Page 15 - CAMPAIGN Summer 2021

A Cutter's Life, Operation Grapple, 1956-57
"We have a story of Operation Grapple 1957 but no name attached. Please could the veteran who wrote the following get in touch with Ceri. We have so many stories to post, please bear with us, however, we’re always interested in receiving more! Thank you.
We left Heathrow for New York calling at Keflavik, Iceland and onto New York. The next call was onward to San Francisco where we had an overnight stop. Next day back to the airport and Qantas flight onto Honolulu. Had a lovely meal at the Surfrider Hotel while the aircraft was being fuelled. Then onward to one of the islands to refuel, next stop and final stop Fiji.
We spent some time in an army camp just outside Suva. Our time in Fiji was closed with the arrival of the troopship Cheshire. As we left Suva, a crowd had gathered on the dockside singing a beautiful song, “Isa Ilehi”.
The troopship got underway to Christmas Island; the accommodation we were allocated was in the lowest deck and was very hot, so I slept on the upper deck. As we approached the island, I was amazed at the clarity of the water – a beautiful green blue. The ship anchored in Cook Bay and started to unload. There was a motor cutter for us sailors and a dredger we were to work on taking the spoils out to over the edge of the reef. The barge had a collapsible bottom.
As the cutter was lowered over the ship’s side, I was asked by our officer in charge, “Do you know anything about engines?” ”No”, I replied. “Well, you are in charge of
the cutter’s engine!” And so it would be. I had a quick lesson on how to maintain the engine, how to put to go ahead and astern. Off we went to the shore with Leading Seaman Bungy Williams as coxswain and Charlie Pearce as our bowman. The cutter rounded the corner on our portside with Sand Quay, then to the harbour and rickety jetty which we berthed each night.
A large tent had been erected for us to spend the first night on the Is- land. We had heard that land crabs roamed the coral and would nip you in your sleep. Our beds were camp beds resting on the coral. There were no walls to the tent; I must admit we were frightened through the night.
As time went by, constructions began to appear. A large round open water tank was built on a concrete base. These were just above the shoreline and us matlows loved the evenings splashing water at each other. The army lads complained we were wasting fresh water, so we pointed out that the water was from the merchant ships anchored in the bay. The water was pumped into a barge alongside the vessels. In charge of the operation was Little Jock Alan, and we, as cutters, would bring the barge into the harbour.
Our work on the dredger continued with frequent trips towing the barge as previously explained. The dredger was a single bucket which dropped over the side grabbing lumps of coral and making a deep channel while bringing Avgas barges into the harbour.
The cooking facility on deck below was a solid fuel burner. We spent
many evenings collecting coconut husks and other combustible materials for the burner as they did the job. We had the task of bringing food and victuals, including meat, to the harbour, passing the dredger on our way in. We lived well. As time went by, we got into routine of island lives. Eventually our ship, the HMS Messina, arrived in Cook Bay and we had to go back to the ship and settle down into a ship’s routine. I was sad to leave island life, even though it could be a little basic at times.
The ship started to prepare for the tests to come. We loaded and unloaded heavy cargo, such as earth Argas bulldozers. “Clean the lower decks”, would be a frequent pipe, over the ship’s tannoy. We would load the monstrous machines over the ship’s side and onto steel pontoons. They would be taken ashore, driven by big outboard motors.
We visited many islands, including Malden Island quite often. This had in the past been the home of John Adams, a “guano” farmer of bird droppings, which were used as fertiliser. He and his family had lived in a white-walled cottage quite close to the shoreline. We would xplore the island at a later time, along with other islands. Other journeys were yet to come.
Unfortunately, the other operators rarely took their turn. I would do their job for them; I didn’t mind, and so it was to be for the rest of the time. I loved all kinds of music, but we had a limited collection of records, our main LPs were Songs for Swinging Lovers and My Fair Lady. Some of the EPs were kindly donated by Jean Challis, of BBC’s Forces Favourites; most were sample records with just one side."
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CAMPAIGN SUMMER 2021