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Commander Edward Wilfred 'Jake' Linton BEM MCD RAN
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It was late 1954, Jake was 19 years old, married, an Able Seaman employed as a Main Gate Sentry at Naval Headquarters at Potts Point, not making enough money to pay his wife’s medical bills and short on answers to the situation. He spent every second night working in Playfairs freezers in The Rocks and life did not hold a lot of promise. Then on the notice board at HMAS Kuttabul there was a message calling for volunteers to form the first Clearance Divers Course, and offering tuppence (two pence) or 1 cent a minute for diving time. This was the answer; tuppence a minute translated into 120 pence an hour or 10 shillings ($1). In short, if accepted, he could give up his job at Playfairs and meet his financial commitments. Naturally he volunteered and was accepted. However, there was just one hurdle and that was a test dive off the wharf at HMAS Rushcutter, using the Salvus Fire Fighting Apparatus rigged for diving, and wearing a suit aptly named ‘The Clammy Death’. Jake remembers surfacing and complaining that his throat was burning and was promptly persuaded to go down again by a push from the boot of the Supervisor. . . a flash in the pan . . . The course formed up at Rushcutter in January 1955, a group of sailors
representing just about the full gamut of ranks and right arm rates
(in Jake's case, a bare armed Able Seaman). There was a POUW, LSRP, LS
Patrolman, Gunnery Rates – you name it, sixteen of them with not a lot
of idea of what they were in for. The RAN Diving Branch or Standard
Divers (Hard Hats) didn’t want to know them, ‘a flash in the pan’,
‘never take on’, and so on, they looked on them with disdain and
waited for them to fail. This was Jake's introduction to some characters; Bill (Fitz) Fitzgerald,
a second generation Navy man and born leader; Ron Titcombe (Breast
Brush) a Reserve Lieutenant (the original Walter Mitty); Bogie
Knight, and many more. Their mentor was LCDR Maurice (‘Batts’) Batterham,
a WWII veteran of some renown in diving circles and
rumoured to be a cohort of Jaques Cousteau; SBLT SD Ron (Bud) Hillen
QDD RAN, lightweight boxing champion of the RAN Fleet during WWII,
a Qualified Deep Diver (QDD) and a personality of his time. Although
Batts was the Boss and Ron Titcombe and Bud Hillen were the designated Instructors; the person who held
the Course together was undoubtedly Bill Fitzgerald; he was the buffer between
the old and the new and he had the respect of both, somewhat
grudgingly from the old. Had he not been a member of their
course then Jake believes there may well have been a much different
outcome. Their base was a converted Concrete Ammunition Lighter (CAL) that
they
moored between two sets of piles on the eastern side of Clark Island
in full view of Garden Island and also the Fleet Commander’s Office
at Naval Headquarters. They
were also overlooked by the St. Vincent’s Hospital Annexe on Darling
Point and provided much entertainment for patients and staff alike. They kept a duty watch onboard and were visited by the Officer of the
Day from HMAS Watson each evening; he apparently certainly got some surprises
from time to time. The course commenced in January and ran for some nine months, and in
that time they walked over most of Sydney Harbour’s seabed and swam
halfway round the globe, it seemed. What they really did was forge a
camaraderie that continues to this day among Clearance Divers; proud
of their qualification and fiercely protective of their branch. Lengthy articles appeared in the Post and Pix, contemporary
magazines of the time, complete with photographs of them under
training, and they were dubbed ‘Frogmen’, able to run, jump, ride a
bike, wheel a barrow and fly a kite all at the same time. Clark Island barbecues In those days Sydney Harbour was without any significant pollution,
you could get crayfish from around the islands east of the Bridge
and especially under North Head. There were fish of all sorts,
including leatherjackets, morwong, John Dory and blue groper in
abundance and the shellfish, oysters and mussels were all edible. Friday afternoons were usually taken up with a fish barbecue on
Clark Island, and there was always enough to take home for the
family. Other areas they visited for training and exercises were Port Stephens
and Jervis Bay, also well endowed with seafood. In the early days
they
had demolition-training areas allocated in Sydney Harbour, they would detonate up to 25 pounds of explosive in
Chowder Bay on the wreck of an old collier which lay there in around
40 feet of water, much to the chagrin of the local residents. One can
