The MONAB Story

HM Ships COLOSSUS, GLORY, VENERABLE and VENGEANCE. GLORY did not arrive in Sydney until August 16th.

At the end of June 1945, the Admiralty implemented a new system of classification for carrier air wings, adopting the American practice one carrier would embark a single Carrier Air Group (CAG) which would encompass all the ships squadrons.

Sturtivant, R & Balance, T. (1994) 'Squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm’ list 899 squadron as conducting DLT on the Escort Carrier ARBITER on August 15th. It is possible that the usual three-day evolution was cancelled due to the announcement of the Japanese surrender on this date and was postponed for a month.

The reminiscences of Leading Air Fitter (Ordinance) Kenneth Lowe

Kenneth served with MONAB V at Jervis Bay and later at Nowra.

Remembering MONAB V

My journey to the assembly point for MONAB V was imprinted on my memory due, in the main to the 550-mile journey I had to make entirely on my own with kitbag/suitcase, hammock/toolbox and gasmask! To appreciate this, you need to know what travelling around our country in WW2 time was like. Standing was the order of the day, even if you boarded a train at its starting point. The seats would invariably be full of Service personnel usually brought to the station in Lorries and may have been there an hour already. Timetables? Don’t laugh! The only one I saw was on the desk in the RTO’s room (Rail Transport Office – I think) which could be found on every mainline station. There was no such thing as a through journey, and I had to get off where I was told to get off and report to the RTO for further orders. This happened on numerous occasions and each time, Catfield was the name on the orders I had to produce, this was a station near Ludham.

We met Commander Masterman (a three ringer, whether he was ‘acting’ or not) and that was on board the ‘Stirling Castle’ (once we got clear of the dreaded Bay of Biscay) he addressed us all on the top deck, spelling out what was in store for us in the next two and a half years, the scheduled length of our commission. We took it all in because he pulled no punches from the outset. “Some of you won’t come back” be said and that was due to the fact that according to the Master Plan for MONABS we were to follow in the wake of the US Marines, as they fought their way north, island by island, in the Pacific. These islands, for the most part, had airstrips, and a MONAB would take over the running of the strip, whilst the next captured island would be serviced by a follow up MONAB, then where and if necessary a ‘leap frogging’ routine, as battles were fought and won, on the way to Japan itself. We were told that 10 MONABs would, as planned, be in operation. This technique seemed practical and feasible to even the youngest amongst us (I was 21) as MONAB V was, in effect, an airbase ship’s company albeit a small one. Apart from the obvious aircraft maintenance crews, we had stokers, seaman branch sailors, cooks (obviously), bunting tossers, etc just as an established base would require.

Anyway, as I said, CDR Masterman was the only senior officer I ever saw during my MONAB service (it lasted incidentally approx 18 months). The day to day work for us, was under the control of a Lt (New Zealand Navy) out on the airfield, and there wasn’t much time for the kind of ceremonials when the Captain was expected to appear – thank goodness.

After HMS Nabswick was de-commissioned or ‘paid off’ whichever is right, we were all sent to ‘Warwick Farm’ a naval barracks in the suburbs of Sydney. It was previously a racecourse and next to a prison camp with its watchtowers, manned and very prominent. This protracted period added to my already waning desire for a service career and convinced me beyond doubt that a life in the navy was not for me. I regarded it, not without regret, but as valuable experience and more mundanely, to be able to say that I had travelled around the world (technically at least as it was a westward/south westward journey of 26.000 miles) before my 23rd birthday

Ponam, the Admiralty Islands

30 years later, having long ago put all that behind me I worked in and around islands in the South Pacific and was there for some time before I was suddenly aware of the link between ‘then and now’ (1976). It was rather sobering and make me realise even more than in 1945 how truly luck I was back then.

There were abandoned American dock workings, ships and paraphernalia, rusty but easily recognisable, plus numerous enemy aircraft here and there; most poignant of all, my colleagues and I walked into a small forest of trees. Beneath these was not undergrowth, as one would expect, but cracked and crumbling concrete. Whist everyone else was enjoying the experience of walking along a Japanese built airstrip, from WW2, my emotions were quite different. Had things not changed, this was the kind of place where I and the rest of the MONAB V would have been working with goodness knows who lurking nearby waiting for an opportunity to come out of hiding and strike a blow for the Emperor! I lived through those long-forgotten sighs of relief, all over again.

Kenneth Lowe

Extract from the reminiscences of FX1/06335 Leading Aircraft Mechanic (Airframe's Leslie Meakin

Leslie joined MONAB 5, HMS Nabswick on February 1st 1945 at RNAS Ludham and sailed for Australia aboard the troop ship Sterling Castle. He served with Maintenance, Storage & Repair Unit No.2 (MSR 2) component of MONAB 5 until November 21st 1945.

