The war in Dhofar had been deliberately kept out of the newspapers by Edward Heath's government. The Brtitish servicemen involved were instructed that they were to avoid casualties as far as was possible and were to take a defensive rather than an offensive role. This was not always easy for BATT who were working with the firquats. If any casualties did occur there was to be no publicity. Casualties amongst contract officers were another matter.

There were other organisations in town such as Taylor Woodrow and Mothercat however who were not subject to the restrictions imposed upon the military and when the officers mess was hit by RCL fire it was obvious that the news would leak out one way and another.

A week after the event tucked in the middle of the Daily Telegraph my wife found the two inches of news that showed that the war in Dhofar was no longer secret.