A POTTED HISTORY OF POST WW11 AMPHIBIOUS UNITS OF THE BRITISH ARMY - PART THREE

Extracted from the Journals of The Royal Army Service Corps and Royal Corps of Transport (The Waggoner)

The first DUKW Company to be formed after WW11 was 116 Amphibious Company at Cairnryan in 1951. The unit was Commanded by Major J A Abraham MC this consisted of Company HQ and 4 Platoons of 16 DUKWs each, the unit moved to Fremington in March 1952.in June 1954 it was reduced to three officers and 37 other ranks it was redesignated Amphibian Training Wing RASC in February 1960.

All extracts relate to Nuclear testing.

1958 May

Several personnel changes have taken place since our last contribution. Major John Aldred has left 22 Company for 3 S.R.D., and Capt. Bob Butler has left 116 Company on retirement. To these officers we offer our appreciation for their hard work and wish them good luck in their new spheres. We welcome as their replacements, respectively, Capt. I. J. Rutherford and Capt. I. A. R. McLeod.

Late last year Lieut. A. F. R. Evans rejoined 116 Company from Christmas Island, where he had been in charge of the Dukws. Shortly afterward we heard with great pleasure that he had been appointed an M.B.E. for his outstanding services; we offer him our warmest congratulations. Early in the New Year, a special course was run for the officers and men who are next to go to Christmas Island for Dukw operations.

1959 January

BRITISH EMPIRE MEDAL

The Queen has been graciously pleased to approve the award of the British Empire Medal (Military Division) for Gallantry, in recognition of gallant conduct in the area of Christmas Island to: T/23256614 L./Cpl. (Acting) Peter Corrigan, Royal Army Service Corps.

For determination,- courage and skill when ordered to take his D.U.K.W. to the rescue of the crew of a disabled landing craft in danger from heavy breakers off a dangerous reef. Even when his vehicle was pooped and in danger of sinking, he remained at the controls.

1959 March

R.A.S.C. Services Unit.

This unit is specially designed to function on Christmas Island. At the moment it consists of three sections: bakers, dukw drivers and petroleum fitters The bakers have one of the most arduous tasks. They work under trying conditions in front of their hot ovens.

Nevertheless, they are amongst the most cheerful people here and their zeal wins continual commendation by all. During periods of maximum activity, they have had to work for fourteen hours a day. This has not excused them from assisting with "self-help," concreting, and building schemes with other members of the unit The petroleum fitters are responsible for the efficient functioning of two fuel tank farms.

These installations were built a couple of years ago when it was expected that they would be needed for a short and limited period only. Since then the installations have been altered and added to, as the situation required. The result has been a fitter's nightmare with pipes running in all directions. Each extreme of heat daily brings a new crop of leaks. It is necessary to give the pumps and engines twice the amount of maintenance that they would need elsewhere or they will not work at all.

A petroleum fitter surely gains more experience here in three months than he would get anywhere else in a year. The dukw drivers have perhaps one of the more interesting tasks. They make regular journeys with their dukws aboard an L.S.T., H.M.S, Narvik to the islands of Malden and Fanning. It is these trips and periods away from Christmas Island that are the great attraction.

At Christmas Island the dukws travel out to the food ship, in the anchorage, to collect loads of frozen and perishable feed. These loads can be quickly conveyed from the ship to the main camp or the refrigerators, without further handling. At Fanning and Malden the dukws maintain the garrison over the beaches. Landing craft are only used when vehicles or heavy plant are needed. Fanning is an island with regular, heavy rainfall and in many ways, it is rather like Malaya, although it is completely flat.

Malden is quite the opposite. It has hardly any rain and is, therefore, a true desert island. It was on the Malden beach that a dukw driver won a B.E.M. in February 1958. The only way ashore is through a narrow gap in the reef, through which the surf continually pounds, except on the very calmest of days. Every dukw that goes through this gap has to face a hazard. Although the dukws do sterling service and all are amazed at their versatile capabilities, they are old wartime vehicles, and the repair and maintenance task is staggering.

Free time on Christmas Island can be spent in a number of ways. The more energetic play soccer, cricket, volley-ball, swimming and fishing. It is possible to join photography, cycling, natural history, Rover Scout and water sports.