Remembering MONAB V

When we arrived in Australia at the end of March, we went to the airfield at Nowra, operated by MONAB 1 to wait for our stores and vehicles to arrive during April. RNAS Jervis Bay we discovered was a small airfield surrounded by bush with an Aborigine camp close by. At the time of our arrival the station consisted of about 5 temporary huts, one being the galley and one an office building near the entrance with a flag pole; there were runways but no control tower or any other airfield buildings. The impression was that we must be the first unit there, maybe we weren’t but that was how we felt.

The beds inside the huts were double tiered and thankfully covered by mosquito nets; anybody who was there during that time will no doubt remember the plague of flies which nearly drove us insane! The toilet facilities could not have been more primitive a visit to the ‘Heads’ on a dark night, thinking of snakes, could be more daunting than the thought of meeting a Jap Soldier... One of the tasks we performed early on was to erect a canvas hanger in an area not too far from the runway. As there were no bunting ratings (Signalmen) on the station for some reason I was ordered to raise the flag, being given duty adds to the memory of my service there.

A notable incident that I remember from my time with No. 2 Maintenance Storage & Reserve unit was when a Corsair aircraft had to be transported by road from Jervis Bay to Nowra for repairs. The wings were taken off and a tractor was attached to tow it; another tractor was also to be used if necessary, on hills. Pop Dunne was in the cockpit to apply the brakes if told by me (sat on stub plane), I in turn receiving orders from the petty officer driving the tractor. When going down one hill the plane’s weight began pushing the tractor and our speed increased, - the driver was unable to give the ’apply brakes signal’ because he had his hands full so I told Pop to brake. He answered that he’d already put them full on but they had no effect! Next thing the tow bar broke and the tractor turned at right angles to the road pushed by the impetus of the plane; never mind orders, it was time for me to ‘abandon aircraft’ - it was a hell of a jump off a moving plane! Another vehicle following behind us winched the plane and tractor off the road and the tractor driver was taken to hospital. Pop and I found ourselves lumbered with guarding the aircraft until we could be relieved.

For leisure time there was a section of the sea in Jervis Bay cordoned off by a shark net where people could swim, there was also a small cinema which the aboriginals also used. V.E and V.J. Day was celebrated by ‘splicing the main brace’, we queued up to receive a double tot of rum: these should have been days of rejoicing but we were stuck out in the bush thinking of merriment and fantastic celebrations taking place in the U.K where we all longed to be at that time, plus the fact the beer supply soon ran out! Our celebrations were somewhat subdued. Our unit was selected to take part in the victory parade through the town of Nowra; personal smartness was a high priority and a great deal of time was spent boot cleaning and generally getting ready in order to present our best appearance to the public and dignitaries taking the salute, and not to let the reputation of the Fleet Air Arm down. This was where our marching drill which we received at H.M.S Gosling paid off. I also received my promotion to Leading Hand while with MONAB 5 at Jervis Bay.

RNAS Nowra

When the war was over things began to change, MONAB 5 replaced MONAB 1 at RNAS Nowra in November 1945 when that unit was disbanded; one week later on November 22nd 1945 I left HMS Nabswick and was sent to HMS Golden Hind, RN Barracks Sydney before I was drafted to 706 squadron on December 10th. Would you believe it, this squadron was based at RNAAS Nowra so back to HMS Nabswick I went

During January I was given some leave; the Australian authorities organised lists of people who would be willing to host British sailors while on leave and these lists were prominently displayed where British sailors d could read them. I was lucky enough to spend my leave at the farm owned by the Dawes family in Kiama, on the New South Wales coast. While I was there, I received a telegram ordering me to report back to RNAS Nowra immediately. However it was my 21st Birthday and a party had been arranged for me; I was persuaded not to go back until after the party as a great deal of preparation had been made by the family “it’s your party you should stay” (it was wonderful, a party, one to be remembered).

When I eventually arrival back at camp my station card could not be found, the hut previously occupied by myself and others of the unit was empty, on asking again for my station card my name jogged a memory that on my return I was to be put in cells .So the night of my 21st Birthday I spent in cells - how’s that for a birthday to remember! The following morning I had to go ‘at the double’ to stand in front of an angry Master at Arms who would not believe my explanation - “What telegram was that then..?” and he ordered me to be on a truck going to Jervis Bay to re-join my squadron within the next 10 minutes. I was to give the Regulating staff there a sealed message which he gave me to deliver. I don’t think the regulating staff were on site when I arrived so there was no-one to give the Nowra Jaunty’s chit to, I was simply directed to a hut, given a bottom bunk with my oppo AM (O) Young in the top bunk. From the time reporting to Jervis Bay there were no charges, no jankers or, cells; it makes me think of the naval song “Oh I wonder yes I wonder did the jaunty make a blunder when he made this draft chit out for me…” (I cannot remember the rest).

