Activities

Marconi Depot staff were kept extremely busy due to the intensity of ship movements but when there was an opportunity to relax we could enjoy a variety of amenities.

Due to our association with shipping and the refinery we enjoyed honorary membership of the BP Club at Little Aden, the Port of Aden Pilots Club and the Italian Club and had our own membership of the Gold Mohur Club. Typically the clubs had restaurant and bar facilities and safe swimming areas protected by shark netting.

Through friendship with serving members of the armed forces we also enjoyed many hours at their club on the beach at Tarshyne as guests and, from time to time, invitations to parties held by the officers of ships in the harbour to attend on-board cocktail parties.

Amateur Radio and model aircraft construction, using locally purchased kits, plus 'picnics' on the beach were favourite pastimes.

My Amateur Radio Station, call sign VS9ACH, comprised a Drake 2B receiver, KW Viceroy Mk III transmitter, Astatic D104 microphone, Vibroplex 'Bug' key and a Marconi Type 365 Morse key.

The antenna for this station was on the roof of the flats at Palida Terrace and was a full size 20 metre ground plane. Regular schedules were held with my brother-in-law, ZS5LU, in Durban and with a net of radio amateurs in Mexico. There were very few amateurs licensed to operate in Aden and contacts with them were highly sought after by amateur stations around the world.

My 'QSL' card. These cards are used to provide a written acknowledgement, or confirmation, of a contact established with another Radio Amateur Station and provide details of time, date, signal strength and the station equipment used for the contact.

Keilcraft 'Snipe' - a free flight model powered with an ED 1 cc diesel engine. We had great fun flying this model on a disused airport and chasing it in the car across the desert to recover it when the fuel ran out.

'Condor' and 'Wasp' were control line models that we flew (and crashed) at the same disused airport.

My wife suggested that I should take up boat modeling until I pointed out that boats could sink!

A picnic on the beach!

A cold beer out in the desert!

Elsa - on the beach.