The Navy, the Coastguard, and WWII - 3

From Ricky Clark:

Before lunch in the dunes, the collections points were all brought together in a pre-dug hole between two high dunes. This was the time for the expertise of these very brave bomb disposal lads to do their thing and prepare the large pile of over fifteen mortars and munitions some of which had been verified by the boss as still being viable (ie, in a state that they could still explode of their own will).

High explosives were laid on, around, under and over, two lengths of detonation cord were fixed to the pile, then detonators were put in place. John and I were sweating just watching this from a distance (it was hot).

We were then asked to do a sweep of the area to make sure that no one was having a picnic behind one of the dunes, or swimming in the water. When we had carried out this task we all, with the exception of the boss and one team member, retreated to a distant but high dune to watch the coming event. The two left behind were putting in place the final parts of the system and were setting the fuses and the timers. This part of the procedure makes it live, hence the boss and only one other team member carried it out. It gave them five minutes to join the rest of us at the watch point.

One last look around for any wandering members of the public, then the one minute call..., then 30 seconds...,15 seconds..., and in the fashion of all good movies came the three, two, one, firing! And boy did it fire! Its hard to know what actually came first - the ball of fire, the bang, or the thump that hit us like a wallop on the chest - so quick was the event.

Then came the mounting column of smoke of whites, greys and black, growing and dispersing following the direction of the wind.

Then all the birds were up and off at the shock of it all. My hope is that they will all be back sitting on their precious eggs very soon, but as it is a very hot day, so a bit of time away from the nest shouldn’t be a problem (had to get a bit about the birds in). Then it was back to have a look into what was now a bigger hole than we left. Mission accomplished, it was time for a short lunch break, and a good chat with the Navy lads before the whole procedure was started again. This time we were further into the dunes, where the finds were slightly less than the morning’s efforts, but still enough to warrant a second blow at the end of the day.

Soon it was time for a quick search of the area to make sure no important equipment had been left behind, then pack up and the two mile trek back through the forest to the vehicles amid much banter of the day’s events. Once back at the vehicles we quickly packed up and headed off to the Salen Hotel (who had been accommodating the team during their stay) for a quick cold soft drink before heading back to Kilchoan.

Here I have to mention that the behaviour of the sailor, soldier or airman is one which cannot be found in many workplaces outside the military. The ethos of team is of the highest order, the work ethic is automatic and the whole principal of living and working as a team shows through in whatever they do, be it work or play. The professionalism and the humour comes through in equal amounts but in the right order. It was for me certainly a privilege to work with these lads who put their lives in danger at every turn, be it diving to unexploded mines lying on bottom of the sea, or dragged on a fisherman’s net, or attending mail rooms to deal with suspect packages sent in the post, or walking towards vehicles filled with explosives in areas of combat. These men deserve all the credit and plaudits that they are due. Long may they carry out their duties expertly and safely, and may their careers be long and successful.

Photos: Ricky Clark