Workshops at Abbassia
In this garrison were various sub-workshops. Vehicles were towed in from the desert, tested and graded for repairs. Some were stripped completely. The various workshops worked on a specific part. Some did engines, others gearboxes, axles, or steering. We took apart the springs, made new leafs, reassembled them and passed them on to the body building workshop. This is where I was to work for several months. There were about seventy military, and five to six hundred civilians employed here. A Staff Sergeant was in charge and a "native" foreman eg a Maltese, or an Armenian. The bodies were assembled, put into test bays, and over vehicle pits. All new engine and chassis numbers were noted, and then the vehicle was taken to the paint shop to be sprayed and camouflaged. We had our own pumps and tyres depot. The testers took the vehicle out - about 40 miles - put it back on the pits and looked for oil or water leaks, saw that the brakes were cool, that the tyres were correct.
One day, the Public Works foreman asked if I could drive and I denied it. I did not know where it would lead, and I remembered the old Army motto, "Never Volunteer!". Some fifteen minutes later, Alan Nicolson, from the old column, came from his work at the vehicle park and asked me to volunteer as a driver. I told him he was too late, and he was really cast down. He was stuck in the garrison all day and he wanted out to see and A.T.S. girl, Joan, who lived outside the garrison in a large private house. Now, if you were a vehicle tester, you had a pass, number plates, your own tool kit, and you could drive the vehicles out without a work's permit. Alan reckoned that he could use me to get out whenever he was free. Then he could see his girlfriend, later fiancee, and also buy tickets for the pictures. All seats were bookable, and tickets had to be bought in advance. Taking pity on him, I went to the Public Works foreman and confessed that I could drive. "I knew you could", he said. My knowledge of the internal combustion engine was tested by a panel - a W.O. and a couple of officers. Then I was taken on to the test staff, and had to swot up on all the modifications required for Middle East conditions. Usually a test was a good forty miles - then back to its test bay for Return Off Test (R.O.T.) check - ten more miles and if all was correct, to the pass out bays for delivery.
A WO2 was in charge of the tests. He had an office an Egyptian clerk, and a car for his own use. he travelled round the workshops, and also along the test route. The garrison was on the outskirts of Cairo - a posh suburb, Heliopolis. Here were big houses and tree lined streets, leading to the Suez road. We could not deviate from the route in case of break down. If this happened, the next lorry along would report to the WO2 and he would arrange a recovery vehicle, and would often come along in his car - an Austin 8, open tourer. This was a very popular car, much used by the Army.
I drove all kinds of vehicles on test, for example, Austin 8s, 15cwt Bedfords, 30cwt and 3 ton Bedfords, Leyland Tigers with breakdown hawsers etc, "tough buses" for towing guns; personnel lorries for towing bofors. It was interesting, not the least monotonous, and almost enjoyable, especially the Class 'A', almost new vehicles. My assistant, a Nubian, would be waiting when I came back, to see if any more work, or testing, was required.
Apart from the "tiffers" and the native workers, there were thousands of unskilled labourers on site. They arrived in buses, with their passes. Of course, there were many scams, wheeling and dealing among them. Every day entrepreneurs would come in with pony and cart, and go round the cookhouses to collect the food scraps in large drums. I used to watch them lay out large sheets on the ground and then begin sorting the food. It was laid out in heaps and sold to the labourers! They did not buy it for themselves, but folded it into a square of fabric and took it back home to their families. They were poor people, but nothing like the Persians! They considered themselves to have grand jobs.