Kaboom
The day started in much the same way as all the previous days; Washed, shaved, breakfast in the cook-house and back to the billet with a big mug of
tea. First parade was at 8.00 am and we all lined up outside the squadron office on the laterite road that ran through the camp. Dress in those days
was a floppy jungle hat, shorts and boots with putties wrapped around the top in an effort to keep the dust out. This dust was all pervasive: it got
everywhere but at that time of day the air was still reasonably clear because the works traffic and the plant vehicles hadn’t started and on this
particular day there was no wind. In the Army, 'First Parade' always includes an inspection. This is when you are told to get your hair cut or to
put more polish on your boots or to stand a little closer to the razor whilst shaving. However, on this particular day the inspection was cancelled
and there was simply a roll call and an announcement. “Normal duties are suspended for this morning and the following people will fall out and report
to the Sergeant Major and Corporal McCarthy for special duties” My name and almost everyone else’s name was called out and only the people with
regular jobs were dismissed. The plant fitters went to the work-shops, the store men to their stores and the clerks to their offices but the rest
of us: the odd-bod Sappers were detailed for 'special duties'. This roused my curiosity because for the previous week Corporal McCarthy had told
everyone that he was on special duties and had been very secretive about it.
Soon it all became clear. In the course of moving the earth from the small hill at the South Western end of the planned airfield to fill in the
basin towards the middle the plant operators had dislodged a massive rock. The rock stood out like a gigantic billiard ball in the middle of what was planned to be the main runway. It was deemed that this rock was too big for one bulldozer to shift and that, anyway, by pushing it with two it
would gouge out a large groove across ground that was already down to its finished level and this would require further work to fix it. The decision
was to blast the rock to break it down into more manageable pieces and to clear the site with smaller vehicles. After all we were Sappers and were
well trained in explosives. In the previous weeks Corporal McCarthy had taken a compressor and a rock drill onto the strip where by now, after the
few months of work, you could see the outlines of the main runway and there, sat almost in the middle of the strip was this rock that had to be
cleared. Mac’s special duties had been to drill into the rock and to set an explosive charge to break it apart and this was why he had been so
secretive. We odd-bod sappers were to form a huge security perimeter to ensure that no-one was near the rock when it was blown and we all stood in a
great big circle about 500 yards from the site of the explosion. Under strict orders not to watch the explosion we were all made to turn our backs
to the rock and in this way we could watch for and prevent anyone wandering into the danger area. We stood and waited.
Kaboom! I whipped around to stare at the place where the rock had been. I expected to see a pile of broken stones surrounded by a curtain of dust that would
have been kicked up by the explosion but there was nothing. Nothing except a wisp of bluish smoke gradually dissipating into the air: no rocks, no
dust, nothing. Not even a hole in the ground where the explosion took place. Where was that massive rock? Where did it go? I looked at my fellow
sentry on the perimeter, and saw that he was staring with as much disbelief as me at the rapidly diminishing puff of smoke.
Then it started to rain. Each drop of rain that fell kicked up a small fountain of dust and this rain seemed to be getting heavier. Now I really was
puzzled. The sky was clear blue; the sun was hot; no clouds anywhere. How could this happen? Then I realised that what I thought was rain was more
like hailstones and they were falling everywhere. No, wait a minute, not hailstones they are real stones. It dawned on me in a flash; I suddenly
knew where the rock had gone. It had been smashed to smithereens and pieces of it were falling all around me and what’s more, they were getting
bigger. The whole area of the safety zone was being pelted with small lumps of the once massive rock and these were kicking up the dust in all
directions. I raised my arms above my head to protect it from the falling stones, some were now as big as golf balls but almost as soon as I did
this the hail storm stopped: it was over. The dull thuds of the rocks hitting the dust stopped and everything was hushed. The birds had been
silenced by the explosion and the usual sound of the earthmoving plant had stopped; there was a pregnant pause and then from behind me a voice with
a strong Yorkshire accent said "Bloody Hell". Everyone was shocked into silence, each contemplating what he had just seen: there was not a movement
anywhere. "Bloody Hell" repeated Yorkie. The silence was broken by the quick thinking Sergeant Major as he crossed to Lieutenant Stanbridge, the
officer in charge of firing the explosive. "Good work Sir" he said and added with a smile, I'll issue some brooms and get the prisoners from the
Guard Room to sweep up this mess right-away.
Consequently, a much more experienced Lieutenant Stanbridge, received extra duties for using too much explosive.
As told by Sapper Jim Curtis. |
