The civilian blinked. ‘Is it possible, do you think?’
Leighton shrugged. ‘No one thought it possible that Amin’s army could be brought to a halt in the first place, let alone thrown into retreat. The defence of the Kagera salient by the SBS-trained battalion was a great boost to the morale of the country. The militias have mushroomed, and they have the men to train them now, thanks to that team of ours.’
‘Indeed. They did sterling service.’
‘Speaking of the men, I have a request to make,’ the admiral said.
‘By all means.’
‘I wish to retrieve the bodies of the four men who died in Africa, of one of them in particular. He was married, and his wife is naturally keen to bury her husband’s body.’
‘What have you told relatives and dependants of the deaths?’
‘A training accident. A helicopter went down at sea.’
‘Well, then they can hardly expect to get the bodies, can they?’
‘Sir, this is a matter of . . . of honour. Those men served their country to the best of their ability, and made the ultimate sacrifice. The least we can do is give them a decent burial.’
‘No. I’m afraid it’s quite out of the question, Admiral. From what you say, two of the men were lost in Uganda. We can hardly go cap in hand to Amin asking for the bodies of our servicemen when they weren’t supposed to be there in the first place. And that’s another thing . . .’
Here the grey-haired man reached into his briefcase, took out a newspaper and passed it across the desk to Leighton.
‘What’s this – the Sydney Herald?’
‘Look at the headline.’
‘“British Special Forces Fight In Africa – How the British Are Bringing Down Amin.” Who wrote this?’
‘An Australian journalist named Susan Morris. Apparently she was in Tanzania at the same time as your team.’
Leighton read the leader article. ‘It’s accurate, if sensationalist.’
‘Yes. We’re putting pressure on the Aussies to shut her up. It shouldn’t prove a problem, but I want you to be aware, Leighton, of the difficulties involved in keeping our role in this . . . discreet.’
Leighton tossed the newspaper back on the desk. He looked suddenly weary.
‘Very well then. We’ll keep to the official line. A helicopter accident, the bodies unrecoverable.’
‘There’s a good chap. It’s in the best interests of the country, after all. Now, I wanted to have a word with you about sending some of your specialists to Northern Ireland. There’s been a lot of gun-running going on across the lakes in Fermanagh . . .’
The Tanzania file was pushed to one side and the two men leant forward to debate the deployment of more of their subordinates. While the December drizzle poured down outside they concocted plans which would ultimately send the men of the SBS into harm’s way again. It was, after all, what they were paid to do.
16
On 11 April 1979 the capital of Uganda, Kampala, fell to troops of the Tanzanian Defence Force and the Ugandan National Liberation Front. Idi Amin escaped and became an exile in Saudi Arabia. When the Tanzanians withdrew, as they had said they would when they had rid the country of Amin, a new civil administration was set up. Tito Okello was promoted to brigadier general and commander-in-chief of the Ugandan Army. Yusufu Lule, an exiled intellectual, was elected president of the new Uganda. Between them they had the task of rebuilding a shattered country and a destroyed economy, and of looking after over a million orphans whose parents had been murdered by Amin’s regime.
The bodies of Privates Michael Morgan, Anthony Parker, James Fraser and John Gordon of the SBS were never recovered. Officially, their deaths were put down to a training accident.
Sergeant John Willan eventually recovered from his wounds and left the service, discharged disabled. In the sergeants’ mess at Poole, it is rumoured that he returned to Africa as a mercenary, and was killed in Angola a year later. His body was never found.
OTHER AVAILABLE TITLES IN THIS SERIES
MARINE A SBS: Terrorism on the North Sea
MARINE B SBS: The Aegean Campaign
MARINE C SBS: The Florida Run
MARINE D SBS: Windswept
MARINE E SBS: The Hong Kong Gambit
MARINE F SBS: Royal Target
MARINE G SBS: China Seas
MARINE H SBS: The Burma Offensive
MARINE I SBS: Escape From Azerbaijan
MARINE K SBS: Gold Rush
MARINE L SBS: Raiders From The Sea
OTHER TITLES IN SERIES FROM 22 BOOKS
SOLDIER A SAS: Behind Iraqi Lines
SOLDIER B SAS: Heroes of the South Atlantic
SOLDIER C SAS: Secret War in Arabia
SOLDIER D SAS: The Colombian Cocaine War
SOLDIER E SAS: Sniper Fire in Belfast
SOLDIER F SAS: Guerrillas in the Jungle
SOLDIER G SAS: The Desert Raiders
SOLDIER H SAS: The Headhunters of Borneo
SOLDIER I SAS: Eighteen Years in the Elite Force
SOLDIER J SAS: Counter-insurgency in Aden
SOLDIER K SAS: Mission to Argentina
SOLDIER L SAS: The Embassy Siege
SOLDIER M SAS: Invisible Enemy in Kazakhstan
SOLDIER N SAS: The Gambian Bluff
SOLDIER O SAS: The Bosnian Inferno
SOLDIER P SAS: Night Fighters in France
SOLDIER Q SAS: Kidnap the Emperor!
SOLDIER R SAS: Death on Gibraltar
SOLDIER S SAS: The Samarkand Hijack
SOLDIER T SAS: War on the Streets
SOLDIER U SAS: Bandit Country
SOLDIER V SAS: Into Vietnam
SOLDIER W SAS: Guatemala – Journey into Evil
SOLDIER X SAS: Operation Takeaway
SOLDIER Y SAS: Days of the Dead
SOLDIER Z SAS: For King and Country
SOLDIER OF FORTUNE 1: Valin’s Raiders
SOLDIER OF FORTUNE 2: The Korean Contract
SOLDIER OF FORTUNE 3: The Vatican Assignment
SOLDIER OF FORTUNE 4: Operation Nicaragua
SOLDIER OF FORTUNE 5: Action in the Arctic
SOLDIER OF FORTUNE 6: The Khmer Hit
SOLDIER OF FORTUNE 7: Blue on Blue
SOLDIER OF FORTUNE 8: Target the Death-dealer
SOLDIER OF FORTUNE 9: The Berlin Alternative
MERCENARY 10: The Blue-eyed Boy
MERCENARY 11: Oliver’s Army
MERCENARY 12: The Corsican Crisis
This electronic edition published in 2015 by Osprey Publishing Ltd
First published in Great Britain in 1997 by 22 Books, Invicta House, Sir Thomas Longley Road, Rochester, Kent
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; Peter Corrigan, Marine J SBS
Marine J SBS Page 17