Og's Blog Pt. 06

The arrangements were publicised throughout the dockyard. If the sirens sounded, every dockyard employee except us two should leave and go home to await the inevitable destruction.

At 11 am on the Tuesday we sat on top of the signal tower watching as all the officers left in official transport. The rest of the workers were flooding out of the dockyard gates. We sat, lonely, on that tower in the pouring rain, protected only by umbrellas. We took it in turns to keep speaking on the telephone to those in the bunkers.

At half past twelve we were surprised to hear two people climbing the steps of the tower. We thought that the dockyard was deserted. It was the Marine Sergeant from the gate and the Corporal. They had brought four thermos flasks of tea and some sandwiches. I notified, using the other phone, that there would be different voice speaking continuously. The corporal took over from Graham for about twenty minutes while we drank tea and ate sandwiches. Graham took over again.

The sergeant said:

"Well sir, I am surprised. Three weeks ago you were a very new major and two weeks ago so was your colleague. Now he is acting Dockyard Superintendent and you are acting as the Port Admiral. That makes him a three-star general and you a four-star, sir."

I laughed.

"Only until 3 o'clock, sergeant. And if we are, you must be a brigadier at least."

He and the corporal saluted us and left. It was about half-past three before everyone was back in the dockyard and we could stop being a target.

Thankfully the Cuban Missile Crisis was averted and we never had to sit on that tower for real. But I gave both of us a real appreciation of just how useless we were as trainees.

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