Coming home

The squadron was only there temporarily though and we moved to RNAS Schofields, MONAB 6, HMS Nabstock later the same month and I remained there until March 22nd when I was drafted back to Golden Hind for return home to the UK. I took passage home on board the transport ship USS Winchester Victory.

Leslie Meakin

Extract from the s of Aircraft Artificer 4th Class (Ordinance) Maurice Ayling

 Maurice was part of 1843 Squadron, working up in Australia as a part of the reserve No. 3 Carrier Air Group. HMS Nabswick 16th - 28th July 1945.

Remembering  RNAS Jervis Bay

...Our next move [from Maryborough] was ordered for July 15th...

This time we flew, to Jervis Bay, courtesy of the newly formed Transport Command of the R.A.A.F and its Dakotas. This was a major exercise, requiring packaging such as we had never before experienced. The Dakota, in which I flew, with a load of squadron ground equipment and personal baggage, had "City of Portsmouth" painted on its nose. It turned out to be a rather unusual experience. It was very hot when we emplaned, and we were in shorts and shirt sleeves. Not long after take-off, a Flight Sgt. told us that there was bad weather ahead and that the pilot had decided to fly above it. It was later asserted that we had been to 12,000ft; however high we did go, as the Dakota was unlined and un-pressurised, hoar frost formed on the inside skin.

We were sitting in un-cushioned, tin paratroop seats, and were absolutely frozen. The weather was bad all the way to Jervis Bay, but as we descended, so the frost melted and dripped all over us. It became obvious that we were approaching landing through the clag, but suddenly the throttles opened up again and the aeroplane climbed. The pilot had made a close approach to a gravel extraction site, mistaking it for the runway on which we eventually landed, wet enough before piling out into pouring rain. Although I believe that "Nabswick" moved to Jervis Bay in May, there was little evidence of it on our part of the airfield. There were no buildings but I suppose the MONAB equipment was scattered around the place..

I seem to recall some assistance from the Australian Army. We were divided into batches of half a dozen or so, each batch being given a tent to erect. We could all pull a Corsair to pieces and re-assemble it again, but a tent was beyond most of us. I am sure it was soldiers who assisted in this operation, but it was a terribly soggy caper. There were camp beds and duck boards and it appeared utterly incongruous to me to have my kit bag, hammock, green case, and tool box among them. There cannot have been many sailors who had their complete hammock clews, nettles, lashing, mattress, pillow, and blanket, stretched out on a canvas camp bed! MONAB personnel had their Army type mess traps, but the Sqdn lads had only their knife, fork, spoon, and mug.

I forget now just how we fed, but there was a field kitchen type of arrangement at which we queued in the rain, taking the offering to our tents and eating it sitting on our beds. However, in local parlance, it was 'bonza tucker'.

I am afraid that all I can remember about "Nabswick" was the squalor, and that we thought it to be an out station of Nowra for which we were destined. In retrospect, we were probably using "Nabswick" as a MONAB was meant to be used. Although all other MONABS used by the Squadron were recorded on my Service Certificate, there is no record of "Nabswick", it being recorded as part of my "Nabbington" time. We never even saw Jervis Bay!

We moved out, by road, about ten or fifteen miles to Nowra, also in the rain.

Maurice Ayling

The reminiscences of Petty Officer Radio Mechanic Charles Davidson

Charles remembers his time ashore with 812 Squadron, HMS VENGEANCE, ashore at RNAS Jervis Bay. 22nd July - 13th August 1845.

Remembering  RNAS Jervis Bay

...We disembarked at Jervis Bay south of Sydney and had our first sight of Australia other than from the sea. We looked with interest at the scattered village we passed through going from the shore to the camp. When nightfall came, we stared at street and house lighting amongst strange vegetation of gum and eucalyptus trees, where the leaves stayed on and the bark came off. The bush crowded around the airfield where we checked in the aircraft. There were lights everywhere. We had had years of blackout.

The sleeping quarters were simple corrugated iron huts after the relative comfort of Ceylon, but the food, in freshness and quantity, was unbelievable after rationed Britain and the iron tight rations in the Navy. I could not get over the fruit juices and fruit which were available as and when wanted. By night the warm day was replaced by clear star bright nights which, as time passed the air cooled and became frosty. We felt that this is what peacetime, with no blackout and food galore, must be like. We felt we were in an American Californian film especially when we heard the distant Yankee like wail of a train passing Jervis Bay.

