The Op/Post Crown Story

This is an image designed for the Operatio Crown Association

A landscape image of rice paddi in the Loeng Nok Tha area at the time Operation Crown started.

The landscape above shows rice paddi with some of it's occupants, both human and animal. The picture was taken in the Loeng Nok Tha area of North East Thailand circa 1963/68. This is how the land would have looked before soldiers of the British Army arrived in the latter part of 1963. This website is an on-going project dedicated to telling the story of Operation Crown, the building of an airfield and Post Crown Force, the building of a road. Military documents and media coverage will be used to present an accurate historical account of Operation and Post Crown. However, the memories and stories of the servicemen who served on Crown, will be used to give an authentic and personal record of the Crown saga.

A black and white aerial shot of the completed tarmac strip.

The picture left taken from the north east looking south west, shows the completed Crown airstrip. The aircraft parking apron at the top of the picture, has only about a quarter of the tarmac surface completed. With the newly painted pristine white markings, this would have been the view the then Prime Minister of Thailand, Thanom Kittakachorn, would have enjoyed as his plane circled to land when he opened the airfield. The opening ceremony took place on 17th June 1965. The author of this picture was L/Cpl Cedric Williams of 59 Fd Sqn RIP. Cedric was a draughtsman and semi-official Crown photographer, a large number of his pictures are featured on this website. He also served on the Post Crown road with 34 Fd Sqn and resumed the role of project photographer whilst he was there.

This is the story of forty kilometres of six-metre wide road, built by the Corps of Royal Engineers in a remote corner of South-East Asia in 1967-8. In a not very well constructed picture, representatives of Britain and Thailand, simultaneously cut the ribbon to open the Post Crown road. Maj Freddie Rose, was the first full member of Post Crown Force, indeed its only member for several weeks as he prepared the way for the other servicemen who would graft and sweat to create it. We will learn more of Freddie in the Post Crown page.