Tornado: In the Eye of the Storm

by John Nichol

After a few days in hospital and the mentally draining psychological debrief, everyone was suffering from cabin fever. Nichol and Rupert Clark decided to organise an ‘Escape Committee’ in order to have a proper drink. They persuaded a medic to covertly transport them the 3 miles to the Officers’ Mess on the other side of Akrotiri airbase, ‘only for one quiet beer’, they promised. The pilots, navigators and minders walked into the long bar, which was overflowing with fellow fliers – crews of RAF passenger jets, tankers and transport aircraft using Cyprus as a hub to supply the Gulf. Given the former POWs’ international press coverage, they were instantly recognised. A huge cheer went up, followed by clapping and back-slapping as they waded into the gathering.14 ‘I shall never forget the moment we walked into that bar,’ said Buckley. ‘The sea of green flying suits was overwhelming and the camaraderie was intoxicating. As were the pints of Cypriot beer.’ Those drinks flowed even more freely when the President of the Mess invited the new arrivals to drink at the Mess’s expense. They needed no second bidding, and ‘one quiet beer’ was rapidly followed by a dozen considerably louder ones.