Royal Air force Gan

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Above shows me on my return to Gan, 15 March 2007. 35 years to the day since I first arrived. I've changed a little since the photo was taken below. Bob Newell, John "Paddy" Byrne and me, Sadly, Paddy is no longer with us. God Bless

           Gan is Situated about 30 miles south of the equator.

It was first occupied by the British as a base for the Royal Navy in 1941. Airstrips were also constructed for use by the Fleet Air Arm. It was know as "Port T".

In 1957 the Royal Air Force took over and construction of a permanent runway began. It was used primarily as a staging post for military aircraft enroute to the Far East Air Force (FEAF). Other nations air forces also used it as a stopover.

The base was finally closed down on 31 March 1976 as commitments in the far east were dwindling and the base was no longer viable.

A very sad day indeed!

The weather on Gan is continous sunshine for around ten months of the year, the other two months or so are known as the "Monsoon season". It rains almost continously for these two months, and boy, when it rains, it rains! So, if you are thinking of going out for a holiday to Gan or the Maldives, then do your homework weatherwise. During the Monsoon season it is hard to tell where the islands finish and the sea begins!  For more information click on the "WeatherOnline" link below.

Excuse the picture quality of the photo above. This is at the start of the monsoon season. Me and Harry McMenemy playing sweeping brush (Monsoon style) cricket. Harry is the one on his backside. Paddy Byrne was bowling (for want of a better word!) and Jerry Keenan took the photo.

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