Hopedale, Labrador

It was the spring of 1953 and I had just finished four months at Dorval Airport as an Aviation Radio Operator after a brief trip as a ships Radio Officer. After a weeks vacation I was back in Saint John and rumours of a big project building radar sites "up north" was enough to get me thinking about a career change.

An inquiry with my old Radio School principal indicated that "Fraser Brace Terminal Constructors" of Saint John had the contract to build Radar sites in Labrador and they were looking for Radio Operators. Pay offered was approximately twice what I would be getting with the MOT, so it didn't take long to go in for an interview. I went through the necessary medical and security checks. The only tense moment was when it was mentioned that you had to be 21 to go north. They didn't appear to be too concerned so I added two years to my age and I became 21 on the spot.

I left for Goose Bay on a Maritime Central Airways chartered DC3 during the first week of April 1953. We then proceeded to Hopedale which was a little native settlement about halfway up the Labrador coast. We didn't have too much time to spare as the ice on the bay would be breaking up soon, isolating the site for about six weeks. The operator that I was relieving also realized this and he was waiting on the ice when the plane landed, bags packed and waiting to go.

The site consisted of a radar base being built up upon the hilltop overlooking the ocean. Down the bay, about two miles, was the campsite consisting of many long wooden huts for living quarters, dining halls, offices etc.

The radio building also contained the living quarters for the operators and it was also across from the mess halls so we had one of the best setups in the whole campsite. Due to the skilled nature of our work, we were also our own bosses, although sometimes the Site Manager or Office Manager would try without success to prove otherwise.

Only a couple more flights were able to land before the ice became unsafe and we settled down for a month or so of even more isolation. The mail still used to arrive every few days and was airdropped to us but of course no mail could be sent out. The biggest fear was medical emergencies and a couple of bad accidents demanded an airlift out to the nearest hospital. In one case, it was necessary to drop barrels of gas half way up to the site and a small helicopter then flew short hops up from Goose Bay for the rescue. Another time, the USAF did a rescue mission using an SA16 amphibian aircraft that could land in the open ocean.

By mid May, meat supplies were getting low and we were getting tired of canned foods. The company decided to try an airdrop of supplies and the next morning we heard a DC3 flying low overhead and boxes of food came tumbling out onto the snow. I'm not sure if they used parachutes on the heavier stuff, but anyway, it was mostly chicken. We feasted on chicken until the cargo started coming in by Canso Flying Boats.

The first Canso to arrive was a big event. The bay still had ice floes in it so boats had been sent out to try to clear a big enough space to land. After several passes, the experienced bush pilot operating the MCA plane made a quick approach and dropped into the water, marking the return of civilization to the site.

The American government was providing the major funding for these bases, and consequently, there was much support from the US Corps of Engineers and US Navy.

Working conditions for myself and the other operator was quite pleasant, and we used to work 8 hour shifts per day, rotating from day shift to evening shift. We had all the latest of radio equipment (very different from equipment used at sea) and most of the message handling was between our site and Saint John. Goose Bay was another busy point as the airlift support flights used this base for resupply. Most of the communications were in high speed Morse code that we copied directly onto the telegraph blanks using a typewriter. Communications with the aircraft was by radio phone and consisted of weather reports, ETA's etc.

There wasn't much to do during off hours so we would sleep in or take a walk over the rocky barrens when weather allowed. The tree line this far north starts many miles inland so the tallest trees were about three feet tall while moss and small growth grew around the rocks. There was a native settlement across the little bay, but only a few white inhabitants lived there, including a couple of Marconi Radio operators manning the Coast Station for their company. They had permanent homes provided by the company and lived there with their families. I believe that they were native Labradorians and were on permanent location. There were also a Hudson Bay store manager and family and probably several other social workers living with the native population. The village had been placed out of bounds to the construction workers, for obvious reason and the only natives that we saw were some who worked on the base. The chap that cleaned our office was the local chief of the band and was a very interesting character.

As we had a professional association with the Marconi radio operators, I got an invitation over to visit. This was a real treat after living on a construction site for four or five months and the family that I visited were very hospitable. The equipment that they were using in their station was very, very old and it was amazing that it worked as well as it did. This was probably a tribute to the skill of their operators. Other than the non native housing, the rest of the village was in very poor condition, with dogs and kids running around with very little thought to sanitary conditions.

The construction work progressed through the "summer" with the road gradually being completed to the top of the hill. Due to the lack of gravel or sand, a rock crusher worked day and night to provide material. Money didn't seem to be a concern since it was all on a cost plus basis, and waste was unbelievable. One US engineer had the idea to build metal scows to haul away the sand where the dredge cleaned out for the wharf. After spending thousands of dollars to build them, the first trip out into the bay and they sank to the bottom.

Flights by Canso aircraft arrived every day, bringing construction and food supplies. They would land on the bay and taxi right up on the shore by lowering their wheels. It was very risky flying as one crew discovered at another site. A load of acetylene tanks was not properly secured and when the plane hit the water on landing, the tanks flew loose and came right through the cockpit, killing one of the crew. On days when the water was very smooth, it was quite difficult to take off even under full power. Sometimes the pilots would have to circle around and around in the water to create waves and break the suction on the pontoon, which would help takeoff. Even so, sometimes the takeoff run would be several miles before getting airborne.

By July 1953 the pace of construction increased, with more workers arriving daily and ships arriving with heavy materials. The pressure to finish before freezeup was intense and a third radio operator was brought in to enable us to run 24 hour shifts to keep up with the workload.

In late August 1953, I had a little break from the routine when I was advised that I would be going to the adjoining site in "Saglek." This was about 400 miles north, where they had some radio equipment trouble. The regular technician from Saint John was on holidays or something. I had a little bit of experience in servicing from Radio School days so I hopped the first Canso to Goose Bay. After five months in isolation, the town looked pretty, even if the population was less than five thousand. We were pretty well restricted to the company's site on the base, as this was located on the area where the USAF was located.

The operator in Goose had a nice setup, and they advised me if I wanted a good meal that I should go over to the USAF mess hall and all you had to do was sign in and tell them you were enroute to Thule , Greenland or some other place. Any chance to get some different and fresh food sounded good to me, so I got quite good at impersonating an American.

The airstrip at Saglek was gravel and the approach was over a cliff overlooking the bay and then the runway extended up a fairly steep slope. On arrival, I fixed whatever had to be repaired and then had to take over a vacant shift until another operator came back from "outside". The flight back was on an old "Bristol Freighter" which had a huge cargo carrying capacity with large doors that opened in the nose. They certainly were not designed for passenger comfort. We had to sit in web seats hanging on the cargo wall and although it was the last day of August 1953, it was snowing as we took off and you could see the huge icebergs out in the bay. On the way back from Goose to Hopedale, an enroute stop was made at the site at Cartwright (N-26) and I had a chance to meet the operators there. It was a nice break from the routine of Hopedale.

As September and October rolled by, construction activities wound down and we dropped back to two operators again. At last, early November arrived and I was on my way "out" with mixed feelings. The pay was excellent and all went direct to my bank minus the few odd things bought from the "company store" and although the north sees to grow on you and I could have handled a few more months, I was glad to get back home.

George Brien was employed as a civilian radio operator in Hopedale, Labrador – for eight months – between April 1953 and November 1953.