tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post2534222459004769558..comments2024-02-29T12:38:32.191-08:00Comments on MUSINGS ON IRAQ: This Day In Iraqi History – Sep 2Joel Winghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post-53577637210269405252017-09-03T10:19:30.691-07:002017-09-03T10:19:30.691-07:00Hi Joel. Thank you for your above response and for...Hi Joel. Thank you for your above response and for your email. I have been onto the internet to see what I can find out and I will delve further into my own material on Iraq. When I started my National Service in Iraq in February 1955, the UK held crown territory there at RAF camps in Habbaniya and Shaibah. These were formally handed over to Iraq later that year under the provisions of the Baghdad Pact, although reduced RAF facilities remained at these camps for a period. Our Movements Unit in Basra was just south of the Basra's dockyard next to the Shatt al-Arab, but it was not crown territory. Initially we were surrounded by an outer camp belonging to the Iraqi Levies, who had British Officers. But with the Baghdad Pact these were disbanded and their camp was then taken over by the Iraqi Army. The camp I served at may have been in the vicinty of (a) the Basra garrison where Attlee recovered from his inquiry when fighting in Iraq in 1916 (b) where Saddam Hussein had his ship in dock and (b) where British troops were stationed after the 2003 invasion; yet these are all unlikely to have been on the same spot. <br /> Harry Barneshttp://threescoreyearsandten.blogspot.co.uk/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post-5735377281134523912017-09-03T08:03:37.674-07:002017-09-03T08:03:37.674-07:00Greetings from California! I'm bored to tears ...Greetings from California! I'm bored to tears at work so I decided to <br />check out your blog on my iphone during lunch break. I love the <br />information you present here and can't wait to take a <br />look when I get home. I'm surprised at how quick your blog loaded on my cell phone ..<br />I'm not even using WIFI, just 3G .. Anyways, awesome site!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post-64135751600216130022017-09-03T08:00:54.381-07:002017-09-03T08:00:54.381-07:00Hi Harry, I don't remember hearing of any mili...Hi Harry, I don't remember hearing of any military base in the Shatt al-Arab in either the Iran-Iraq War or the 2003 invasion. I have a book on British operations in Basra though and I'll give it a look to see if anything is mentioned. Joel Winghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post-72109188318891018152017-09-03T02:51:05.741-07:002017-09-03T02:51:05.741-07:00From around February 1955 to October 1956 I undert...From around February 1955 to October 1956 I undertook the bulk of my National Service at an RAF Movements Unit at Basra in Iraq. Do you hold any information about what happened to that camp site following the departure of British Troops from Iraq just a few years later? Was use made of it by Saddam Hussain and his forces? And was any use of it made by British forces following the invasion of Iraq in 2003? Then what exists on the old camp site now ? In my period it had a jetty on the Shatt Al Arab river which British Naval vessels sometimes used. In John Brew's biography of Clement Attlee, he points out on page nine that after Attlee was injured when fighting in Iraq in 1916 he then "began his recovery at the garrison in Basra". Perhaps this was the same site. This is the thread on my blog relating to items I have posted in the past in Iraq - http://threescoreyearsandten.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Iraq Harry Barneshttp://threescoreyearsandten.blogspot.co.uk/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post-26309662662245370582017-09-03T02:06:41.999-07:002017-09-03T02:06:41.999-07:00Spot on with this write-up, I really believe this ...Spot on with this write-up, I really believe this amazing site needs far more attention. I'll probably be returning to read through more, thanks for the info!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com