only
imagine how the sandstone, which prevails in the area, transmitted
shock to foundations of nearby homes. There was always a plentiful
supply of fish after each detonation and they would visit the park at
Clifton Gardens to cook the spoils. Qualification When they qualified Jake was posted to Rushcutter as ship’s company. Jake
took on the job of assistant diving storeman and remained there
until 1956, when he was posted to HMAS Sydney as Diver’s Yeoman. By
this time more courses had been conducted and the Hard Hat community
was beginning to accept them. More characters appeared from the Hard
Hat ranks such as Dixie Foord, Sandy Brennan, Joe Flaherty, Alex
Donald and John Dollar. They were beginning to make their name within
the Navy and, depending on whom you spoke to, they were either flavour
of the month or a pack of rogues. By the early 1960s most (if not
all) of the serving Hard Hat or Standard Divers had changed over to
Clearance Diver and their numbers got up around 200. The Branch formed a solid relationship with the Army Engineers from
Liverpool Army camp, who got them started in Explosive Demolition and
Explosive Ordnance Disposal until they started their own school in these
areas. They also trained the Police Divers when their branch was
formed in the late 1950s. In 1961 the team also assisted the Snowy Mountains Hydro Electric Authority,
a leak had developed in a temporary sealing device in the inlet
tower at the entrance to the Lake Eucumbene Dam diversion tunnel in
the Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Scheme and the only practical
method of checking the trouble was by diver inspection. The
tunnel was below the surface at the foot of the 80m tower and,
although the RAN clearance divers had only worked regularly to
depths around 30m, they were the only ones capable of making the
inspection. A composite team was formed in Rushcutter under the
direction of Lieutenant Ron Titcombe MBE and, after the
procurement of special-to-task equipment and a short deep diving
workup, they tackled the job. The work involved removing twenty
31/2 ton racks from the side of the intake tower and
twenty eight 5 ton 'stop logs' sealing the tunnel. This was a
major task for the men working in a completely new depth environment
with new equipment over a protracted period in freezing conditions
at over 1,200 m above sea level, often in visibility reduced to zero
by silt. Their perseverance in the face of nitrogen narcosis
and decompression stoppages (which lasted up to 11/2
hours for a 15 minute task time) was nothing short of Herculean.
This was perhaps the most mentally taxing in that it required great concentration keeping their minds on the task at 285 feet using air. The recommended safe depth for diving on air is much less than 285 feet. Australian Divers developed a variation of the Demand valve for the job and they used the ‘Cousteau Constant Volume Suit’ with it and a wet suit as an under suit. As the job dragged on winter set in, lowering the water temperature still further and raising the level of the lake to increase the decompression problem, but the leak was defeated and the tower's fittings replaced without a major injury to any team member. Jake remembers the water was so cold he wondered why it wasn’t hard. The job had taken four months to complete. BEMs for dedication and commitment were awarded to three members of the team. The award to Petty Officer Edward 'Jake' Linton from Preston VIC., was for courage, determination and outstanding performance as a diver when clearing the main outlet For Able Seaman Norman Jeffress from Merewether NSW was noted as
having '.. worked without consideration for his personal safety
to free a fouled diver in the clearance of the Lake Eucumbene outlet'.
The citation for Leading Seaman Douglas Moore from Warialda NSW
recorded 'His ability and capacity was such that he was called
on to dive out of roster to rectify jobs which other divers failed
to accomplish'. Sydney Harbour depth charges The team also rendered safe WW II ordnance from just about all areas of
Australia, including depth charges from Sydney Harbour and sea mines
from the Barrier Reef. Members of the branch spent many months on
deployment to Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands clearing WWII ordnance, and on Defence Cooperation Programs. In the 1960s Mine
Warfare was added to their area of responsibility and Clearance Diving
Teams were formed in NSW and WA. These teams are now fully
commissioned and integrated into the Fleet. A Clearance Diving Team
was maintained in Vietnam from 1965 to 1971, firstly in Vung Tau and
later in Da Nang. Their equipment was the Clearance Diving Apparatus (CDBA) Pattern No.
