On December 31, 1963, the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was dissolved. Northern Rhodesia became Zambia and was granted independence. Nyasaland became Malawi and was granted independence. Southern Rhodesia, the most advanced of the three countries, reverted to being a self-governing colony; subsequently dropping the Southern bit and becoming just Rhodesia. The two northern countries did not have the necessary skills, so Rhodesia was given most of the Federal Air Force and most of the Federal Army, including the SAS.
Just prior to the break up in 1962 the Rhodesian SAS Sqn was based in new barracks at Ndola, on the Copper Belt of Northern Rhodesia. One of the reasons for positioning the SAS at Ndola was to counter the threat posed by the unrest taking place in the Congo. This terrorism was promoted by the communist power of Russia which was trying to gain a foothold in this mineral rich region.
The Parachute Training School would fly into Ndola and carry out continuation training. This was quite exciting because we were usually dropped into open areas surrounded by jungle. On one occasion I jumped as the drifter and found myself waist-deep in some very smelly mud. It was a soft landing and the only drawback was having to burn off the leaches that decided to snack on my blood, an unforgettable experience. At the end of every continuation jump there was a party. Never in the field of human conflict has so much beer been drunk by so few, that is to our knowledge. Those were the carefree days and little was done to disturb our wonderful existence. However we were still governed by the RAF rules and regulations regarding the dropping of paratroops and it would be a few years before we changed them.
In 1963, I was selected for commission and was sent to RAF Jerby on the Isle of Man, where I joined #147 Officer Cadet Course RAF. I arrived there on February 17 1963, my first wedding anniversary, and damn near died of cold. The snow was over six feet deep, and I did not have the clothing for those Arctic conditions. I did survive, and was commissioned as a Flying Officer on May 22, 1963, and returned immediately to Rhodesia where I became the Training Officer/Chief Instructor of No.1 PTS, Royal Rhodesian Air Force. At the end of this course I was given the opportunity by the RAF to transfer over to the Royal Air Force but my home was Rhodesia and I was willing to fight for it (yes, I actually held the Queen’s Commission).
On my return to PTS, my first job was to teach my new boss Boet Swart how to become a PJI. He was a good boss who quickly learned the necessary skills required to maintain our very high standard. Boet was transferred from the Army and was a tremendous help to me in later years, mainly because he knew everybody worth knowing in the Army, as well as how it worked. Boet had already qualified as a parachutist on No.3 basic static line course and all that was required was for him to be taught how to instruct as a PJI and the necessary safety procedures. The very first rule was to never get pressured into dropping troops just to impress or to help the brass to show off , because that is how men get injured unnecessarily.
In July 1963 the RAF sent a Beverly Aircraft to New Sarum so that 'C' (Rhodesia) Sqn 22 SAS. could carry out parachute training from this aircraft. This was done in order to bring C Sqn into line with the rest of the British 22nd SAS Regiment. All very exciting because this aircraft could lift and drop heavy loads from the main cargo area on platforms and drop paratroops from the upper deck through a hole in the floor. Alternatively it could lift and drop 60 paratroops from the main deck through port and starboard side doors. The big disadvantage with this large aircraft occurred when carrying a full load of 60 paratroops who were to be dropped as two simultaneous sticks of 30 from the two side doors.
This would require some of the troops having to climb down from the upper deck to join the men on the lower deck. This made the Aircraft drill very complicated.
This photograph shows the port stick of C Sqn (Rhodesia) SAS seated waiting for take off in RAF Beverly #122 on 4th July 1963. The brand new Training Officer complete with collar and tie is seated next to Fred Bear and trying to look nonchalant.
We then carried out a number of lifts and dropped the men onto our usual DZ at the end of runway 32 at Salisbury Airport. The RAF insisted on using their CARP(calculated air release point) for these drops. I jumped as the Drifter with our mascot Fred Bear. This resulted in me landing outside the airfield and having to carry my parachute and Fred back to the DZ. I was never a advocate of this particular method for accurate parachute dropping, because whenever I was dropped using this system I landed way off target. It must be remembered it was before GPS.
