Contributions by Fred Heath, Stuart Baines, Mick Hughes, Nigel Westmancott and Mike Brennan

112 Squadron reformed with Bloodhound Mk II's at Woodhall Spa before being deployed to Episkopi* in Cyprus. 112 operated the Bloodhound MkII in Cyprus from October 1967 to July 1975.

* 112 Squadron was located at Parimali West but administered from Episkopi.

Contribution from Mike Brennan
 

MB1

MB2

MB1   A Lightening from Akrotiri overflies 112.Mike states this was a shot taken           for a newspaper. MB2  The 112 'hill'.

A few more great photos from Nigel Westmancott (Read Nigel's reminiscences of life on 112)

Sunset on 112 Sqn

Springtime on 112 Sqn - Snow on Trudos

On the shores of the Med - 112 Sqn

Return to Parimali West
May 2009 - Fred Heath and Doug Cooper visited the old 112 site at Paramali West, it's still in use and known as the Bloodhound site today. Currently it's run by the army as a rehabilitation centre for troops returning from the Middle East war zones - so they can let off steam before going back to civilization.

A few more names from Fred: Terry Dolby was at MS1 when he arrived at 112 in 1971, Terry handed over the T87 to Fred after a few weeks. Tom Vellacott was in in charge of MS3 T87 at that time, also handing over after a few weeks also but to whom Fred cannot recall. In Fred's story about his experiences with the Bloodhound system one of the characters was previously mentioned was 'Jock', I recall he was Jock Dempsey, usually to be found in the tea bar along with 'Paddy'!!

Contribution by Nigel Westmancott
Nigel (J/T airframes at the time) did his BH-MK2-A course at Newton in the summer of 1973, and was posted to 112 soon after, arriving on the Squadron November 1973 (A nice time to arrive really, we were in blue by then so I didn't stick out as a "moony", but to my mind it was wonderfully warm). Nigel stayed on 112 until it disbanded and 'packed up' in August 1975. After 112 Nigel was posted to West Raynham BHSU, then 85 Sqn until March 1978. Memory is a bit poor on names - can anyone else help? (Click for some of Nigel's reminiscing of life on 112).

112 Squadron Disbandment Parade (July 1975)

PR1: One of the practices sessions.

PR2: Outside the officers mess after the parade.

PR3: Another practice session!

PR4: The parade marching on

Captions
PR1: One of the practices sessions outside the squadron offices, supply flight is to the left.
PR2: Outside the officers mess after the parade, the officer I believe was a New Zealand exchange given the job as he was the tallest, the Sgt on his right lives not far from me in Fakenham as he bought a property here whilst serving at West Raynham.
PR3: Another practice session, Sqn Ldr Lefarr, not sure if that’s the correct spelling, with the injured Chief acting as the C in C. The building behind is the standby powerhouse with the MT yard behind that. I believe on one occasion the Sqn Ldr's mini was placed onto the flat roof and he desperately sought a side loader driver to retrieve it so that he could go home.

Packing up 112 Squadron (July/August 1975)

PR5: Moving the launchers to Episkopi.	PR6: Handling the cable reels	PR7: Waiting to move the missiles	PR8: On their way!
PR9: Packing the radars	PR10: Ready for the off!	PR11: It wasn't all work

Captions
Episkopi parade square was used as a store area until the equipment could be returned to the UK.
PR7: Two of our suppliers, Keith Casswell driving, Peter? With him.
PR8: On their way. The white haired gent in the picture was the W/O a real gentleman, one of the last to leave I believe.
PR11: Cricket. An away match versus Troodos on the Sunday before the Turkish invasion of the island. One of the suppliers, Peter?, is batting. (Click for further details on this match).

Contribution by Fred Heath
Fred Heath (Type 87) has provided a short history of 112 and a collection of his personal recollections. Please use the buttons above to view.

Fred's short resume of 112's 25 years of active service:
"In 1972 112 Squadron were on parade to mark 25 years continuous service and the presentation of the Squadron colours. The actual milestone of 25 years of continuous Squadron service was actually reached in 1969 (the parade was a little late!).  As 112 Squadron originally disbanded in the 1920's and was not reformed until 1939, and then disbanded again in the 1950's before reforming as a Bloodhound Squadron, is the reason why it took from 1917 to 1969 to get 25 years of active service. Fred was on the 1972 parade, he still has his specially 'made to order shirts'!"
 

Fred Heath in a 1971/72 publicity photo. Each member of 112 Squadron was asked to pose for a photo so that it could be sent to their local paper - as part of a publicity/recruiting campaign. This photo was retrieved from the local Advertiser by Fred's mum! The missile is the 'display model', complete with shark's teeth, as seen in Stuart's photo's below - but in white.

Contribution by Stuart Baines
The following photographs are courtesy of Stuart Baines who worked in the MOTE on 112 Squadron at RAF Episkopi. Stuart joined 112 in 1975 and also took part in the disbandment parade on 1st July 1975. 112 Squadron's colours were laid up in Ely Cathedral when the Squadron was finally disbanded in 1975.