L3522188 WO ER Kissack - Military Service

L3522188 Warrant Officer Edward Roy Kissack M.S.M. G.S.M.(South Arabia) L.S.G.C.M (clasp). (R.A.F.)

Roy was a proud Manxman - born and raised in Douglas, Isle of Man he continued to visit the Island whenever possible and remained fiercely Manx despite his long periods away from 'home'. Leaving the Island for national service in 1956 he continued serving with the Royal Air Force until 1989 retiring as a Warrant Officer.

During his service as a Radio Operator Telegraphist (later Communications Systems Analyst) he served in Hong Kong, Australia, Aden, Bahrain, Berlin and England. In addition to three Air Officer Commanding commendations, he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal in 1982, the Long Service & Good Conduct Medal in 1974 and the General Service Medal (South Arabia) in 1961. His job entailed listening to morse communications and analysing their content, however unless you worked with Roy the exact details of this work remain largely unknown due to it's classified nature and his refusal to talk about it. On leaving the RAF, the Air Force Board commented "Thank you for your excellent work in support of communications analysis, in particular the outstanding contribution you have made in the field of military intelligence.".

On his retirement from the RAF at age 55 he applied for a civil service post at 399 Signals Unit, RAF Digby (now JSSU). A recommendation, for that job, states that "he is an excellent intelligence analyst with a wide and deep knowledge of ... operations. His ability to assess and disseminate timely intelligence is renowned throughout his trade.". Roy was successful in that application and it allowed him to continue to work within the specialist military communications world that he knew, and enjoyed, so well. He worked in the 'registry' where classified documents where stored and controlled.
He also occasionally transported document to other locations such as the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). Movement of these documents were classed as 'diplomatic' and carried in a diplomatic bag.

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