Graham had forgotten. He felt a sudden surge of excitement. Navy Cadets! Only one week to go!
***
After lunch, the boys sat around the veranda and talked about their game. Peter returned to the idea of having agreed amounts of money and standard price lists for things. Graham agreed with the idea but could see problems.
“What if you haven’t actually made a model of something? How could you play with it?” he asked.
“You couldn’t. We can only use the models we have made.”
“What about little things, like planes and tanks?” Max asked. “Could we just bring out more to play with when we lose one?”
“If you had that written down somewhere on a budget to show that is what you spent your money on,” Peter conceded, “But you couldn’t pretend there were more taking part in any particular battle than you had models of.”
“In that case you could just bring on a replacement the moment you lost one,” objected Alex.
“What’s wrong with that? That is what real armies do,” Peter said.
Graham supported Peter: “I think it would be all right as long the replacement always came onto the game at the same place, and in the next move.”
This was agreed to, but then another problem raised its head. Max said, “I can see all that but how do we know how much things cost?”
“We can find out from books,” Peter answered.
“So how much did a battleship cost, say compared to a heavy bomber with four engines?” Alex asked.
Peter shook his head. “I don’t know. We will have to do some research,” he replied.
Max then raised another point: “What about differences between things, like between a Spitfire and a Messerschmitt ME 109?”
Peter shook his head: “That would make it too complex. What we could do is have a series of standard types. For example a 1939 Mk 1 Spitfire might be equal exactly to the 1939 version of the ME 109, but the 1940 version of both would be better.”
“Could we do that with tanks?” Graham asked, dimly aware that there were huge differences between types of tanks.
“I think we could come up with some standard types without too much trouble,” Peter answered.
“We need to,” Max added, “Or we will be arguing all the time instead of playing.”
“Can we do that with ships?” Graham asked. “I mean, how do we determine things like thickness of armour on battleships, or the different prices of battleships with say ten 14” guns as compared to eight 15” or nine 16”?”
“We can do it. It just means more prices on the list,” Peter insisted. Alex shrugged. “So what are the prices to be? Let’s start making up this list,” he said.
“Where do we start?” Max asked.
“Smallest item,” Graham said, “With the jeep or the small gun. They should be the basic cost.”
“What about infantry?” Alex asked.
“No infantry. Too hard at our model scale,” Peter answered.
This was accepted. Graham put forward the first suggestion: “The jeep should be the basic unit. A truck could cost twice as much.”
“We could find out the actual prices,” Max objected.
“No,” Peter said emphatically. “The system must be simple. If was say that a jeep is 1 point and a truck is 2, an armoured car 3 or 4 and a tank 5 or 6, then we have a simple system.”
“Why not use dollars?” Alex asked.
Peter shook his head. “Because we have to compare different countries at different times so a point or mark system is better.”
“Not marks,” Max said. “That could be confusing with planes or tanks that came in different models, you know, a Matilda Mk I and a Matilda Mk II and so on.”
“Yes. Points it is,” Peter stated. This was agreed to. They started offering suggestions but Peter stopped them. “There is no point in this. We need facts to work on. I’ve got some old books at home that I think have some of the info we need in them so I will go home and make some notes. When will we meet again?”
“What about tomorrow after church?” Graham suggested.
This was agreed to. Graham then said, “I’m going to the navy cadets now. Does anyone want to come with me?”
“Navy Cadets!” Max sneered. “Watch out for homos.”
Graham scowled. He had heard all the jokes about sailors many times before and was not amused. The others took their leave and he changed, then wheeled out his bike and set off.
About 20 minutes later, he parked his bike against the fence at the Navy Cadet’s training depot: TS Endeavour. Inside he could see several cadets in uniform sitting apparently tying knots. Four others were working on cleaning a boat. Graham hesitated, overcome with shyness. For nearly 10 minutes he stood there, trying to pluck up the courage to go in.
“Hello Graham,” called a voice. It took Graham a moment to recognize Andrew Collins from his own class in his cadet uniform. “What are you doing?” Andrew asked.
Graham liked Andrew. He was the same age, height, build and colouring, even to the blue eyes and fair hair. “I wanted to get an application form to join,” he replied.
“Come in. I’ll take you to the XO,” Andrew offered.
Graham gratefully accepted. Feeling very self-conscious he followed Andrew inside and was led over to where a lieutenant with a beard sat at a desk. Andrew saluted and said, “Excuse me sir. This is Graham Kirk and he would like to join.”
“Thank you Recruit Collins. You may go,” the officer replied. Graham wanted Andrew to stay but he saluted again, about turned, and marched away to where four other cadets were working a signalling lamp. The lieutenant looked Graham up and down, with obvious approval.
“How old are you lad?”
“Thirteen next week sir,” Graham answered. He was sweating with nervousness in case he was not allowed to join for some reason.
“Have you got any serious medical problem; like epilepsy, asthma or heart trouble?”
“No sir.”
“What about hearing and eyes?”
“All right I think sir,” Graham replied. He knew his left eye was a bit off but hoped it wasn’t critical.
“Have you ever been in trouble with the police? Have you been in court?”
