Iain (Jock) Thomson Died 17th. May 2004, aged 65 years.

I first met Iain forty-five years ago when I joined the Parachute Regiment. 2 Para were serving in Cyprus, he and Brum were in two platoon, and I was in three platoon of 'A' Company, so they were already quite friendly. However, with our similar sense of humour, we soon hit it off and became great pals. Iain and Brum were just 20 then and I was 22.

Iain really enjoyed his life in 2 Para, as we all did then; he was a very keen and professional soldier with a natural bent for weapons, so he was chosen to join the Battalion shooting team. The team represented the Battalion in competitions against many other units on the island of Cyprus. Their greatest achievements, however were at Bisley, an annual competition where teams from all over the British Forces competed, using small arms. 2 Para were regular outright winners of the team awards, and Iain won all the individual events.

He was a great help to weaker shots when the annual range classification took place; failure to classify meant loss of trade pay. Iain spent many hours on the ranges personally coaching his colleagues, even through their lunch breaks, and helped them to gain their classification. In his view, losing trade pay was bad enough, losing your life to an enemy was something else!

One of Iain's greatest attributes was his sense of humour; on one occasion, having finished our duty at about 9 pm., we decided to go and meet up with a few pals in the Square in Limassol and have a drink or three. Being a very proud Scot, Iain often wore his kilt on such outings, as he did that night. After downing several Bacadi and Cokes, the staple drink at that time, and unable to find the other lads, we agreed to stay put. It was after 1.30 am. when we decided to get a taxi back to camp. Although Cyprus was now at peace after many years of troubles, the British Forces still had to be aware that, in the main, the Greek Cypriots did not like us, while the Turkish Cypriots were friendly enough. Our taxi driver that night was a Greek Cypriot in his mid-30's. After a while Iain and I realised that he was taking us on a rather hazardous journey, away from our route back to camp, up the back streets and into an area that was out-of-bounds to British Forces.

Rather alarmed, we asked the driver to get back on route, but he pleaded ignorance of the English language; we gestured to him to pull over and let us out, but again he ignored our wishes. Eventually, Iain whispered, "Leave it to me Pete". He then proceeded to crouch up on the back seat behind the driver, raised his kilt and suddenly dropped it, and all its uncovered contents, over the driver's head! There was a loud screech from the driver, the taxi swerved and mounted the pavement before finally shuddering to a halt. Iain and I promptly leapt out and legged it to the main road and back to camp, leaving the driver in a state of shock!

The next morning in the NAAFI, I commented, "I know you're brilliant at weapon handling Iain, but that was the best piece of weaponry you've ever used!!" Great laughs all round!

In 1961, Kuwait was under threat from Iraq; 'A' Company of 2 Para were soon deployed along the right flank of the Mochlar Ridge, with 600 Royal Marine Commandos to our left. Iain's comment was "Who in their right mind would want to take on the Paras and the Marines!" Eventually the President, General Kassim, was assassinated by his own people and we returned to Cyprus.

By this time, Iain's application to do the SAS selection course had been granted and he left Brum and myself in Cyprus awaiting our turn. By the time we returned to the UK, Iain had been in the SAS for some time. He kept in touch though, telling us much he was enjoying being in the SAS, and gave us lots of tips on passing the selection course, although he never toldus exactly what he was doing, or where the Regiment was operating. When our time came, we put his advice into action; we applied for and were given 10 day's leave. Brum and I spent this marching over the hills laden with 40-50 lbs of kit in our bergens, practicing our map-reading and brushing up on our cross-country navigation skills. When eventually we arrived in Hereford for the selection course, we both passed and were very grateful to Iain for his advice. We were posted to D. Squadron where the three of us teamed up once again.

Each year, members of the Regiment would have to complete at least two parachute jumps in order to qualify for para-pay. Shobden Airport, only 18 miles from Hereford, was often the venue for this and a Wessex helicopter was usually used as the maximum number could get through the programme in a day. Whenever the Wessex was available the RAF instructor would ambush as many men as possible, and get them out to Shobdon. Parachuting held no fears for Iain though; he was always the first in the queue to volunteer to jump!

On one memorable occasion, Iain and I completed the two requisite jumps but he went on to do a total of six on that particular day. During the day, the Rt. Hon. John Slim, later to become CO of the Regiment, turned up to see how the programme was progressing. He decided to try and get a couple of jumps in himself, but hadn't brought his jumping helmet. He looked at Iain and me hopefully and said, "I need a helmet any suggestions?" Then he turned away to let this very broad hint have the required effect. Now Slim was a very distinguished man, popular with the lads; well built and with a highly polished bald head. Iain and I must have had the same idea at the same time; we looked at one another, each daring the otehr to speak. Eventually Iain spoke up: "Sir, if you look in that hanger over there you'll find a tin of green paint and a brush; if you paint the top of your head green, the RAF despatcher won't notice the difference!" With that we beat a hasty retreat, with the sound of the 2 i/c's roar of "I'll bob the pair of you!" ringing in our ears. Thank God in those days the senior officers knew the difference between a sense of humour and insubordination!! Our respect for him rose even higher that day.

In 1965 D. Squadron returned to operations in Borneo. During this tour of duty, Iain was ambushed while on patrol and severely wounded. This incident has been well documented. Iain's courage during the ambush, and in his struggle to regain his former fitness during the months that followed, were outstanding. He was awarded a Mention in Despatches, although when one considers that higher awards have been made for lesser actions, most people agree that he deserved a Military Medal or Distinguished Conduct Medal.

Later Iain returned to his parent Regiment, the Paras, for which he always retained a great love, and then back to a Scottish Regiment. He eventually ended his soldiering as a top instructor in a T.A. Light Infantry unit. He served as a security agent in Beirut, where he was given an award by the US Forces in respect of the work he did for them, and was later given a medal by the Polish Forces in acknowledgement of his actions.

Iain was a soldiers' soldier; fearless, a good patriotic Scot and a great Briton. I feel happy to have served with him in my life.

Pete Scholey
Member Number 022
Allied Special Forces Association
Hereford -