RAF Gangodawila in 1954/5
These pictures were taken either by me or on my
camera in 1954/5. I scanned the black and white images from 2 in x 2
in contacts prints, all of which have suffered from careless storage
during the last 50 years! Click on them to show a larger version. |
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Big Tony and Little Tony reunited in 1955 for the
first time since 1939, outside the main RAF Gangodawila building. Of
course, we would not pose like this these days!! The sand bags were
there to soak up the regular monsoon rains overflows. A few days after
this picture was taken I left Gangodawila. Click
here to read more about Little Tony in
1939 |
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That's me on the left, after being promoted to corporal,
with Mr Delile, the stores man and general factotum. On the right
is another of Gango's complement whose name, sadly, I cannot remember. I
never saw Mr Delile's name written down so I have probably got the
spelling wrong. |
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The most important man at Gangodawila. He seemed to be on duty every
day for every meal - and excellent meals they were. |
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This was the front entrance to RAF Gangodawila - hardly ever used by
anyone except the rare visiting VIP. The flag was hoisted and lowered
each day by one of the Royal Ceylon Air Force police auxiliaries, who
managed to do it without help from any officers or NCOs. |
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This was the Gangodawila fire station. We had the occasional fire
practice but no real fires occurred during my stay. |
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Part of the Christmas 1954 entertainment provided by the locals from
Gangodawila Village. |
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Because our station operated 24/7, as we would say in the 21st
Century, a proportion of us were always on duty but off duty personnel
were able to enjoy the Christmas entertainment. This is the veranda
outside the barrack room. |
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Our own self-made entertainment for the Christmas 1954 party was to
put on fancy dress! Standing on the left of this picture is our faithful
'Room Boy', Sandy. He was probably still a teenager at the time but he
really was brilliant at his job. He made our beds, changed the linen,
kept the barrack room spotlessly clean, and any other jobs we asked him
to do. He always had a smile on his face. |
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A group of Gango personnel gathered at the bar. Bar is perhaps a
misnomer. This was really a passageway between the technical area on the
left and the domestic area on the right. I look back at this wistfully
because at this stage in my life I was 100% teetotal. Fanta orange juice
and fresh lime juice were my favourite tipples at Gangodawila. |
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This is the Duty Barman - on this occasion one of the Royal Signals
chaps - sorry I have forgotten his name. He never did smile a lot! |
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This sign outside the bar was also a misnomer because folk tended to
stagger out not in. |
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We had to make our own entertainment. Although we were only about 10
miles south of Colombo it was expensive getting there, and expensive
when we got there. Four on a bicycle made for one seemed a reasonable
challenge! |
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Someone decided that we should have our own pineapple tree and a
paddling pool with central fountain! This image is extremely rare
because on the extreme right is a view of 'Chiefy' (Flight Sergeant
Owen, the SNCO i/c Gangodawila) who very rarely ventured out of his
office which he called the Sergeant's Mess. |
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Work progresses - but no longer any sign of Chiefie. (Sorry about
the not very flattering sight of someone's rear) |
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Work on the paddling pool and fountain nearly finished. The
pineapple tree flourished and soon provided us with fresh fruit -
certainly for the rest of my tour at Gangodawila. |
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Finally, of course, the new facilities had to be tested. To this day
I have no idea whose idea it was to plant the pineapple tree and make
the water feature. The local villagers were bemused by the whole idea -
it wasn't as if there was any shortage of pineapple trees and the
concept of a communal foot washing facility mystified them |
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This one is for family and close friends. I am looking pensive
because my bags were packed and I was about to board the 'garry' which
would take me to RAF Negombo never to return. Five days later I was back
in UK. |
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The famous bent palm tree on the beach at Mount
Lavinia. Everyone took this picture on their first visit. I wonder if
the tree is still there. |
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An equally famous image, Elephant Rock not far from
the beach in the picture above. |
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Diyatalawa High Street as I saw it in 1955. We always
called this town, about 6 miles from Bandarawela, simply DLA - I wonder
if it is still known that way? |
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Pete Patrick posing with a group of kids that
appeared from nowhere when we stopped to admire the view. As the sign
says, this is the summit of the Ramboda Pass, the highest point on the
roads of Sri Lanka. |
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A street scene in the centre of Nuwara Eliya, the
highest town in Sri Lanka. |