1960 November

CHRISTMAS ISLAND

Ex Op Grapplers" would be astonished at the changes if they returned to Christmas Island. Permanent buildings have mushroomed throughout the inhabited parts of the island, H.M.S. Resolution, main camp and the airfield. There are only very few tents remaining and almost everyone lives in permanent accommodation; tropical type buildings, light, airy and pleasant. Tarmac roads have replaced the dusty coral tracks. R.A.F, do the catering and very well too.

Football and cricket pitches have been laid with cement-like lagoon mud and a fine diving board has been erected at the Sandspit swimming lagoon, thanks to the Nuffield Trust. Earlier this year part of the dukw detachment was hoisted aboard the L.ST. H.M.S. Narvik and taken to Malden, a tiny coral atoll almost surrounded by a reef. There the dukws once again proved essential to the success of the operation and their amphibious capabilities and specially lengthened A-frames were fully exploited.

The Pacific surf at Malden has to be seen to be believed, but in spite of the bad weather the dukws were able to work fully loaded. The beach is so steep that a bulldozer is usually needed to winch the dukws clear of the pounding breakers and backwash. A subsequent operation with dukws to Fanning Island, the Cable and Wireless Station, proved interesting and exciting, although less hazardous than Malden. Sgt. Lawrence and his dukw crews were replaced in early March by a new detachment commanded by Sgt. Hollingsworth. Sgt. Craven handed over the bakery to Sgt. Macmaster at the same time.

His Royal Highness the Duke of, Edinburgh spent two days on Christmas Island in April. During his tour His Royal Highness visited the dukw detachment, the R.A.S.C. Bakery and our petroleum fitters at the Port Installation. We were privileged to detail two dukws for delivering bread to the Royal Yacht Britannia, moored in the anchorage beyond the reef. One Saturday in April all able-bodied men on the island took part in Operation "Coconut"; a competition devised by the Task Force Commander to help the Gilbertese with their lagging copra output. All turned to with gusto and many thousands of nuts were gathered in a morning. No. 94 Company left the island in May, at the end of their tour, leaving 146 Independent Transport Platoon to carry on the good work.

Our dukws go out daily to the anchorage. Alongside Fort Beauharnois they are loaded with supplies and stores. They return over the beach and discharge their cargo at the R.A.F. Supply Depot or fourteen miles up country at the Main Camp. In the role of amphibious cranes, they work with the Sappers and civilian divers in building a new slipway for the Navy. Most weekends the dukws take a picnic party across the lagoon to the bird sanctuary of Cook Island, where Captain Cook, R.N., first landed in 1777 from his ship H.M.S. Resolution. The bakers, under Sgt. Macmaster, R.A.S.C., are doing a fine job in producing bread each day for everyone on the island.

We now have a permanent bakery, built on the old tented site; but the mobile ovens first brought into use in 1957 are, still going strong. Most men in the unit have been on leave to Honolulu, Hawaii. Surf-riding, famous Waikiki beach, hula-hula the snag is that Honolulu is extremely expensive but definitely worth a short visit. The journey by air between U.K. and Christmas Island is worthy of note. The route varies depending on plane and weather, Keflavik. Iceland, Goose Bay. Canada, New York. Chicago, San Francisco are usually among the interesting places visited. Some men travel the other way round via North Borneo and the Far East. Some even manage to fly right around the world in the course of a year. Glorious sunshine, temperatures up in the eighties, sandy beaches, swimming in the lagoon what a life!

However, the sameness of our environment palls after a while and we look forward to civilization after a '"Grapple" tour. After a life of only six months, we have now been told that we are to disband by the end of November 1959. We must be the smallest unit with the shortest tour in the Corps! Since last writing, we have been visited, at different times, by the Engineer-in-Chief, MajorGenerat Sugden, and the Air Officer Commander-in-Chief of Transport Command, who have been paying flying visits to the island. We have managed to show a sufficient profit on our club that everyone has an engraved tankard in their kit to remind them of the stay on this coral island.

Needless to say, all tankards were christened in the traditional manner before they were packed. The arrival of the plane to take us home is now eagerly awaited, the only dampener being that we leave this tropic sun for a cold and dreary England. However, the thought of Christmas with the folks at home is a very cheering thought. Our vehicles are now looking smart with their new coat of paint and they are taking a well-earned rest after taking us a total distance equal to seven times round the world in six short months. Considering the type of roads, and also the type of loads carried, this is nothing short of a miracle. All that remains now is to clean up for the last time and this posting becomes yet another pleasant memory to be looked at and enlarged upon in later years.