A PHOTOGRAPH of II Squadron, RAF Regiment during the current operation in Afghanistan reminded Peter Ponting of his own service with the unit.

As a paratrooper, he had the distinction of being chosen to make the squadron’s 1,000th parachute jump.

The picture reproduced right showed a Merlin helicopter from RAF Benson arriving to return squadron members to Camp Bastion after they had been on patrol in Helmand Province.

It appeared in the Oxford Mail on August 2 alongside an article by reporter Tom Jennings, who spent a week in Afghanistan reporting on the work of armed forces from across Oxfordshire.

Mr Ponting, of Leyshon Road, Wheatley, joined the RAF soon after leaving school and worked as an engineer before gaining his wings at the Parachute Training School at RAF Abingdon.

He writes: “I spent four years as a paratrooper with the RAF Regiment at RAF Colerne in Wiltshire.

“Fifty years ago, when I was 21, I joined II Squadron, which was newly converting to a parachute squadron.

“I was chosen to do a solo parachute drop at RAF South Cerney to mark the 1,000th parachute jump of the squadron.

“On landing, I was met by the station commander of RAF Colerne, Group Captain G B Johns, who presented me with a II Squadron plaque with a silver inscription commemorating the 1,000th jump.

“Also on the drop zone were my squadron commander, Squadron Leader Wilson and other officers from II Squadron.

“The local press and official RAF photographer took pictures. You will notice in the photograph that Group Captain Jones was a highly decorated Battle of Britain fighter pilot and my squadron commander was the holder of the Military Cross.”

RAF Colerne’s role at that time was to move personnel and equipment to bases around the world, transfer combat troops to the battlefield, mount paratroop assaults and evacuate casualties.

Mr Ponting took part in many overseas operations, including those in Northern Cyprus, Aden and Zambia. He spent much of his four years with the regiment flying in the famous Hastings, although they were not the paratroopers’ favourite aircraft.

They were not built for comfort – the men sat on metal benches in the fuselage – and because the exit doors were directly behind the engines, “you were blown away like a leaf in a hurricane”.