“No sir,” Graham replied. He was shocked by the question and blushed bright red when he remembered Cindy. His father’s advice about under-age girls again raced across his consciousness. It had never occurred to him that he could be excluded from the navy if he had done something wrong.
The officer asked him a few more questions and was evidently pleased when Graham told him who and what his father was, and that his own ambition was to be a naval officer.
“That’s good young feller. Now, here is the enrolment form. You must take that home and get you parents to sign it, here,” he pointed to the bottom of the form.
Graham was dismayed. “Both parents sir? My dad is away at sea.”
“No, one will do, but another adult must witness their signature, in that box there,” replied the lieutenant. Next he handed Graham a medical form and a Next-of-Kin form. “You need to see a doctor. Not a proper medical, just a check-up to let us know if there is any medical condition we need to take account of for safety,” the officer said. He then went on: “You know Andrew Collins do you?”
“Yes sir. He is in the same year as me at school, and his big sister is my sister’s guide leader,” Graham replied.
“Carmen? Yes, she is a good hand. OK young Kirk, bring those forms back all filled in and signed next Saturday and we will enrol you. Here is a program of the unit’s parades during the year, and an information sheet for your parents to read. Are there any questions?”
“When will I get a uniform sir?” Graham asked anxiously.
“After you have been with us a month and we are sure you are reliable; and you are sure you want to stay,” the lieutenant replied.
A whole month! Graham tried to hide his disappointment. “Yes sir, thank you sir.”
/> He made his way outside and sat down in the shade to read the papers through. He was pleased to note that the unit had camps scheduled for the June school holidays and again in September, as well as on a number of weekends.
After checking the paperwork Graham watched through the fence for a while before riding home to place the papers before his mother.
To his irritation she did not immediately sign them but sat and carefully read them first, from time to time going “Hmm” and compressing her lips in a way that signified doubt or disapproval. Again Graham was concerned. It had never occurred to him that his mother might be against him joining the navy cadets. She had never hinted at it. It was certainly food for thought. He was sure that his father approved though. He was often making statements to him and Alex like: “What you young tearaways need is a few years in the bloody army. That would soon straighten out your ideas.”
After reading the papers carefully Graham’s mother questioned him at length about what he knew about the navy cadets, what they did and who was in it. Graham could not tell her some of the answers and felt quite ashamed. Then she said, “You realize that this might mean you have to leave the Scouts? You might find that being in both takes up too much of your time and that your schoolwork might suffer.”
That was another shock. Graham had never considered such a thing. He enjoyed Scouts so much that the idea gave him real pain.
“It will be all right mum,” he insisted.
“Hmm. You don’t know that. I am sure there will be times when both organizations have things on at the same time and that will cause friction. Then you will have to choose.”
“Yes mum.” Graham was confident he could solve such a minor problem, in the unlikely event of it occurring. Schoolwork he just mentally brushed aside.
His mother looked thoughtful. “All right, I will think about this,” she said, further worrying him. He had expected her to sign the forms instantly. Instead she scooped the papers up and placed them on top of the fridge. “Now, do you want some afternoon tea?”
Graham did. Fruit drink and scones with honey were consumed before he went out to his desk and sat down. After a while his creative juices started to flow and he began making more tanks for the game. Only when he was in the middle of this task did it occur to him that the reason for his defeat in the battle that morning was not lack of tanks. I had more than Alex, he pondered, but I just did not have them all on the battlefield when I needed them.
The real problem he deduced was lack of sea transport to get them all there faster. More Tank Landing Ships, that’s what I need, he decided. He studied his two model LCMs and concluded he needed a bigger ship. That sent him to the reference books in his father’s bookshelves. Pictures of large Landing Ship, Tanks showed him what he wanted. He also noted the even bigger Landing Ship Docks which carried smaller landing craft in a well deck taking up most of the stern. He resolved to make both, starting with an LST which could carry at least ten tanks at once.
It will have guns on it too, he said, studying the photos showing the real ones cluttered with AA guns, life rafts and other equipment. After some thought he started drawing plans to scale in an old sketch pad. He used the real LSTs dimensions and converted them to the model scale.
The result was the plan of an LST which was 25cm long, 5cm wide and had two decks: the tank deck below and a vehicle deck above. As planned it could carry eighteen tanks in three rows of six, plus about thirty trucks or jeeps. It was to have four AA guns, two forward and two aft.
Graham set to work on it at once. The base of the hull, which was to form the tank deck and engine room, was cut out of 3mm thick balsa sheet. A square stern 2cm high was glued across and then two solid sides, also of 3mm balsa sheet. The sides only extended forward to where the hull began to curve in to form the bows. The vehicle deck was then cut out, again from 3mm balsa.
At that stage Graham paused to consider how the trucks on the vehicle deck were to get on and off and realized there had to be a lift or ramp. He opted for a ramp. To fit this in he had to cut out a section of deck 2cm wide and 5cm long. The vehicle deck was then glued on, thus forming a box which was open at the front and at the ramp. To shape the curve of the bow he cut out sides from some white cardboard sheet. It took a bit of trial and error and one discarded attempt before he got the piece the correct fit. A mirror image copy was then traced and cut out. The actual bow doors were cut off, to be placed on later. Both side pieces were then glued on.
