The month of January concluded with a visit from Brigadier RHE Robinson OBE, CSO, FARELF accompanied by Lt. Colonel JC. Clinch, Gurkha Signals, CR Signals, Malaya.

Brigadier Robinson saw just about everything in the Squadron, and also a part of it at loading and lashing drills in mock up aircraft.

After lunching with our Brigade Commander, Briadier RB. Dawson DSC, he had a look around Terendak Camp. He also paid a call on Cpl. and Mrs Orwin to see the inside of a married quarter and meet the family. The married quarters in the camp are good, and Cpl. And Mrs Orwin would be among the first to agree that anyone fortunate to get one has nothing to complain about.

15^th February saw the squadron headed for Brinchang Training camp in the Cameron Highlands for nine days. The accent was on physical exercise, sport, unarmed combat, visits of interest and a change of air. For the uninitiated , Brinching Camp is approximately 250 miles north of our base, near Malacca, and 5,200 ft above sea level. Most members of the Squadron climbed to the top of Batu Bringching (6,664 ft) through a fairyland type of jungle, and marched seven miles back by road.

Brigade HQ Troop had a grand day for their climb and map reading exercise – it rained and the mountain top never appeared out of the clouds at all, and it was somewhat cold. Wood fires were the order of the night as temperatures dropped to 43F (watch out UK- this may come your way). By day temperatures rose to a dry 72F.

Most enjoyable league six-a-side football and basketball competitions were held, and many members of the Squadron descended on the none hole golf course- the record for lost balls is held by Captain IOJ Sprackling, who lost seven out of six he started with, so either our OC or Second-in-Command must be minus one too.

Another point worthy of note-fresh strawberries and cream in February (any volunteers for FARELF?).Radio Troop have lost one of their stalwart bachelors. Cpl Judd went off on leave to Australia to get married and, before he left, he promised to go to the Fifth Test match and get up to the commentators’ box and give us a shout. We didn’t hear him, but feel he was otherwise engaged! Our congratulations and best wishes go to Cpl and Mrs Judd.

Our cross-country team did well in the 17 Gurkha Division/OCLF Minor Units Competition, coming second to 34 Company GASC but beating certain major units which had better remain nameless. Well run Cpl Coles and Morehouse, and Sig. Bridgeman, Dickinson, Gardiner, Helliwell, Mills, Remmer, Rowlands and Williams.

Our almost final note this month is one of welcome to our new Wives Club which held its first meeting on 21^st February.

Your scribe from the Commonwealth Squadron apologises for a lack of words from his unit recently. He hopes to make up for it with these notes of the Squadron’s comings and goings.

In early December the Squadron moved from its wood and atap home in Taiping to a new and modern camp at Terendak. Terendak is the home of the whole Commonwealth Brigade, and is now nearing completion. Being among the early inhabitants of a new camp has its disadvantages for all, as we are the ones to discover all the little, and sometimes not so little things that go wrong. We have to put them right, but we hope that those who follow us will benefit. We read with interest the article on Malacca in the March issue, but we are sorry that the author did not travel seven miles further north of Tanjong Kling and visit the Commonwealth cantonment at Terendak Camp. I hope he won’t mind if 208 (Commonwealth) Squadron’s notes complete his journey with a few words about the cantonment.

All the units of one Brigade live in one camp, so there are miles of barracks to be seen. These are the main features and are good. Among the facilities in the camp are a fine sailing club, beach clubs for all ranks, and an air conditioned cinema run by the AKA. Sports fields abound, but as yet are not fully settled. A golf course is in the course of construction, and will eventually sport nine holes. NAAFI have provided Junior Ranks Clubs in all the major unit lines, and a centre one for the minor units.

The beach at the camp is sandy but at certain times of the year is infested with a particular vicious form of jelly fish, which has already claimed many victims with its most unpleasant sting.

So life in Terendak is quite pleasant. Within easy reach of Singapore and KL, we need not go short of the bright lights at weekends or for leave. Malacca town itself is some fourteen miles from the camp, but provides little in the way of entertainment.

The Squadron, like all others with infantry brigade groups, has its share of exercises. There are of particular interest, as we are probably the only brigade doing jungle warfare, apart from the Gurkhas. We have thje added interest of working with Australians and New Zealanders.

Dear SSM

Now that you are proudly showing the flag by wearing the Commonwealth flash in that far flung outpost of the Empire(?) called Catterick for a few months, we thought you might like to know how your boys have been getting along while you have been away.

You remember some time before you left that it was rumoured that we would be doing a big exercise in Borneo which was supposed to last for about ten weeks? Well we have done that exercise now but it was a little different to what was originally expected. We didn’t go to Borneo at all, and some people hardly went anywhere. A terrible rumour reached those of us at the sharp end that some people even managed to go home for lunch from their exercise area. Anyway you can rest assured that most of then acquitted themselves fairly well on Exercise "Trumpeter". We were away from the bright lights of Terendak Camp for about 3 weeks, and one or two of us even did a bit of jungle bashing during that time. We had a lot of rain on the exercise, so much so that I must tell you of the night we had a visit from Captain Regler, 249 Squadron’s radio relay officer. He appeared at the signal centre late one night looking a little bedraggled. He aksed if anyone knew if a C41 was supposed to be waterproof. Trying to cover our ignorance (you might find out what a C41 is while you are at Catterick) we all said that we thought so. "look at this one," and so saying he tipped a large green box on to one corner to allow a lot of dirty brown fluid to escape. No that shows you it really must have rained some. Lt. Edwards has still not recovered from the shock of the mess of his nice clean signal centre floor.

Your stand in Staff Banham, is doing well, although he has not got your touch when it comes to selling The Wire. I nearly managed to read all of last month’s in the office without paying for it before he spotted me. If you don’t get back before the next issue I may get away with it. By the way don’t come back too soon as there is a whisper of this years admin inspection taking place in a couple of weeks, and I haven’t done my PE tests yet. Some people managed to qualify for them on the exercise, ask Sig. Down when you get back. What is Catterick looking like these days? If you can bring a few photos to prove to the Diggers that winter in Catterick is the same time of year as it is Down Under. They don’t believe that it snows in July.

Somebody told me the other day that L/Cpl Wallhead, who is detached to the Garrison Military Police, distinguished himself by "booking" the OC’s wife for speeding in the camp. I hear that she got a severe reprimand from the OC that night. L/Cpl Wallhead is going home shortly, and we’ll have to replace him, any ideas?

I hope these snippets of news from Malaya have been interesting to you and you haven’t forgotten us.