Military march made a boy very happy

A photographer recalls the day when the Dubai Defence Force re-routed one of their routine march to keep his six-year-old boy happy.

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This story behind this week's photograph is best told by the man who took it. Len Chapman came to Dubai in 1971 as a member of the start-up team for Dubai's Ports (now DP World) and stayed more than 30 years. Mr Chapman now runs dubaiasitusedtobe.com, a website devoted to memories of life in the city. "Sheikh Rashid was building his new Defence Force. Each month a passing out parade for new recruits was held at the Defence Force barracks and Dubai residents were invited to attend.

"We received our invitation for that month's parade, much to the excitement of our six-year-old son, who at the time loved everything military. "We asked if our son could attend but were told children were not allowed, so we had a very disappointed six-year-old on our hands. "Shortly afterwards we received a telephone call from the DDF checking on our address and asking us to be outside our house at 7am on the next Friday.

"We were duly outside our apartment building (on what is now 51st Street) together with our son and our neighbours at the appointed time. "We could hear the faint sound of a military band that slowly grew louder. Then we saw the parade turn into our street and march towards us. Our son was more than excited! As the parade came level with us there was a shouted order of 'Eyes Left; and our six-year-old son received a salute I grabbed my camera and ran to a better vantage point on the other side of the road, from where I took this shot.

"It seems the DDF conducted regular training marches for their new recruits. The DDF Officer in Charge had decided to re-route the march to keep one small boy happy" Time frame is a new series that opens a window into the nation's past. Each week it will feature an image from the archives of both prominent institutions and private collections. Readers are also invited to contribute and can submit ideas and photographs to [e-mail]