73 Squadron

Received this from Brian Batty - 

The whole of 36 Corps Engineer Regiment (‘Corps’ was part of the Regiment’s title since it was under the direct command of the 1 (BR) Corps Commander and, thus, Corps Troops) was on Christmas Island, Pacific Ocean, during the period 1957-9 (literally at the end of the Operation Grapple X, Y & Z series atomic bomb tests), having left a rear party only in Maidstone.   When 36 Regt left the island, 73 (Christmas Island) Squadron RE was formed and its remit was to maintain the complete infrastructure in an operational state – the island continued, for some years, to be of strategic importance as a refuelling base.

Early in 1962, 73 squadron’s strength was significantly increased to provide assistance to America for Operation Brigadoon which was 21x H Bomb tests, during 1962-3.  I served with 73 Squadron from Feb 62 to Mar 63.