Preparations for the Comex trip started well before the summer of 1969. The contingent had to be amassed and this involved many interviews with prospective travellers in Fay's Warrender Park flat.
Various methods of fundraising were tried - e.g. writing begging letters to the rich and famous. We also had a marquee on Bruntsfield links as a mini-exhibition of what we were about to embark on. There was a large map of the route laid out on many sheets of paper sellotaped together and flags were sold to punters (sorry, interested visitors) who were then to stick their pin into the map at the guessed location of the first place we'd break down.

We think the "?" in the photos below is possibly the mechanic who dropped out (not sure why).

The early days by Liz Y

Our story, the story of the Edinburgh contingent, began in our own beautiful city of the North. The first issue of the Comex 3 magazine was produced in February 1969 and a national drive to recruit would-be Comexers began shortly after this. Several of us applied as soon as notices appeared around Edinburgh University.

Seasons come late in Scotland. It was still wintery in Edinburgh, the weather clear and sharp on a frosty morning, but otherwise bracing with skies overcast. Early photos taken in George Square show seven of us bundled up in winter coats and woollen jackets. The prospect of finals the following term hovered over some of us like a haar from the North Sea. The idea of an overland adventure driving across two continents to India sounded like an improbable dream. Most of us hadn't the slightest hesitation about applying to take part.

Interviews were held with members of the Comex 2 contingent, not always in the same place in the early days. Latterly applicants were interviewed in Fay's flat. I was asked to come to Mylnes Court, a 300 year old building accessed through a close off the Royal Mile. The building had recently been acquired and revamped as a student house. One of the new residents had been a diarist on Comex 2. At the interview we discussed the aims of the expedition, the vision to promote friendship and peaceful understanding amongst young people of the Commonwealth. I learned of the amazing adventures likely to be in store as well as the potential hazards of the journey. I was reminded of the terrible accident which the Durham coach had sustained in Yugoslavia and of illnesses, such as hepatitis, which some Comexers had contracted.

The young are often undaunted by tragedies and hardships of the past. They remain open to trying things again for themselves. I think this is how we all felt about joining Comex 3. Over the next few months more young people were recruited to the group, including two journalists, Ali B and Bob D. The contingent now had a full complement of 25 members, later reduced to 24 when Bob chose to return early from Istanbul. Istanbul was a challenge, perhaps not seeming to bode well for the rest of the journey. In Delhi, we were joined by Sandra, a friend of Eileen's. Sandra had been working as a nurse in India. We were happy to welcome her on board for the return journey. This brought our numbers back up to 25.

From the beginning there was work to be done, not least raising funds for the journey. There were two aspects to this. The first was the budget for the group, including our individual contributions towards this, the second was our personal pocket money for the trip. The latter was restricted by currency exchange controls in force in the UK at that time, and of course by our own personal resources, time to cash all those Post Office Savings Certificates. The final page of each passport monitored the limited currency we could take abroad. Funding for the group was boosted by local education authority grants, sponsorship via subscription to Comex magazines, appeal to university benevolence, our own fund-raising efforts and other sources arranged nationally. Fay, one of the youngest in the group, confidently shouldered the responsibility for liaising with top people in the University, including the Chancellor, HRH Prince Philip, in order to enlist backing for the expedition.

Certain essential skills had to be acquired. Potential drivers were required to pass the test for a public service vehicle licence. Don C, Gordon and Jim M successfully passed the test. I think Ricky already had a licence. Insurance companies wouldn't cover girls to drive the Comex buses, although there were girls in other contingents who had volunteered to drive. Short training sessions were held in various locations south of the border during spring and early summer. Tony has posted a photo taken at a radio operators course he attended in Cambridge. Fudge attended a mechanics course in Luton. Other training events were scheduled for cooks, drivers, navigators, leaders, bankers and others.

As soon as the exam season was over, we all needed to get a grip on preparations. One ambitious fund-raising idea was to hold an exhibition on Bruntsfield Links. Although this was a nice idea, in practice the cost of hiring a marquee, as well as buying in refreshments to sell, outstripped any funds raised. We managed to recoup some of the losses by re-selling large unopened boxes of crisps to local pubs. This was when we realized that someone had to get a handle on our finances. Iona was asked to take on the role of banker and thereafter very ably managed the group budget for the duration of the expedition.

Meanwhile various useful things had been achieved vis-à-vis our spanking new bus, Cuddles, which the drivers had collected in early June from the Duple Coachbuilders' production plant in Blackpool. Don C had arranged an improvement to the storage area at the side of the bus, where our rolled up sleeping bags would be kept and easily accessible. Packing and stowing our supplies and equipment was to be an ongoing logistical task throughout our journey. Fudge had chosen the name Cuddles. At first this seemed an odd name for a bus, but the bus was quite cute when you came to think about it, like a large household pet. It kept us safe as long as it was cared for, as it undoubtedly was by our two talented mechanics.

In parallel with our group preparations, we each had to assemble or acquire a list of personal items, such as light clothing, sleeping bags, cagoules, kitbags, toiletries and other specified essentials. One idea was to sew a flap of cotton netting to the head area of our sheet bags to act as a sort of mosquito net. This proved suffocating on the only occasion I tried to use it. The girls needed to make or buy white dresses for Scottish country dance displays. I remember a discussion with Fudge about relative differences in working with cloth versus working with engines. There was also the question of immunisation against various lurgies which might assail us on the journey. This involved a series of demands on the student health service for smallpox, cholera and tetanus jabs.

We were now ready to rehearse the real thing. Onwards to Nottingham ....