Another thought caused a pause. The bow was to be ship-shaped, but there had to be a flat ramp which lowered from inside. Graham realized he had not measured this carefully. Worse still he realized it would have been better to have put the ramp in before he put on the cardboard sides.
“It would have been easier to paint too,” he muttered, annoyed with himself for lack of foresight.
The bow ramp was made from 1mm balsa with cardboard stuck to it and tiny pieces of cloth for hinges. It took him 10 minutes of juggling and swearing and much use of tweezers to position the ramp inside. Experiment showed that it could be raised and lowered and that restored his morale. Already he felt that the unpainted box could be classed as an LST.
Having learnt his lesson Graham cut out thin cardboard sides for the superstructure, drew doors and portholes on it and bent it to fit. A bridge deck was cut from balsa with sponsons for the AA gun tubs. The wheelhouse was then cut from thin cardboard, the windows being carefully cut out with a razor. A cardboard funnel was easy to make, as was a cardboard screen to go around the front of the bridge, and cardboard sides for the gun tubs. Two gun tubs were made from balsa and cardboard for the bow and these were placed up on small blocks of balsa to raise them above the focsle sides. To get to these Graham drew tiny ladders on thin cardboard and cut them out.
When all these pieces had been made he set to work and painted the lot dark grey. This took over an hour and left him with a table which he could not use because it was covered with drying parts. Happy with his progress he lay down to read, the smell of glue and drying paint providing an enjoyable aroma. That night he slept very soundly.
Chapter 22
STONEFISH?
On Sunday morning, Graham went to church with his mother and sister. He found it an uncomfortable experience because Cindy sat directly behind him with her parents and Max. To add to his torment, the theme of the sermon was on promiscuity and adultery. Every few moments while Father George talked Graham experienced waves of hot and cold. Sweat prickled and guilt coursed through him, made worse by the fact that, in thinking about his sins, he became aroused, making him feel even more guilty.
It was a relief to get outside and to talk to Roger. From the way Roger spoke Graham sensed that he was feeling a bit neglected and jealous. The primary cause of this was the Battleships game. Roger had not been invited to join; and Peter and Max were so much involved that they had no time for model railways. This resentment became even more obvious when Roger asked: “What are you doing before lunch?”
“Peter and Max are coming over to my place to talk about our Battleship game rules,” Graham replied. He paused, then added: “You can come too if you like.”
“No thanks,” Roger replied. There was an awkward pause. Graham thought hard and suggested he come over to Roger’s after lunch. Roger said no to this. He was going with his mum to visit an aunty.
Back at home Graham had half an hour to work on his LST before Max arrived. The paint was dry so he was able to glue the superstructure on. That really made it look like a model of an LST. He started work on the details: the AA guns and life rafts and so on but had to stop and hide it all when Max arrived. Peter pedalled up soon after and the three boys called Alex out of his room to join them.
Peter had a folder full of notes he had written on the prices of things. Graham was quite astounded. Most of the prices were in Pounds Sterling and Peter was careful to point out that the value of the money had changed a lot over time due to inflation. Graham vaguely understood this
and was content to let Peter handle the intricacies of it all.
The prices of basic items were quite different from what he had expected. The item which first met his eye, and which he then used as a bench mark for everything else, was the cost of the last British battleship, HMS Vanguard. It had cost about £9,000,000. The HMS King George V of 1940 had cost £8,000,000 and the Rodney and Nelson of the 1920s had cost £7,000,000.
The next ships on Peter’s table of prices were cruisers and these were a real contrast. The HMAS Canberra, built in the 1920s, of 10,000 tons and with 8 x 8” guns cost only about £1,000,000 while the Town-class built in the late 1930s, of similar displacement but with 12 x 6” guns cost £2,500,000.
“Why is that do you think?” he asked.
“Better ships all round probably,” Peter suggested, “And they had things like radar and all that sort of stuff.”
Graham kept reading. He noted that the large Tribal-class destroyers of the 1930s cost about £350 000. That made him do some calculations. Hmm. For the price of one KGV-class battleship they could have bought twenty-two more destroyers. I wonder which would have been more use? That led him to consider why they had gone ahead to build the battleships. This puzzle he then voiced aloud. Max suggested that they probably thought the battleships a better investment.
Peter put forward the idea that the weather in the North Atlantic may have had some bearing on the decision. “I read several books which mentioned that sometimes the weather got too bad for the destroyers. If the Germans had a battleship and the British had had none in those circumstances then the Germans stood a much better chance of winning.”
“I suppose so,” Graham conceded. He tried to imagine the North Atlantic in a storm, comparing it to the usually mild Coral Sea that he was familiar with.
The boys worked happily for an hour compiling a list of points costs for various items. Copies were made as they did so that they all had a list. They were then interrupted by a knock on the door. It was Andrew Collins and another Navy Cadet: Arthur Blake, a cheerful lad with a freckly face and mop of black curly hair. He was in another Year 8 class.
The Boy and the Battleship Page 24