By the Editor: Abd-Al-Kuri is a remote, sparsely populated island situated off the Horn of Africa. For a few weeks early in 1965 it was the scene of some naval activity. This article sets out a midshipman’s recollections of the latter events and time spent in Aden during that era which witnessed the twilight of the British Empire. Fig. 1: HMS Cambrian. I spent the majority of my midshipman’s year (1964-65) serving on HMS Cambrian, a wartime emergency destroyer. Destined to deploy to Singapore as part of the large build-up of British and Commonwealth naval forces in response to Indonesia’s thre…
