THE ROYAL LOGISTIC CORPS FOUNDATION
the UAE) and Bahrain. They continued to support the Omani government in its wars with the communist separatists in Dhofar, as well as taking on less glamorous third-line jobs, much to the disappointment of the men. In 1971, 2 Sqn RCT was withdrawn from Bahrain and moved to BAOR. It is in this iteration, as a Germany-based squadron supporting armoured infantry, the current 2 CS Sqn soldiers understand as their heritage. This self-image is consistent with its potential role as part of the first CSS STRIKE Regiment in the near future. 90 Sqn met a less enviable fate. As Britain withdrew from the Gulf region, no longer needing an air bridge to India and Singapore due to independence, 90 Sqn RCT was disbanded. As its sister Sqn in the Gulf, it must be the responsibility of 2 Sqn to remember and pass on 90 Sqn’s story. The 2 CS Sqn flag features a jerboa. An animal associated in the British Army with the successors to Montgomery’s Desert Rats. I suspect we also adopted this animal, endemic across the MENA region, as a tribute to the long years spent in the desert. Our sub-unit history has much to teach us and we can gain great pride and esprit de corps from it. The size and ubiquity
HISTORY
of the RLC, can get in the way of learning from and identifying with, our regiments and squadrons in the way the teeth arms do. This can cost us specific histories which are our heritage as soldiers. I will leave the last word to the OC of 2 Sqn RCT on the eve of the move from Aden to Bahrain, which feel I prescient in these current long days as we work hard on our brief return to the Arabian Peninsula:
This may be an appropriate occasion to remind you of the Corps motto NIL SINE LABORE, (sic) the correct translation being “nothing achieved without effort” and not (...) “no sign of anybody working” Maj RJ Carter July 1967 Bibliography Sutton, Brig D.J.; (1983) The Story of the Royal Army Service Corps and the Royal Corps of Transport, 1945-82 Leo Cooper, London Arkless, D.C.; (1988) The Secret War: Dhofar, 1971/1972 Kimber, Michigan Newsinger, J.; (2015) British Counterinsurgency, Palgrave Macmillan, London Gardiner, I.; (2006) In the Service of the Sultan: A First Hand Account of the Dhofar Insurgency, Pen & Sword, London 2 CS Squadron scrapbook archive
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