This photograph shows a Rhodesian SAS soldier making an exit through the Beverly Boom parachute door which was a hole in the floor. At times this could be very unnerving especially at night when it just appeared to be a big black hole. For this exit the parachutist was just required to take a smart step into space just far enough to clear his parachute but not so far as to hit his nose on the far side of the opening.
When the Federation broke up on 31st December 1963 most of the trained SAS soldiers, and all of the SAS officers opted to leave the Federal Army with many joining the British Army. I believe a number were accepted into the 22nd SAS in the UK. Only 31 other ranks opted to remain in the Rhodesian Army. The two RAF seconded PJIs at the PTS Flt/Lt Ron Smith and Flt/Sgt Robbie Robinson returned to the UK and so did the two PJI's who had transferred from the RAF to the RRAF- Sgt Terry Hagan and Sgt Ivor Thomas. Boet Swart, transferred from the Rhodesian Army, was promoted to Sqn/Ldr and became OC PTS.
By the end of 1963, the PTS at New Sarum had completed training a total of 14 basic static line courses, all as C (Rhodesia) Sqn 22nd SAS Regiment. This scenario was accepted by all in PTS, and we assumed we’d carry on as we had during the
previous two years. The SAS were still C Sqn 22 SAS Regiment and a new CO, Major Dudley Coventry was appointed with Capt Peter Rich as the 2nd in command. The first basic static line course #15 was run for the new SAS officers in August 1964 and these officers became the nucleus, and eventual leaders of the Squadron.
This photograph shows the members of # 15 Basic Static Line Course. This course was for the new SAS Officers and the first 2 Troopers to pass selection in 1964. From Left to Right standing unknown Tpr unknown Tpr Lt Harry Harvey, Lt Barney Bentley, Lt Auve Raath, Lt Mike Pellam, Lt Brian Robinson. Kneeling their PJI Sgt Mercer Thomson and the brand new training officer Flg/Off Derek de Kock
The PTS Staff in 1964 were Sqn/Ldr. M.J. Swart (Boet) Commanding Officer.
Flg/Off D.J.G. de Kock Chief Instr/Trng Officer
W.O.1 W.P. Maitland School Warrant Officer.
Sgt T.P. Smith PJI
Sgt W.T. Hales (Frank) PJI
Sgt R. M. Thomson PJI
Unfortunately Mercer Thomson badly smashed his arm doing a Sky Dive with the local civilian club and he was invalided out of the Air force. This opened up a vacancy and Cpl/Tech A.B.Hughes (Tony) joined the Staff. PTS was a very small organisation and in relation to its size very top heavy. During this period courses were scarce and it would take Tony a long time to qualify.
1964 was a quiet year in the parachuting business. However, the instructors tried their level best to do a minimum of one parachute jump per week. We found ourselves doing all sorts of other things, like building rifle ranges and bowling greens at New Sarum. I learned to drive a bulldozer and was also dragged into being Station Adjutant from time to time. Other members of PTS filled in as Station Warrant Officer and OC Admin Wing. We did learn how to play very good Bridge, and Boet and I would teach No.3 Squadron pilots a thing or two every lunch time. In fact, the only exciting part of this particular existence was the odd trip to Kariba where we helped build the chalets at the Air Force Welfare Site.
. Towards the end of 1964, PTS was also tasked with guarding a number of detainees, who were loaded onto a Dakota at New Sarum and flown to the low-veld where they were handed over to the police. This was very interesting because these chaps thought they were about to be knocked on the head, or thrown out of the aircraft and the resulting smell inside the cabin was something to behold. We would take the parachute door off the Dakota to let the smell out. In retrospect this action may have increased the adrenaline induced smell but we never thought about it at the time. We all wore dispatcher parachutes and safety belts hooked to the overhead parachute cable, and we were armed with baseball bats for our protection. All these guys had been rounded up by the police and were being shifted into other areas where it was hoped they could be observed in different environment and would cause less mischief. Nothing was ever done to these chaps physically to my knowledge , certainly not in my presence.
It was during this period that the Parachute Training School gained the reputation for being very versatile and always the "Go to place to get the difficult and unusual jobs done." We could build anything, break anything or blow anything up and we jumped out of serviceable aircraft, everybody thought we were crazy.
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