Tribute to the British Forces Post Office
It doesn't even look like a branch from the outside. The only hint is an ammunition case chained by the front door leaning on its side and painted red to look like a post box. In fact, you have a tough enough time just finding the this post office as it is tucked away behind a maze of concrete pillars and giant sand bags to defend it from occasional, but all too real, rocket attacks.
Yet once you step into the prefabricated shed in Basra there is no mistaking where you are and the essential role the British Forces Post Office plays. Hundreds of troops file in every day to send and receive parcels and letters from family and loved ones - it is quite literally a lifeline for the 5,000 brave troops stationed out at this hotspot.
The home sick atmosphere in the base is painful to observe but thanks to this most basic of branches life is made far more bearable. Small wonder then, that the daily flights of RAF Hercules carrier planes are crammed with hundreds of sacks of mail every single day - the next military priority after essential armoury plus food and water.
Indeed, the posting and receiving of a 'bluey' - a military letter - or parcel seems to be far more than being a comfort. The correspondence appears to positively lift the spirits of the Armed Forces and boost the sense of camaraderie.
Describing this barren war zone is not easy. There are plenty of overused adjectives and clichés that trip too far easily off the tongue - all I will say is this is a hot and inhospitable place.
For me it was the unspoken emotions that hit far harder than the discomfort. Anyone who has suffered personal loss, real fear or loneliness may have a slight sense of what living in a war zone can be about. It helps you appreciate the positive spirit and good old-fashioned bravery shown by our British troops.
It was a deeply humbling experience.
Toby Walne, Travels With Toby, Financial Mail on Sunday.
toby@walne.co.uk
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