This week’s Time Frame was meant to show the arrival of Air Chief Marshall Sir Thomas Prickett at the Royal Air Force base in Sharjah. But then there is the problem of those mountains.
The photograph belongs to Prickett’s daughter, Elizabeth Eschauzier, a long time resident of Abu Dhabi and pioneering staff member of The National whose efforts included making sure many of us had a roof over our heads. Lizzie - as she is always called - believed this image was from RAF Sharjah, where her father was a frequent visitor as Commander-in Chief Near East Air Force. But again, Sharjah is not known for its Alpine views.
In fact this was taken in Oman at RAF Salalah, also part of the near east command. Prickett (in white) is inspecting a guard of honour comprised of local tribesmen. RAF servicemen called them “askari”, but this is a generic name for native guards used across what was once the British Empire. They are actually most likely a mountain tribe known as Jibali, who were loyal to the Sultan of Oman in a region about to convulsed by the Dhofar Rebellion. The white fuel tank on the right is possibly on a white Canberra bomber which was reserved for the use of senior offices. If so, this dates the picture to the first year of Prickett’s three year posting (he was based in Cyprus) because these Canberras were withdrawn from service in 1964.
Almost all of this information is thanks to We Walked The Sands, a Facebook group for former RAF servicement in Oman and Aden. As well as identifying the mountains, members have also unravelled the mystery of the large building in the background, which is a firing range.
* James Langton
