A British man who was detained by Iraqi soldiers for about five months after the invasion of Kuwait has spoken about his harrowing experience for the first time in more than 30 years.
Jon Godsall was among hundreds of UK citizens held by forces loyal to Saddam Hussein in 1990 after the dictator invaded the neighbouring Gulf state.
The Welshman and other detainees were whisked from Kuwait hours after the invasion and spent months being moved around Iraq where they were used as “human shields”, while coalition forces from 35 countries led by the United States waged war against Iraq in response to the invasion.
On August 2, 1990, Godsall was heading to work at the British embassy in Kuwait City, where he worked for his family’s air-conditioning business, when advancing Iraqi soldiers surrounded his car.
The man from Swansea told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme it was “probably one of the most vivid memories I have of all my life”.
He said he was held face-down on a road “with an Iraqi soldier’s boot at the back of my head, a gun at my neck, lots of shouting and activity increasing by the minute around me”.
After being loaded into a military Jeep he was driven to the city centre, right into the middle of a firefight between Iraqi and Kuwaiti forces.
Seeking shelter behind a wall, a local teenage boy sought to reassure him, saying: “Don’t worry mister, the Americans will come now and kill all these Iraqis.” Moments later the boy was dead.
“I’m kneeling down and before I had a change to grab him and pull him to the ground, I didn’t realise for the first fraction of a second what it was but his clothing just turned red and he fell to the ground,” recalled Godsall, fighting back tears.
A day after invading Kuwait, Iraqi forces entered the hotel in which he was staying and rounded up foreigners, taking them hostage. They were transported to Basra and moved to 10 more locations across Iraq before their release in mid-December 1990.
Another group were held in a room at Kuwait University. Harvey May, a banker from Kent, was among those kept in the building, where he occupied himself by reading books and writing short stories.
Following his release, Mr May revealed soldiers had fed hostages a diet of “slops” each day which consisted of bread and watery soup and caused them to quickly lose weight.
Months later, there were emotional scenes at Heathrow Airport when May was reunited with his wife Barbara and 12-year-old son David.
The group Godsall was with was brought to army camps, power generation plants and other locations likely to be targeted by coalition forces where Iraqi soldiers were “using humans to shield” themselves.
On one occasion, the hostages were paraded through a town where locals spat at and threatened them in what Godsall summed up as “the most ridiculing experience ever”.
“I thought they had exhausted their imagination of finding ways to ridicule us or drive us into the ground any further,” he said of the Iraqi troops.
“It got quite aggressive, quite violent and we were basically surrounded, [they were] spitting their food at us, waving these knives, coming at us.”
Godsall recalled how soldiers “took great joy" in teasing hostages by saying they would be released that day only for nothing to happen.
“I didn’t for one minute accept that it was true until I was walking through the tunnel at Heathrow Airport,” he said.
The First Gulf War ended officially on February 28, 1991 after Iraqi forces had been expelled from Kuwait.
Once hundreds of British hostages were released and repatriated, there was a misconception among the public that they had been fairly treated in Iraq, Godsall said.
After more than 30 years of keeping his experience to himself, during the Covid-19 pandemic Godsall decided to write a book about it, which he is still working on, to help his relationship with his family.
Those decades of silence have shaped his aim to “create a more positive life ... for myself and those around me”.
“The further I go into this, the better person I’m becoming because of it,” he said.
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GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
Chef Nobu's advice for eating sushi
“One mistake people always make is adding extra wasabi. There is no need for this, because it should already be there between the rice and the fish.
“When eating nigiri, you must dip the fish – not the rice – in soy sauce, otherwise the rice will collapse. Also, don’t use too much soy sauce or it will make you thirsty. For sushi rolls, dip a little of the rice-covered roll lightly in soy sauce and eat in one bite.
“Chopsticks are acceptable, but really, I recommend using your fingers for sushi. Do use chopsticks for sashimi, though.
“The ginger should be eaten separately as a palette cleanser and used to clear the mouth when switching between different pieces of fish.”
Short-term let permits explained
Homeowners and tenants are allowed to list their properties for rental by registering through the Dubai Tourism website to obtain a permit.
Tenants also require a letter of no objection from their landlord before being allowed to list the property.
There is a cost of Dh1,590 before starting the process, with an additional licence fee of Dh300 per bedroom being rented in your home for the duration of the rental, which ranges from three months to a year.
Anyone hoping to list a property for rental must also provide a copy of their title deeds and Ejari, as well as their Emirates ID.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
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Tottenham's 10 biggest transfers (according to transfermarkt.com):
1). Moussa Sissokho - Newcastle United - £30 million (Dh143m): Flop
2). Roberto Soldado - Valencia - £25m: Flop
3). Erik Lamela - Roma - £25m: Jury still out
4). Son Heung-min - Bayer Leverkusen - £25m: Success
5). Darren Bent - Charlton Athletic - £21m: Flop
6). Vincent Janssen - AZ Alkmaar - £18m: Flop
7). David Bentley - Blackburn Rovers - £18m: Flop
8). Luka Modric - Dynamo Zagreb - £17m: Success
9). Paulinho - Corinthians - £16m: Flop
10). Mousa Dembele - Fulham - £16m: Success
Pad Man
Dir: R Balki
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
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Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Power: 400hp
Torque: 560Nm
Price: Dh234,000 - Dh329,000
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'The Predator'
Dir: Shane Black
Starring: Olivia Munn, Boyd Holbrook, Keegan-Michael Key
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Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
