Tam counts himself is one among several pilots who twice experienced the intensity of flying in a ground attack role with 8 Squadron in Aden. Having cut his teeth on the Venom in the mid-fifties, Tam returned to Khormaksar for a second tour in the summer of 1963 as Squadron Commander.
“A tale that springs to mind concerns a policeman’s baton; not just any policeman, but one from the Crater area. During my first partial tour on 8 Squadron around 1957, an unfortunate policeman came into a café (bar?) we frequented and someone (could it have been me???) gently lifted it from the hook on the unsuspecting victim’s belt. The baton then became a prized treasure in the pilots’ crewroom.
When I went back to the Squadron in 1963, I was amazed to find that the baton was still there.”