High service Veteran recalls wartime atop Table Mountain
NATALIE MUSSEAU The Gulf News
A group of the men who worked at a classified military radio relay station on Table Mountain during World War II.
The ruins of a classified military radio relay station on Table Mountain are fading into the scenery a little more with each passing year.
But Gordon Misner's memories of his 14 months stationed there during World War II are still clear.
From its 1,700-foot top, radio signals were clear and U-Boats could be seen in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Ten men of the Royal Canadian Air Force lived on Table Mountain in near isolation during the war, including Ontario native Mr. Misner, who was stationed there from November 1943 until December 1944.
Mr. Misner joined the air force in early 1942 - he was about 19 at the time. He attended wireless school in Hamilton, was transferred to Montreal for further technical training and worked with a fighter squadron in Gander before being posted to Cape Ray.
The job at Table Mountain involved operating and maintaining the radio equipment and other necessary work.
Much of the equipment was hauled to the site with the help of two dog teams. The men constructed much of the buildings themselves, sleeping in a shed at the base of the mountain until the barracks at the top, held down by heavy rocks, were completed.
It wasn't a desk job, said Mr. Misner, adding everyone pitched in to do whatever was needed. Sometimes the tractor would be stuck in the snow or the frozen plumbing would need to be thawed.
"We melted snow then to use for our laundry as well in early times," said Mr. Misner.
He rigged up an outdoor shower before construction workers finally fixed the indoor facilities, installing central water heating.
The construction foreman left behind his dog, Skipper, to keep the men company on the long, cold nights. Mr. Misner recalls that the dog became everyone's pet and a mascot of sorts for the outpost - which was classed as 'overseas' at the time.
He remembered Skipper laying at his feet when he would work the night shift, listening to music and some of the programs on the radio that were popular.
Sometimes the men used Skipper to help guide them home, tying a rope around their waist and Skipper's neck so he could lead them through the fog or snow.
The dog also ate his share of the men's dinner at Christmas. The Sally Ann in Port aux Basques delivered the turkey and trimmings by tractor and truck up the mountain.
Some supplies were delivered to the site through airdrops and the men often had to run after the falling parachutes before the wind carried them and the needed supplies over the edge of the mountain.
If the weather was bad, no drop was made, which was disappointing to the men who, although quite used to dehydrated and canned supplies, looked forward to fresh food.
Mr. Misner often helped out the cook, named Thibeault, by baking bread or making pancakes on Sunday mornings when Thibeault slept late. He also was the barber for the men, making sure their hair stayed military style.
"I guess who could, did it," he said. "It was a cooperative group."
The men often went down the mountain in pairs to collect the mail. It was a seven mile trek with each man carrying a heavy load down and returning up the slope with up to 50 pounds on a backboard.
One tall, thin American man nicknamed Slim perished on the journey. He and another man encountered heavy snow on their way back and walked in circles. The survivor went for help, and he, Mr. Misner and three other servicemen helped bring Slim back to the barracks.
"It was really pioneer existence," he said.
All the jobs were done amidst unpredictable weather. Mr. Misner recalled the summer as a time of fog and black flies, without any truly hot weather. Sometimes, he said, the sun would be shining on top of the mountain while cloud hung over the people below.
"In the winter, the wind would howl, but there seemed to be high winds most of the time," he said. "There was lots of snow which came down horizontally instead of the regular way."
Mr. Misner said the lady in charge of the railway stop in Cape Ray would say, 'you boys are going to perish up there.' Others in the community they had contact with also expressed disbelief at the location.
But even through some of the hardships, some of the men, including himself, took advantage of the snowy slope to do some skiing, Mr. Misner remembered. Government issued each man a pair of skis and snowshoes.
He said he enjoyed the work and being with a small group of fellow service men.
Mr. Misner was promoted to the rank of sergeant just before being transferred off Table Mountain. After leaving, he spent some time in Debert, N.S. and St. John's. He was not discharged until 1946, as he was mothballing the radio equipment in planes after the war.
He met and married his wife Madeline and began a 42-year career with Bell Canada. They settled in Brantford, Ont., not far from Mr. Misner's birthplace.
Mrs. Misner said her husband has often talked about his time in Newfoundland over the years, but the couple has never revisited the place he spent at least some of his war years.
Writing home
The following is a Christmas letter sent by Gordon Misner to his mother while he was stationed at the base atop Table Mountain.
December 25, 1943
Dear Mother,
I suppose by now your Christmas rush is nearly at an end. Bet you have been very busy. Received your letter of last Sunday. I see it was post marked the 20th and it arrived here on the 22nd. That makes excellent service from your direction. By having via Port aux Basques, helps speed the airmail, to this point anyway.
Did you have a good feed of turkey today? In your letter, you seemed to think you were fortunate to have one, apparently they must be rather scarce. Hope Gladys and Neil were lucky enough to make it home on time.
Last evening we got some mail in and there was two parcels for me much to my surprise. One from Uncle Al, a nice little basket of assorted toffee, also in the same were three small jars of jam and marmalade. The basket has a very large blue bow on its top. It has that American appearance. It was certainly swell of him to send it. The other parcel was from the church, the Missian Circle I believe it is. Mrs. Ranald is the secretary. There was quite a number of very nice articles in it including a pair of knitted socks.
Well I opened your two boxes this morning, thank you all for everything. How on earth can you pack so much in those small boxes? When I take it out and then put it back there always seems to be a heap on top. I'll have a use for everything. It was a nice idea of having everything wrapped with the senders name on it.
