Exhibition to "heroes of the Trucial Scouts" opens in Al Ain

An exhibition on the first organised military force in the United Arab Emirates, the Trucial Scouts, was inaugurated this evening at Al Jahili Fort in Al Ain. The Scouts, whose origins date back to 1951, used Jahili as the base of one of their mobile squadrons from the mid-1950s until 1971. The unit was then renamed the Union Defence Force, the nucleus of today’s UAE Armed Forces.

Part of the annual Al Ain cultural programme of the Depsrtment of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, DCT, the exhibition, entitled "The Trucial Scouts: Life and Times", was opened by the DCT’s director general, Saif Saeed Ghobash. It is being organised in cooperation with the Armed Forces Museum & Military History Centre, and will run until 28th April 2018.

Thanking the Centre for its cooperation in organising the exhibition and in defining its story theme, Ghobash said that the exhibition "reflects the commitment of the Department of Culture and Tourism to the preserving of Abu Dhabi’s intangible cultural heritage and to passing it on to the coming generations to learn about the heroic sacrifices made by their fathers to establish and to safeguard the state."

He added that it also "pays tribute to the early builders of our armed forces, whose dedication and sacrifices contributed to maintain security and facilitating transition into the modern state, which is now protected by highly qualified and well trained armed forces. Our armed forces even play an effective role in delivering humanitarian aid and in regional alliances to defend the homeland, to prevent disasters, to deter aggressors and to maintain peace."

It represents, he said, "a journey that has many stops between the glorious past and the prosperous present. It is a journey down memory lane to express gratitude to the gallant heroes of the UAE Armed Forces, who are the descendants of the heroes of the Trucial Scouts."

Addressing an audience that included former Scouts veterans and serving military personnel, the former Chief of Staff of the Abu Dhabi Defence Force, Major General Sheikh Faisal bin Sultan bin Salem Al Qasimi, provided an introduction to the history of the Scouts, which he joined in 1954, at the age of 14. He also spoke of the great interest shown by the late Sheikh Zayed and by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in the early days of building up the country’s nascent defence forces.

Another Emirati veteran, Major General Abdullah Ali Al Kaabi, who later rose to become Commander of the UAE Land Forces and then Assistant Chief of Staff, also recalled his time in the Scouts, praising the role that they played in protecting the UAE, then known as the Trucial States, and Oman. He also explained how young Emirati soldiers, like him, were trained locally and then sent to Britain’s Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst and the Mons officer Cadet School,, returning to replace the seconded British and Jordanian officers serving in the Scouts.

Representing former British soldiers in the Scouts at the event was Lieutenant Colonel Tim Courtenay, from Britain’s Royal Marines, who joined the force in 1967 as a young officer.

Between 1951 and 1971, he noted, some 350 British officers and around 900 Warrant and Non-Commissioned Officers served in the Scouts and their predecessor unit, the Trucial Levies. "Today, there are only around 80 of us still living to tell the stories of life in this great country before oil and to recall our memories and pride in what we were able to do in support of the great united nation you have become today."

Courtenay, like Sheikh Faisal and Al Kaabi, also stressed the role played by the Scouts in launching early educational and medical services. One important element of the activities of the Scouts, he noted, was its Boys School, with local Emirati youngsters wearing Scouts uniform and being taught by instructors from the British Royal Army Education Corps. Citing the example of Major General Al Kaabi, he noted that "many of these young men went on to become senior NCOs and officers."

Speaking on behalf of his former colleagues, he added: "I can say for all of us who had the privilege to serve with the Scouts that you gave us an understanding and experience of a lifetime. We are extremely proud to have helped in some small way to assist the old seven Trucial States to unite and to blossom into the great prosperous nation that the United Arab Emirates has become today."

Another British Scouts veteran attending was Colonel David Neild, who later went on to establish both the Ra’s al-Khaimah Mobile Force and the Sharjah Defence Force.

Among guests attending the inauguration of the exhibition was the British Defence Attache, Captain Jim Lowther.

"I am delighted to see this portrayal of the part played by the Scouts in the history of the UAE," he told WAM. "Over a twenty year period, they played a significant role in protecting what was to become the United Arab Emirates as well as laying the foundations of the UAE Armed Forces of today."

"Besides their function as an internal security force, they were intimately engaged in the beginnings of education and development for Emiratis. Representing, as they do, evidence of the long-standing historical ties that link together the UK and the UAE, they also represent a little-known but important part of British military history," he added. "I am grateful to the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi for their initiative in staging the exhibition."