YGTV’s article series continues - each month, David Sanchez will review military visits to the Rock. Drawing on his in-depth knowledge and photographic skills, the articles will provide readers with valuable background facts to the aircraft and vessels that pop into the Rock.
By David Sanchez
September of 2021 will be another month that will go down in history in Gibraltar. This time it was due to the fact that our firm friends the Royal Air Force were conferred the Freedom of the City, an extremely fitting honour for a service that has proved vital for our city, especially in recent times.
I recently had major surgery and was told not do anything for six weeks. SIX WEEKS! No lifting, no household chores, no driving, nothing. I thought I would finish off my new novel but that was impossible due to an inability to sit upright at a desk for long periods and the terrifying realisation that my brain wasn’t working correctly because of the sudden, dramatic loss of ovaries, cervix and womb. The only sensible activity was to read a lot of books. I list them here in order of date read with a brief review. Please bear in mind that during the course of this marathon my state of mind was in flux (possibly brought on by some of the reading matter but who knows).
I had my first inkling that something was wrong while trying to renew my driving licence back home in the UK. The DVLA website was asking for my passport details, but for some reason the document was being rejected as a form of ID. Because I was supposed to be flying in mid-July to Gibraltar to see my mother (whom I hadn’t seen since before the start of the COVID pandemic), I decided to call Her Majesty’s Passport Office’s Adviceline to check that my passport was in good order. When I finally got through on 5 July to one of their operators, I was told that my passport had been cancelled, though the agent could not give me any precise details. ‘Are you kidding me?’ I thought on hearing this. ‘I’m about to book flights to see my family later this month. How can someone’s passport be cancelled just like that?’
For my first holiday in 18 months, I was unvaccinated. This caused a whole added level of stress to the holiday, because as well as all the confusing paperwork, forms and tests to organise - if I tested positive for Covid 19 in the airport on the way back we would have to isolate in the UK for 10 days. This was an infuriating proposition as vaccinated people only had to be tested in Gibraltar once home and so could isolate there. They also avoided the added cost of staying in a hotel for the isolation period.
After the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, Nelson’s body was brought into Rosia Bay aboard his ship HMS Victory. Local legend has it that he was brought inside a barrel of brandy, a claim that the Royal Navy vehemently deny, and was quickly shipped back to London for his state funeral.