Oh yes, the Salvation Army in Port aux Basques sent all of us a duty bag. It had about the same as the boxes. The one I got was packed by a certain lodge in Sudbury, imagine that originally it was intended for the many. Then on top of that we all were sent by the Red Cross a nice hand knitted sweater, socks and pair of gloves. Believe me, they will be very useful here.
Here comes the good part, the Salvation Army sent us a large 20 pound turkey all cleaned, stuffed and ready to cook, along with fruit and candy. Believe me, I've certainly had a swell Christmas. There was plenty for everyone, we had more left of our turkey than you do at home.
We have a large radio receiver and can pick up nearly anything, there certainly had been some choice American programs on today. All the stars seem to be doing their best to cheer all the boys up. Heard Roosevelt's speech yesterday and the King today, so you see we can keep right up with it.
When I figure where some of the fellows are today and what they have to put up with, guess I don't know how lucky I really am. Only hope they had as nice a Christmas as I.
I don't know if I mentioned it or not but some time ago, a foreman of a construction co. left us his dog, more or less as a mascot. He is a Springer spaniel a little over a year old, white with red spots. Rather nice to have a dog here, he turns out to be everyone's pet. He's as full as a tick tonight.
Well mother, I must close now thanking you all again for the little gifts you sent. It is the first time I've spent Christmas like this, seemed to mean much more this year to me than ever before. Next year I expect Neil and I will both be home giving you a line on how we all spent last Christmas.
Hope to hear from you soon
Love Gordie
P.S. Thanks for the swell cards.
More excerpts
The following are excerpts from other letters Mr. Misner sent to his mother while in Newfoundland. At the time, service in Newfoundland was considered overseas duty.
November 27, 1943
Given special winter clothes in Halifax. Parka, ski pants, hat, high top leather boots, another pair with rubber bottoms and leather tops, 10 pairs woolen socks, woolen helmet, woolen gloves, leather mitts and other articles. Travelled by sea, not air this time so was seasick not air sick. Place is on a Table Mountain. We are in Quonset huts held down by rocks as ballast. Sleeping bags on bunks. Oil heaters. We had a good cook. He had been chef at one of the big hotels. We had canned or concentrated foods at first. Butter came in cans and it was good. We were working on new equipment. Different than working with the squadron at Gander earlier. Hear that we will be here more than six months.
December 1, 1943
Snow travels horizontal not vertical!!!
December 2, 1943
Two panes of glass blew out at night at bottom of my bunk. It took several guys to hold boards in place against the wind while we nailed it in place. We crawl on our hands and knees from one building to another but luckily, buildings are not far apart.
December 5, 1943
A radio really makes a difference in a place like this. The food is pretty good right now. We get things that you can't get at home like sugar.
December 7, 1943
Going for mail takes all day- 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. - six miles each way and we walk. Expect that I'll be able to do anything when I leave here.
December 8, 1943
Mom, we are on a mountain top 2,000 feet straight up. The clouds around us are like fog.
December 14, 1943
Letters coming in and out now censored.
December 28, 1943
Our new meat supply was dropped from the air on the 26th. It was 100-pound baskets fastened to chutes. A sample of everything that can happen does happen here. Dog teams here to help move 300-pound loads. They are Siberian huskies and we had two teams hooked together (18 dogs) and eight men. It took all we could do to move the loads.
January 19, 1944
We had to carry heavy loads down for the mail. There was 30 pounds down and 50 pounds back up. We usually work in pairs. We used shoulder racks to do it.
January 31, 1944
About the trains. They are different, short and narrow. You never need to be in a rush to catch one. They are always 'due.' The station had no doors and a couple of windows. A few days ago there was a big snow and the road had 30 to 40 feet over it in some places. Dog teams are gone.
February 4, 1944
We have frozen pipes in the barracks and we are trying to thaw them out. We are digging through three feet of frost and rock. Then we throw fuel oil in and burn it till it is full of steam. Frost level is one foot below the pipes. The guys will have had all the pick swinging they want. Now it is midnight and the wind is howling but it is comfy inside.
February 24, 1944
My winter clothes finally caught up with me and it cost $3 to get it!
March 9, 1944
Skiing without tops in some sun. Got sunburned. Made pancakes as cook sleeps in on Sunday.
March 14, 1944
The inside water system was frozen all February. Since everyone pitches in to help on these types of occasions, our regular shift work is really a rest. We hauled water with big diesel tractor. Then it got stuck in the snow. It took five guys two days to dig it out.
April 9, 1944
More meat was chuted in. Great as we have had a lot of bully beef and pilcher fish. It looked good seeing quarters of beef being dropped to us. One came down without a chute but the others were attached and we had to run after them so they would not go over the edge in the wind. Fresh steak tastes good.
May 8, 1944
I helped the cook to cut up the meat when the new was dropped. Inside drain pipes still frozen so I hooked up an outside shower!!
May 28, 1944
We have been eating dried apples all winter. Went fishing. No luck yet.
June 10, 1944
Ate at someone's home at the lighthouse. Had fresh salmon. Tasted swell. They gave us two salmon 30 inches long to carry back the six miles. Got a promotion to Corporal so now I make $2.45 a day. Went fishing and this time I caught a trout.
June 21, 1944
Rain and the drops are as large as cups.
July 18, 1944
Here I am writing to you, Mother and it is late at night with the wind howling around outside but warm inside with Skipper at my feet.
Aug 10, 1944
Needed fire in barracks to keep warm.
Sept. 8, 1944
Camp getting rebuilt for next winter. Fresh supplies of food tastes good.
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