One incident sums up Australia to me and it is a warm recollection. After the afternoon tea break at the PO’s Mess on the day we landed I was walking past the Guardhouse to pick up my gear landed from ship when a voice of an old acquaintance from my UK RAF Airfield days called out “ Hey Jock What are you doing here?” “Just landed from the Carrier this afternoon” I replied with a grin to which he said “Can’t stop' Want to go to a dance tonight. Be here 6’oclock and we’ll swap news OK?”. He was attached to a MONAB that is Mobile Operational Naval Air Base.

I was there at the guardhouse, for the last dance I had been at was Greens Playhouse in Glasgow. I climbed into a lorry driven by a marine private with perhaps 8 or 10 other ratings. As we drove and chatted I looked out of the back of the lorry to the strange new countryside of dry dusty roads, dark green pasture with timber and wire fencing and corrugated and wood homesteads and I jumped as we clattered across a loosely timbered wooden bridge over a dry creek. "You’ll get used to these Jock - we’ve plenty to cross”. “How far away is the dance” I asked, “Sixty miles” was the reply to which I began to realise the size and distances of settlement in NSW. We eventually pulled up on the Main Street of a dusty straggling township, well inland from the sea and got out and stood in No 1 Naval uniform to the puzzled stares of some local townsfolk.

“Where’s the dance?” said a seaman to the nearest local. “You’re a week out. There’s no dance until next week” We stared at each other in dismay, then sighed - for in the Navy you counted on nothing, unless it had happened. “Hey, there’s a dance at------” and he named another town. I can’t remember the name of the place but it sounded something like ‘Woolumba gee’! “Lets go, its only 40 or so miles away” said a matelot. “Wait a minute” said the marine driver” My Sheila’s here. I’m not going there”. “There’s a train through here stopping there in 20 minutes” commented our Aussie friend and the marine agreed to pick us up there at 4am! A group of locals led us to the station and explained to the train driver and guard of our situation. They refused to take money from poor Pommy sailors and we boarded the train which stopped at “W” where an incredulous population looked at this strange invasion of sailors in the depth of the NSW bush but welcomed us with open arms.

We had a whale of a night and I danced with ages from 8 to 80. The second dance they told us would not be known to us for this area had had an influx of immigrants from Northern Ireland and they announced a “Gypsy Tap Step” to which we grinned and said no bother, we learned it at Donagadee in County Down when we were waiting to join the Vengeance. At the end of the dance the whole town/ village waited with us at the crossroads under the clear brilliant cold southern sky until the marine picked us up and we drove the 70-80 miles back to Jervis Bay in time for breakfast and a day of flying exercises.

We were granted a week’s leave in Sydney and boarded the train decked out in our No 1’s with a hand held steamer bag with clean clothes etc. At sea you were not given your full pay when you marched forward to the desk with the Writer with his Squadron Pay book and the officiating Paymaster. You held your hat with your open Identity/Pay book on top and the cash was counted out onto the hat and your Pay book marked. None of us ever worked out how much we should have got with basic pay, acting rating, clothes allowance, sea and ‘Hard Lying Allowance’ for eastern service etc. less money paid home to dependants. We just took what was set in the hat, saluted and pocketed the cash. There was little to spend money on aboard for we had our rum ration our ‘tickler’ [tobacco] allowance in either 1/2 lb. tins of shag to roll for a cigarette, or whole leaves to soak in rum and lashup with fine cord in linen to make what was called ‘Pursers Prick’ for pipe smoking.

There was a NAAFI but there was precious little to buy other than tea and stale biscuits unless we had been into port for fresh supplies. So I was taken aback when we were issued with back pay and I had the unbelievable sum of over £20 Aussie before boarding the train. A seaman was paid 2/6 [12 new pence]. On the train the some of the matelots started to play cards and as I watched in a few minutes one of them gambled all his back pay. I got such a shock that I never played cards again for years.

Sydney was like a dream. It was like life in an American film, which was the 'wider world' of young people known only through the cinema. It was the "Bright Lights", plenty of food, fresh fruits, girls in light dresses in the sun, swimming in Bondi Beach. The Aussies were marvellous and very welcoming with Servicemen's clubs with free grub and invitations to spend our few days leave with local families or on outback farms and so on.

I felt that I should see the city with its parks Zoo, Botanical gardens and the night life at the dance halls where we met, unbelievable to us after the Med. and India, white girls to dance with and talk and forget the bleak sea days. I spent some of my pay on smart untanned boots and light cotton trousers and enjoyed Sydney and the taste of forgotten peace time. Too soon we were back to Jervis Bay, for a week or so while the Vengeance was fitted out in Sydney.

I do recall wakening up in the corrugated iron huts in the camp, bewildered that I thought I heard a drunken woman cackling outside, until I realised it was a Kookaburra Bird. That morning the 'buzz' [rumour] that an atom bomb had been dropped in Japan. We didn't pay much attention for flying went on and we re-embarked soon after and sailed north.

Charles Davidson