In mid-January 2003 every member of the WDs received notice that they were being called up for war. That possibility had been live for several months, as our expertise in NBC reconnaissance and decontamination had obvious relevance to any plan concerning Iraq. Still, the day we received our mobilisation papers was a solemn one.
It was the first time the WDs had been called up since 1939 and it was being done in haste. We were to amalgamate with A Sqn of the Royal Yeomanry, under the command of Major D Guinness. Augmented by 24 drivers from the Royal Logistic Corps, we became Y Sqn, Jt NBC Regt.
Our preparations in England during February were frantic. By the start of March, we and our vehicles were in the wastelands of northern Kuwait. We trained hard, wearing our NBC protective suits and respirators in the desert heat, as the build-up to fight and talks to avert war went on.
The Jt NBC Regt was an asset for the use of 1(UK) Division as a whole. Consequently, Y Sqn was deployed to assist in nearly every aspect of the divisional plan.
The plan was this. British land forces would advance into Iraq on three axes at once: to the east, the Royal Marines would proceed up the Shatt-Al-Arab waterway and into the Al Faw peninsula; in the centre, 7 Armoured Brigade would strike at Iraqi forces near Safwan and Az Zubayr before tackling Basra; while to the west, 16 Air Assault Brigade would rush to seize and protect the Rumaila oilfields.
On 12 March, the squadron was split, with sections and individuals dispersed throughout the division. The main dispositions were:
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•2Lt J Phillips (W Sqn) kept two sections of his troop and was tasked with providing NBC decontamination cover to the divisional support group and Y Squadron’s headquarters
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•2Lt C MacEvilly (W Sqn) was sent with a section-plus to augment G Sqn Jt NBC Regiment, who would protect 16 Air Assault Brigade during its move into Iraq
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•2Lt M Dalzell (A Sqn) went with a section-plus to Camp Viking, the jump-off point for elements of the Royal Marines, to provide decontamination capability there
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•Lt S Keyes (A Sqn) took two sections to D Sqn Jt NBC Regiment, who would accompany 7 Armoured Brigade
The day of the ground assault came. As the coalition forces advanced, we passed trigger points at which it was expected that chemical or biological weapons would be used against us. Each we crossed one it was a daunting prospect knowing what we were expected to do should the worst happen. But although we had many such moments, the direst news never came.
A couple of days after Baghdad fell, Y Sqn was gathered in from across the theatre and re-roled as infantry. Our mission was to assist in the peace support operations in the Basra region, enabling the Parachute Regiment and Royal Irish to move further north. The majority were sent to the village of Muzaybilah, where Capt R Nall (who went on to command the WDs on their return to England) and Lt Keyes each commanded a troop scaled to platoon strength (ie, 24 men rather than 12); others went with D Sqn to Ad Dayr on the road south to Basra, while the remainder were sent with G Sqn to Al Qurnah, a town of 20,000 on the junction of the Tigris and Euphrates.
Those WDs who stayed with G Sqn were placed, along with 20 regulars, under my command. Like the other cavalry platoons, we carried out a range of infantry peacekeeping tasks: day and night patrols (in vehicles and on foot), guarding key sites such as hospitals, school and public buildings, chasing and impounding stolen cars, confiscating weapons, travelling around obtaining information about humanitarian needs, and so on. It was one of the most rewarding experiences of our lives, yet many of us have never worked harder. The reception we had, especially during foot patrols, was warm: day after day we were thanked and applauded.
Most of us returned to the UK at the end of May 2003. Some volunteered to stay on. Re-acclimatising was less difficult than we had expected, in large part because we were so lucky that we did not have to face the worst but also because of our pride in what we had achieved.