5561A and could be used to breathe pure oxygen or a variety of mixed
gases made from percentages of oxygen and nitrogen. When used with
pure oxygen it was designed to allow you to rebreathe the gas after
it had been through a soda lime filter, which cleared the gas of
carbon dioxide. Thus the equipment had no exhaust gas and allowed
them to operate covertly. In the mixed gas mode the equipment allowed
you to stay longer at depth than normally the case when breathing
compressed air. The gases were mixed to provide the greatest
percentage of oxygen in the mixture for the depth of the dive, thus
keeping the percentage of nitrogen to a minimum and decreasing the
requirement for decompression stoppages. In 1955 wet suits had yet to be developed and their diving suit, the
Underwater Swim Suit Mk. 1 (UWSS), a dry suit, was constructed of
rubberised cotton twill and covered them completely with the exception
of the hands. Entry was through the neck and then with the aid of a
neck ring, clamp and hood they made themselves watertight. Another
suit, nicknamed the ‘Clammy Death’ was a relic of WWII and was even
more uncomfortable. Both these suits had the annoying habit of
pinching pieces of flesh from parts of a persons body and at every chance
they chose to wear a pair of overalls with a greasy wool jumper when
diving. A hobby for a job Life was good as a Clearance Diver. Diving pay gave them a bit of a
lift in income and the working environment was excellent, it felt as
if they had a hobby for a job. There are a million stories about some
of the jobs they did and also the antics of some of the characters but
in the main their reputation soared, and Clearance Divers were highly
sought as members of any ship’s company. One did not seek promotion
as it could have a detrimental affect on their diving time and diving pay as a direct result. Diving Pay was very handy in those
days, Jake remembers one pay while diving in Eucumbene, he received £70
or $140 at 10 cents a minute for diving at that depth. In 1964 Jake was promoted to Chief Petty Officer
Instructor Clearance Diver and was the Chief Boatswain’s Mate of the
Flagship HMAS Melbourne. He had reached the top of his profession as a
Non Commissioned Officer and he was 29 years old. Jake's boss suggested
that he should try for a Commission and so, after much study (he had
left school at 13) he passed the Higher Education Certificate. Along
with another Clearance Diver, Doug Moore, GM BEM, Jake was enrolled in
HMS St. George Special Duties Officer School at Portsmouth. After a
most interesting and difficult 8-month long course, Jake remembers
that Doug topped the
course and, well, he passed. They were promoted Acting Sub Lieutenants in
January 1965 and commenced a 2-year stint in the Royal Navy.
Jake's time in the UK was soon over and he returned to Australia and
joined HMAS Vendetta for a short period, then back to Rushcutter and
the Diving School as Training Officer in 1968. The Diving School
moved to HMAS Penguin in 1969 and he remained there until 1970. He was
Training Officer and Course Officer for the 1969 MCDO’s Course. This
course saw the long awaited transfer of LCDR Ian McConnochie from
the Supply Branch to the Seaman’s Branch and his qualification as a
Mine Warfare and Clearance Diving Officer, a feat with no precedence
and one that hasn’t been overshadowed. Jake's last task at the school was the
writing of an addendum to the RAN Diving Manual covering the Draeger
FGT1 Mixed gas Diving Equipment the replacement for the CDBA 5561A. In May of 1970 he took command of the 8th Clearance Diving Team 3,
in training to deploy to Vietnam. They departed for Vietnam in
October 1970. Without doubt one of the smallest, and unrivalled, Australian units
to serve in Vietnam was Australian Clearance Diving Team Three
(CDT3). They were an elite group of 49 officers and men;
divers trained in the dangerous business of explosive ordnance
disposal, who established an enviable reputation for courage and
innovation in time of war in the spirit of the diver’s motto,
'United and Undaunted'. The eighth and final contingent returned to Australia in May 1971, bringing to a close four years of war service in trying and hazardous circumstances. The contingents had rotated through Vietnam at approximately six to seven month intervals. The one fatal casualty was a young sailor killed in a motor vehicle accident while on exchange with an American unit in Cam Ranh Bay. Seven personnel were decorated whilst others received recognition from the United States and South Vietnamese governments, including a United States Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation awarded to the first contingent.
Exchange posting When Jake returned from Vietnam he was posted to HMAS Torrens to qualify
for his Bridge Watchkeeping Certificate. While they were on deployment
in the Far East he was offered a three year exchange posting with the
USN at their Fleet and Mine Warfare Training Centre in Charleston
South Carolina. Jake jumped at the chance and within three weeks of
returning to Australia he and his family had packed and moved to the
United States. His tour with the USN was a great experience and gave him a new look
at their contemporaries, having had three years with the RN and then a
tour of Vietnam working for the USN and now a further three years
working within the USN in the US. With that experience he was
able to evaluate that the RAN were
second to none. He qualified as a Staff Mine Warfare Officer while in
the States and then began teaching the trade. He participated in the
Planning of the Minesweeping operation of Hanoi, Operation End
Sweep, and also the Mine Clearance Operations in the Suez Canal. Sadly he didn’t make it to either event, as the USN did not want any
third country nationals confusing the diplomatic issues. On his return from the States he was posted to the RAN Research
Laboratory to produce a draft of the first of the Mine Warfare
Pilots and then, much to his surprise, was offered Command of HMAS
