Page 26 - CAMPAIGN Spring 2021

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CAMPAIGN Spring 2021
Off we went, into the bush, ending up on a salt plain. It was decided we would have a race across the plain, so we headed off and got up to speed... That was, until my vehicle hit the rocks and we heard “bang bang bang”...
Three of my tyres were punctured. The only way to get my vehicle back, was to utilise spare tyres from the other vehicles. Mr Beresford was not impressed, and the RN were in the dog house for a while!
As time went on and I settled into my job in manning the teleprinter link, I developed a good rapport with the civilian workers at Woomera.
On my days off, I became fed up with running around the football pitch and swimming/diving for coins in the water tanks. I decided to learn about what had gone on at Maralinga, and volunteered to participate in the clean-up...
In order to participate in this venture, I was to be kitted out in a white full-length suit with a gas mask, which I changed into from my daily clothes inside a designated building. On my first trip, I was allocated a Foden lorry with a tractor and plough on the back, and told to travel on the ‘dirty track’ to the desecrated area that needed attention.
Driving the lorry was an adventure in itself for me, as this was the biggest vehicle I had ever driven.
I had to stand on the accelerator with my left foot, once it was in gear, and hang out of the driver's window, as I was too short to sit down. Amazingly, I managed to get to the area in one piece!
At the area, my job was to unload the lorry, with the help of another
person, and hitch the plough to the back of the tractor. Away I went, feeling like a young farmer ploughing his field, although this was hard work dressed in the jump suit and gas mask in the Australian desert heat.
At the end of my allotted time on clean-up, I was ferried back on the dirty track, to the cleansing building, to shower, change and check Geiger counter readings. Thankfully these were really low.
I made quite a few trips up the
dirty track, and ploughed, until, one day, I was instructed to take the lorry, tractor and plough to an area that had a hole the size of a football pitch. This hole contained Land Rovers, Hillman Huskys, and engines still in their grease proof brown wrapping, along with other items. I was told to leave these vehicles there and presume they were later buried in the hole.
During my time at Maralinga, I had the chance to go on a ‘swan’ to Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. This was the most enjoyable and memorable time of my service life. We travelled overland in the bush from Maralinga to Alice Springs, with the convoy, consisting of one Bedford lorry (all the stores etc.), two soft-top long-wheeled based Land Rovers, and one station wagon. I took turns with the other occupants in driving on the corrugated tracks. The journey north took us through settlements and farms in the middle of nowhere, and the only stipulation was that the last vehicle had to close the gates behind us, to prevent straying animals.
We spent five glorious days at Alice at a camping ground. This was more of a quarry than a camping ground,
with all the large rocks strewn around, and we pitched our tents where we could.
One of my RN colleagues and I took a Land Rover out and about to explore the area visiting called the Mound, overlooking Alice Springs. This spread out inside the Horseshoe range of mountains, and I still have the photographs to this day. In Alice, there was an open-air cinema,
and one of the young people that frequented the camp site to see us was the daughter of the cinema owner. This was handy as we got in free! I still remember that young blonde lady.
At the end of the five days, we decamped and headed back through the bush to Maralinga. That trip has remained one of my most memorable memories, which has stayed with me all these years. It made such
an impression on me, that I even returned to Alice Springs in later life, but, as you know, it is never the same as things change.
The other enjoyable part for me while at Maralinga, was being allowed to go to Adelaide on either a three- or five-day ‘Rest and Recuperation’ weekend by air, paying only for the hotel accommodation. The majority of servicemen stayed at one hotel (the name escapes me), making it a base, whilst enjoying all that Adelaide had to offer.
My wonderful year came to an end in 1965. I headed back to ‘Blighty’ for leave before my next ‘draft’
ship. On leaving Maralinga, I was presented with a tankard which I still have, from friends of Maralinga RN element and support units (even though over the months I paid for it...). This is something I still treasure