Travelling on the Main Supply Route Op Granby (The First Gulf War 1990). By Penny Moody

I had not long been posted to BMH Hannover when our daily routine was totally changed by the news that a large percentage of the hospital staff were to be deployed in our operation role as 32 Field Hospital, part of Op Granby. We were lucky enough to have Christmas at home and returned to depart to Saudi Arabia early January 1990.

We flew via Cyprus and on landing in Saudi travelled to Al Jubail to initially stay with 33 Field Hospital and were accommodated in large warehouses, in what had been a tyre factory. It was at this point that we realised that nearly everyone we had ever know during our service was in Saudi which was very reassuring and made us feel quite at home. 

After a couple of days a 32 Field Hospital forward party of about six people, to include a QA nurse, went ahead to do a recce prior to the main body arrival. Unfortunately, for reasons that were not quite clear, they accidentally crossed the border into Kuwait and the BBC news, for a short period, full of this story and we were all on tenterhooks until we were all eventually reunited.

After a few days the rest of us were to head off on the Main Supply Route (MSR) to our destination near the town of Hafar Al Batin, which is 94km from the Kuwait border and 74km from the Iraq border. The 12th of January was the allocated day. I should just say that the MSR was rather like the M1 on speed. Every vehicle was given a twenty second window to join their slot and if they missed their allocated space had to wait a further 5 or so days for another allocation, so planning was of the essence.

Our coach, with an assortment of 32 Field Hospital staff, headed off at the allotted time. It was a bit of a culture shock for us uninitiated to be on such a busy road with every military vehicle imaginable, mostly huge juggernaut transporters, not only British and American but many other allied nations, heading north towards the Kuwait and Iraqi borders. The busyness also translated to the sky along our route where an assortment of military helicopters from Apache to huge transporters also headed north.

Our journey was as peaceful as could be in this frenetic environment until about 3 pm in the afternoon when we took a break at a military ‘watering hole’ where the vehicles refueled etc. Some of us were asked to wait in an empty tent where we napped lying on the sand waiting to continue onwards. Although all seemed tranquil (ish) to us, obviously there was generally heightened tension, because after a short while an officer charged into our tent and told us we must get back to our bus and head back to Al Jubail immediately, as it was thought Iraq was about to invade. (Not quite how he put it but words to that effect). Our return journey is a bit of a blur but we arrived back quite late with only minimal kit as our Bergen’s etc had all been put on separate 4 tonners! However, our hosts at 33 Field Hospital were mega accommodating and pulled out all the stops with toiletries and other requirements to fulfil most of our needs. We remained at Al Jubail until the 17th of January when we were given another timed slot on the MSR.

So again, we said our farewells and headed back up the MSR into what we thought was familiar territory. How wrong we were in that at some point in the journey, I think mid to late afternoon, it became apparent that the war was about to, or had begun. We first got an inkling that all was not quite as it had been when we saw most, but not all, military personnel along the route had donned their NBC kit, but we knew nothing! We remained fairly uninformed as far as I can remember for the remainder of the journey. (I guess it’s called the fog of war). Those with long wave frequency radios tried to tune into a very crackly BBC world service and we eventually discovered that the war had started. It felt like a bit of an inauspicious day to be travelling, as in the mind, having watched too many war films, supply routes seem to be a good target option. However, we continued our journey with slightly heightened tensions making slow progress until around 6 am the following day we were again delayed because at some point one of the coaches ahead of us had collided with another. I think this was quite common as many of the drivers on this arduous journey became extremely tired. If my memory serves me correctly, we finally arrived mid-morning at Wadi Haifa Al our home and hospital for the next 2 months and nicknamed Desert Rose. However, those experiences are another story and all I will say is, that it was called ’WADI’ Haifa Al Batin for a reason!


Lt. Col.(Rtd) Penny Moody