with the added difficulty of having their tour extended by a month! We were shown to the transit accommodation, a series of large, semi-circular, sand coloured and air conditioned (if somewhat damp) tents at the north western edge of the airport complex.
The Main Body did not arrive until late on 5 January and the intervening time was spent familiarising ourselves with our role. We had managed to get ten of the army’s comparatively new ‘Wolf’ Landrovers. These had been shipped out from the UK and had arrived ahead of us. This was good news! We would depend upon these vehicles to be able to carry out our convoy escort tasks. The bad news was that most of them were broken down and needed force protection equipment before they could be taken out of the airport. Thanks to The Parachute Regiment, we were able to use their vehicles until ours were serviceable, in mid-January. We were issued with the army’s new ‘Minimi’ Light Machine Gun and 40mm Underslung Grenade Launcher, superb weapons indeed. Hopefully we would never have to use them!
Divisional headquarters gave us our mission:
“Protect HQ MND (SE) personnel and assets within the AO in order to allow HQ MND (SE) to conduct operations without threat of interruption from Anti-Coalition Forces or criminal activity”.
We would achieve this mission by guarding the Divisional headquarters building and HQ Joint Helicopter Force, and by providing soldiers to protect coalition convoys operating in Southern Iraq. Force Protection at the Divisional headquarters would prove to be a mundane task but was the most important, and thereby became our Main Effort. We set about reviewing and improving the defences of the airport, building new sangars in some locations and reinforcing the guard in others. We were expecting the threat to the Headquarters to come from terrorists delivering cars laden with explosives or mortars and rockets. However, the greatest threat to our defences came from the Royal Air Force movements personnel who seemed to think that the airport was a civilian facility and the soldiers, sailors and airmen who travelled through it were ‘customers’. There were early difficulties associated with this type of attitude, but with the support of the Headquarters Staff, the Company held its stance.
The most interesting, exciting and dangerous tasks we undertook were the convoy escorts. The Company travelled the length and breadth of Southern Iraq during the five months we spent there. Some intrepid individuals even managed to venture as far north as Baghdad! Each day, we travelled to places that have become much publicised; Basrah, An Nasiriyah, Az Zubayr, Al Faw. On these journeys we escorted personnel who were involved in the reconstruction of Iraq, including engineers, builders and judges who were trying to introduce a new legal system. We escorted British and American military personnel, and journalists. Whoever they were, our charges were always afforded the same high level of protection.
When we arrived, the sound of gunfire was routine, much of which was ‘celebratory’ and came from Iraqis attending weddings or funerals. However, some of it was targeted at military personnel or was the result of feuds between local tribes. Periodically, Basrah would be declared ‘out of bounds’ to troops if the threat against them was deemed to be too high to risk movement. But until late March the country was generally stable. Roadside bomb attacks had taken place since we arrived. They posed the greatest threat to our convoys. Until March we had managed to avoid being attacked but on Sunday 28 March one of our convoys was hit by a roadside bomb. Thankfully, the device did not explode until the convoy was clear but on the 31 March, we were not so lucky. One of our patrols was escorting a number of Iraqi judges and officers from the Army Legal Service south of Basrah when their convoy was attacked. The Landrover containing three of our soldiers received the full impact of the blast. Cpl Dawson, London Scottish, was sitting in the back of the vehicle at the time of the blast. He received serious injuries to his head resulting in the loss of his left eye.
Cpl Yumkella, London Irish, received extensive blast injuries to his legs and buttocks. Private Jolley, London Scottish, received minor injuries. After the attack of 31 March, the Company carried on as usual. Indeed they were back on patrol in Basrah later that same day. The soldiers displayed great professionalism and were not deterred. The attack brought home just how dangerous our operating environment was. Over the coming weeks, it grew more dangerous as attacks against British troops in Basrah and Al Amarah increased.
By the end of March, temperatures were in the mid-40s, making days of convoy runs very difficult. As the Sadr Militia increased its attacks on British troops, we were less able to go into Basrah. The soldiers used the additional spare time to catch up on letter writing or to work on their tans! On 27 May we handed over to Messines Company, commanded by Maj Conrad Giles. We flew home, via Qatar to see our first rain in months. The green fields of England were a stark contrast to the harsh desert we had become used to. Everyone was glad to be home but our return was tinged with sadness, as it meant a strongly bonded Company would be disbanded. We went to be demobilised in Nottingham, which became our first social port of call we enjoyed freedom from the ‘two can rule’!
We were welcomed back to London by our families and the Regiment on 31 May, marching in to the London Scottish TA Centre to the sound of ‘The Londons Return’. Ticker tape rained down on us and the drill hall was decorated as if for a Royal event! We were addressed by the Commanding Officer and Brig Martin Vine, Deputy Commander London District and friend of Cambrai Company. He said that the Company had carried out its role to the highest standards. It had done so in difficult circumstances and had paid a price for its role. For my part, it was a real privilege to work with such a professional organisation. Cambrai Company showed the quality that the TA can offer – and Messines Company continues to work in Iraq in this spirit. We could not have achieved any of this without the tremendous support we received from families, friends and Regiment throughout the tour.