The pages may be ageing, but memories remain sharp for 91-year-old veteran

Norman Hughes brought old photographs, old editions of this newspaper and the Gibraltar Post to life as he told his story as a young serviceman who was stationed on the Rock in 1953 and 1954. 

The pages of the Chronicle may be dog-eared, but Mr Hughes certainly isn’t as the 91-year-old recalled his stories vividly and with such clarity. 

Mr Hughes was back on the Rock with his daughter Vanessa and decided this time he wanted to visit this newspaper’s offices and return a series of copies he had since his time in Gibraltar. One edition and one moment in history he remembers clearly is the visit of Queen Elizabeth in 1954.   

As we leafed through newspapers, he also shared photographs of himself and fellow servicemen at his former home, Buena Vista, the Stone Block and on the road to Europa. He had brought along a certificate of identity issued for a trip to a leave camp in Tangier at a time when, he recalled, the border with Spain had been closed during the Queen’s visit. 

The document allowing him to visit Tangier cost two shillings and sixpence, a significant sum for someone earning about £2 a week, he said, adding that a promotion brought in an extra guinea which helped, though money remained tight. 

Mr Hughes recalled memories of Gibraltar’s military presence in the 1950s, when the Navy, RAF and several Army regiments were based on the Rock and remembered being woken in the night to help care for survivors after the Empire Windrush went down off Algiers, and volunteering to travel aboard the destroyer HMS Duchess. 

But playing football and cricket for his regiment, on ground that was then largely gravel, “I think probably playing football for the regiment” was his most vivid memory. 

He had even kept newspaper cuttings of match reports in which his name appeared, sending them home to his father. 

A lot has changed on the Rock in the past 70 years and Mr Hughes spoke about how dramatic these changes have been.  

Places once remembered as open spaces or simple military facilities are now home to residential developments, clubs, and health facilities. 

The former serviceman recalled walking to Europa Point and working in an office with a wraparound veranda, which he loved.  

Some everyday details of his time in Gibraltar remain vivid, such as the heat on on August 6 when he first arrived, wearing a wool suit, or hearing fishermen banging tin cans to attract fish in the bay through his open windows at night meaning either the heat or noise would impact his sleep. 

He also remembered sharing inexpensive meals at a Salvation Army café with friends, making a little money that parents would send them from home go further. 

The newspapers Mr Hughes brought will now be protected in a sealed box so that events of his time on the Rock, and that of even the Queen, will be preserved as much as possible in the Chronicle’s offices.