Tony Cunnane's RAF Years

To recuperate from my double hernia operation, and my cancelled wedding, I was granted 14 days sick leave and I decided to get away from it all - to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.

One morning the cleaning lady in my room in the Lochmaddy Hotel, North Uist, caught me sitting on the bed, fully clothed fortunately, with headphones on and spouting Russian into a hand microphone connected to equipment in my half open attaché case. The equipment was actually nothing more suspicious than a portable tape cassette recorder and my Linguaphone Course tapes. I had decided that I would try and catch up on Russian lessons I'd missed in recent weeks. The maid looked both flustered and suspicious - as probably did I. She said she had knocked twice before entering and then muttered that she would return later, and left. I heard nothing more about that incident but as it happens I'd already decided to move on that day to South Uist.

On my way south from Lochmaddy I had to cross the island of Benbecula. I knew that there was an important RAF air defence radar station on the island but I had no wish to meet the RAF while I was on leave so I bypassed the station and continued my drive south on empty roads. It was a beautiful summer day and I was at peace with the world. At about midday I came across a remote loch near Peter’s Port in the extreme south-eastern corner of Benbecula (see image right). I took a few photographs of the fantastic scenery and then lay down on a grassy bank by the edge of the loch near a small disused pier and out of sight of the road I'd just driven along. I put my headphones on, started one of the Linguaphone tapes playing, closed my eyes and promptly dozed off.

The thumbnails above show a small selection of other pictures I took in the Highlands and Islands in August 1977.

Click on a thumbnail to pop up a larger version with caption

I woke up some time later when the tape stopped. I could hear voices close by behind a rocky outcrop. Not wanting to spoil my idyllic day by meeting anyone, I remained still and closed my eyes again. I listened intently but I could not make out what was being said. A few minutes later I heard a vehicle start up noisily and move away. I waited a few seconds then removed the headphones, got up and peered carefully over the edge of the rocky outcrop. I saw an RAF Land Rover driving down the road I'd come up about an hour earlier. It was going fast and leaving a great cloud of dust. The occupants were clearly in a hurry. I wondered whether they had seen me with headphones on, occasionally spouting Russian, and perhaps that had precipitated their rapid departure. As the vehicle finally disappeared around a distant bend I noticed something I'd not seen earlier. There was a small enclosure surrounded by high barbed wire and set well back from the road. A metal gate secured by a heavy chain and lock was on one side. In the centre of the enclosure was a metal cupboard-like construction about a metre high with a VHF radio antenna mounted on the top. On the gate a small notice stated something like 'RAF Property. Sensitive radio equipment critical to flight safety. Keep Out.'

In all the circumstances of that strange day, I thought it better not to take any photographs of military installations. Had the cleaning lady reported her encounter with me to the police? Had the RAF sent out someone from Benbecula to follow me and see what I was up to? Did someone think I was a spy, or was it merely yet another coincidence? Had I actually been a spy, I would probably have arranged my belongings in my hotel that evening in such a way that I could have detected whether or not they had been examined. But I wasn't and I didn't, so I don't know whether they had been!

I never mentioned the incidents on North and South Uist to anyone.

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