Wessex 5 1972

This was the major means of getting our little bodies and big bergens from HM ships onto and off land. Just before I took this a whole gaggle of meejah types were prodding us with microphones, cameras you name it they shoved it in our faces. We got the buzz, "Aircraft 2 minutes," so wandered off and slid into a ditch. Nobody thought it necessary to bring a meejah type with them.
As the Wessex landed the surrounding gravel got airborne as shrapnel, shredding skin and hammering cameras. We did not smile or snigger. We simply ran to the Wessex, scrambled in through the wonderful exhaust fumes then rolled around laughing as we went back to the carrier.
I spent many hours of my year prior to my pilots course scrounging lifts in the left hand seat. Great fun.