Stories

Our life at Mt Druitt developed into a regular pattern of making crates and boxes and packing all the new stores as they arrived ready to dispatch overseas, making dog kennels to house the dogs which were arriving at the new dog unit, trips to Richmond and Bankstown, sitting on the back of open semitrailer tray to pick up aircraft crates to pack our stuff.

A daily parade each morning and at least 1 – 2 hours fitness training each day. There was also Guard duty, Mess and Latrine duty which came round on a regular basis. As time passed there were regular rumours of us moving and one wag in the unit drew radio beams on each the pans in the latrine block which were lined in a row often. With beams of radio drawn on the pan covers he painted on the floor in front “Good Guts Radio” this caused quite a laugh among the boys. 

We were to be issued with snake bite kits, one to each person, but the C.O. told us on parade they have difficulty obtaining same. They consisted of a small wooden tub about 3 inches long with Condy’s crystals in one end a sharp steel point in the opposite end. When C.O. made the announcement one chap, who had a police record as long as your arm, Honest Joe, stepped forward and said “Sir give me leave and I’ll have the whole unit equipped by morning parade”.  Next morning, Joe turned up with two of each for us, 300 were on strength, not the wooden issue ones but stainless steel ones. 

Another variation to the routine was to go on a salvage mission. I went with one salvage unit to the swamps of Hexham outside Newcastle. We left late on a Friday and when we approached Hawkesbury river we struck a line of cars about 3 km long. The river was crossed by ferry in those days. We copped a fair amount of abuse but under army orders we had priority so drove straight to head of queue. With our semitrailer – crane truck and couple of work trucks we practically made a full load so this delayed the cars even more.  

The plane a Vultee Vengeance dive bomber was half buried in the slush so we had a fair bit of bother getting it out. Another hazard were the mosquitoes the famous Hexham greys as they were known.  There were huge clouds of them and made work very unpleasant. We retrieved the plane and returned with it to Bankstown where we were all ordered off the trailer including the driver as we were not allowed in the Hanger.  Top-secret even though we were working on the same planes at our airstrip. 

A driver came out from inside the factory to back the semi in so we all sat on the bank outside and watched him make several futile attempts to get it in, not helped by advice from the bank. Finally in sheer frustration the overseer came out and said to our driver could he put it in. Tich Murray hopped in behind the wheel took it up the track its own length reversed and went straight in and was backing out the back doors before they called him to a halt. 

Rumours were abundant and it was Mid-October that a great cheer went up when told at parade we were to move within the week. All our equipment was packed and we marched out on 29th October [1943] to Mt Druitt station and travelled to 2 Embarkation depot at Bradfield Park, about 480 officers and men.