I’ve known Andy ‘Shep’ Sheppard since first meeting him in a barrack room in sunny Cyprus back in 1982. We met up again in West Berlin in 1986 and then went our separate ways. Both of our wives gave birth to little girls, both with serious medical issues and Jo and Shep were posted back to West Germany to be near the primary HM Forces hospital at Wegberg (we stayed in Berlin where, sadly our daughter passed). Shep got out of the army in 1989, primarily because of the long term care Kelly needed and he joined a Government Agency and began a new career; I ‘soldiered on’ and it wasn’t until 2006 when I was out of the Army and rolling out a new IT System in Cyprus to an RAF site and was told that Jo and Shep were back out in Cyprus and I appeared out of the blue at their house and Kelly, now in her mid twenties answered the door and called her Dad to tell him to come home as ‘there was a visitor.’
Carole, Fiona and I went out to Cyprus again later that year, this time on holiday, and we met up with Jo & Shep and had a great day. We’ve met occasionally at the May Spec Op reunion, but they don’t come regularly because it’s one hell of a journey from North Cornwall. We had a fantastic afternoon today, Cornish Pasties, a stroll around Bude, some alcohol may have been taken and then a cream tea to end our reunion.
We have ‘pencilled in’ a week in Berlin as a foursome in 2023; I hope it comes off.
What a fab story, though poignant too. I hope your Berlin meet up works! Sounds utterly delightful and your smiles tell it all. (Hubby just told me he was in Cyprus in 1981 and 1984. Amused to think how you may have just missed each other at possibly the same barracks!)
@phil_sandford He was at Dhekelia, also Akrotiri, Episkopi and Nicosia with Cambridge OTC and then after Sandhurst with 49 Regt RA in the early and mid 80’s. Small world!
So nice to have long term friends like they. They are like family. That is a terrific shot of the two of you. Interesting story to accompany the photo.
