Death of the 98th

Flak, Volume 1, Issue 4, 30 April 1943, Page 6

Death of the 98th

After a short life of eleven months, the 98th Battery has ceased to exist. With it go many fond memories, and a certain sense of sadness, as if farewelling an bld friend. . These sentiments are shared by all its old members, for it is not an exaggeration to say that the name “98th” did stand for something in the heart of every gunner. . u V-

The oldest battery in the Regiment, the 98th came into being on May 18, 1942: It was a bleak, wintry day when its personnel were assembled at Narrow Neck for their journey in to the unknown. The outlook in the Pacific was not bright at the time, and it was a rush job. Even the officers had had their first introduction to the Battery area only two days before. The first day of the Battery will go down as a classic of organisation. The only sign to distinguish BHQ, from the surrounding paddocks was. the partially com-'' pleted cookhouse. •. \ "

About 150 men assembled in this paddock on the afternoon of May 18. Their hearts must have gone out to the Q.M. when he was handed one knife to cut bread for the midday meal of ' dry rations. Apart from a few hand basins,- that solitary, knife comprised the entire Battery equipment.’,. The complement of officers totalled four, the only N.C.O.’s were acting bombardiers who had. pinned chevrons on their arms that /’morning. The Battery had arrived fully one month in advance of the P.W.D. building programme and it was raining. The first few nights were a nightmare. Semi-completed huts for an L.M.G. detachment were occupied as the only available accommodation. It was nothing to count 14 men disgorging from a six-man hut for morning roll-call. Men slept in : huts without doors and /windows. If the roof of a hut was only half-completed when the carpenters finished for the day, it was

still considered sufficient to-’sleep several men. Leaking tents were commandeered. - w, Battery Headquarters was given the well-deserved name of the “Black Hole.” Men slept on sinks and in vegetable 'racks. Beds were removed in the morning to enable the carpenters to resume work, and lunch was eaten sitting on a floor littered with shavings. Then came the rains. Drivers performed herculean tasks with two solitary trucks. They started at 5 a.m. to collect milk and finished at 2 a.m. the following morning after delivering hot coffee to semi-frozen picquets on far-away gun posts. There was no time to form and metal an entrance to BHQ, and the scene in the morning ; light resembled the retreat .. from Moscow. Abandoned' trucks wallowed in literally feet of mud, and the ’ first detail every-morning was a working party to extricate them. From all this chaos slowly emerged order. Buildings steadily

. sprang up, gunners wrestled might and main with mud to produce gun-pits, and even a flower garden came into being at BHQ. Despite innumerable. .. difficulties progress was steady until the departure of almost two-thirds of the Battery for overseas. After this set-back it was a story of continual improvement, and the Battery was approaching a standard of real efficiency. Various mobile exercises were teaching valuable and practical lessons which will be of inestimable value to the entire Regiment. Esprit de - corps was running high. At last, the 98th was a Battery to be proud of.

Then came the crash, and in a twinkling the 98th was no more. '.First reactions . were *of profound regret, coupled with a sense of frustration. On more sober reflection, one could , realise that the eleven months had hot been wasted. Fully 300 men had. been trained to a high standard of efficiency. Protection had been 'given* to, valuable airfields , at a time when it might have been needed. - . From a sea of mud gun-pits had been constructed — pits which need fear nothing in comparison with any in the Regiment. Guns and equipment were maintained to a standard comparable to any. From the solitary bread knife had grown a store fully stocked with vital equipment. From the solitary cookhouse building had sprung first-class living quarters, messrooms, showerblocks, drying rooms, and a recreation hut. To some, all this may seem a waste, but if it is looked upon as a form of insurance against attack, it will perhaps be seen in a different light. . We should be thankful that: it was never needed. ’ If the only thing recovered from the ashes of the 98th is its spirit of comradeship, the toil and labour will not have been wasted. With this spark, the new 95th Battery cannot fail to succeed. THE 98TH IS DEAD . . LONG LIVE THE 95TH.

Security First. - ' “Married . soldiers never discuss military matters, even with their wives,” runs an extract from, a Security Order. A case of Wed Men Tell No Tales. ‘