Curlew, a Ton Class Mine Sweeper that had been converted to a Mine
Hunter. He learnt a lot in Curlew, mostly the difference between
being a member of a ship’s company and being in Command. He survived
the job and had the wonderful experience of circumnavigating
Australia in command of a warship. After Curlew there was a stint at
HMAS Waterhen as Staff Mine Warfare Officer, then two years as OIC
of Clearance Diving Team 1 (CDT1) CDT1 was another very rewarding job with highlights of Defence
Cooperation Program tours to the Solomon Islands and standing by to
go to the Gulf. By now
Jake had well and truly learnt that he had had ‘A Fortunate Life’, and
if Albert Facey had not chosen that title for his autobiography then
he would like to have used it for his own, if and when he ever wrote it. The other great piece of wisdom that had finally dawned on Jake was
that working for or with Clearance Divers and/or being in charge of
them was a great experience. They all want to get the job done and
properly, don’t take a lot of leading, and if you have their respect
you have the game sewn up. Jake was promoted to Commander and in 1982 was given a 'Pier Head Jump' to take Command of Curlew, again this time for just a bit over three months, when
her Captain became indisposed. Being in command of a relatively
small ship as a Commander had a lot of benefits. They visited Port
Fairy in southern Victoria, a most difficult port, as the ship was too
big to enter the river and anchored offshore in the long swells from
the Southern Ocean. He had visited there once before in his previous
commission and recommended they not return. He forgot that it was Prime
Minister Fraser’s electorate Next came a posting as Officer in Charge of the RAN Diving School. He
spent over four years there and didn’t have a lot to do, as
Clearance Divers who all knew what they were doing surrounded him and
he was only there to be responsible for their actions. Not too tough,
for about 99.9% of the time, their actions and accomplishments
reflected very well on him. The hardest thing about this period in
his
career was providing Clearance Divers to the Counter Terrorist
Organisation. SAS and Clearance Divers The Special Air Service (SAS) were given the task of providing a
Counter Terrorism Force when the Government felt there was some
danger of a terrorist attack on our oil rigs in Bass Strait. It was
Jake's understanding that to provide this force would have stretched the
SAS resources too thin to enable them to meet their other
commitments, and it was decided that the Clearance Diving
Branch would supplement their forces. Along with the OIC of the SAS
Regiment, his role was to select appropriate personnel. Jake's feeling
was that there wasn’t much need for selection as any Clearance
Diver, because of his training, would be suitable for the role. The
Regiment didn’t feel that way and were fiercely protective of their
role and reputation. As a result there were times when Warrant
Officer Clearance Divers were working for SAS Corporals, a situation
which at times caused some interesting get‑togethers in the Bar with
an odd trip to the Sickbay afterward. In retrospect, whilst he was
fiercely protective of his Clearance Divers it is not surprising that
his counterpart in the SAS Regiment felt the same about his troopers
and ‘who could do it better’ was always going to be a bone of
contention. Jake just felt that he was providing cannon fodder for the
SAS and that there was not a lot of career enhancement for those who
volunteered – and there were plenty of volunteers. In the years
since then, Clearance Divers have proved that they can fill any role
in counter terrorism with great professionalism, but they still get
very little recognition for their service in that field. Jake retired in 1986 after nearly 35 years in
the Navy and 31 years as a Clearance Diver. A testament to the
camaraderie of the branch is that he is still well informed of the
comings and goings of the branch and considers himself indeed
fortunate to be a member of it, and like all other Clearance Divers
past and present is fiercely protective and proud of his branch. In Jake's words – "I never met a Clearance Diver that I could not work or socialise with. I have made many lasting and close friendships across a number of generations and don’t know of too many other branches of any Navy that has so many fathers, sons and grandsons who have put on the facemask. The branch has also proved to be great preparation for future careers; we have had the Head of the Queensland Pilot Service, owners of very successful diving businesses, a Deep Draft Oil Tanker Captain, car dealership owners, ferry and merchant ship captains and who knows what in the future – Governor General perhaps!" Much has happened since Jake retired in 1986, with a clearance Diving team of 70 odd members maintained on each coast and their first Rear Admiral promoted. In addition there are many more Battle Honours on their Banner. All this from a bunch of blokes who just like swimming and eating fish. Jake and his wife Anne are still enjoying their retirement on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland.
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Edward
'Jake' Linton was born on 31 January 1935 in Preston, Victoria.
He joined the Navy on the 17th March 1952 and following completion
of his initial training at HMAS Cerberus his first posting
as a seaman was to HMAS Australia.
Jake's introduction to the Wardroom was ‘on’ HMS
Aisne (you were never
‘in’ Aisne, he was told). He was designated the Upper Deck Mate,
Diving Officer and Wine Caterer. Upper Deck Mate and Diving Officer
were no problem, being the Wine Caterer was an education in itself
and he found how easy it was to fall out of favour with other members
of the Wardroom. He personally couldn’t see much wrong with Sparkling
Star Wine, Porphyry Pearl or Ben Ean Moselle; besides, all the
other wines available seemed much too expensive. Aisne was yet another
eye opener, they commenced the Portland work up but failed after 6
weeks. The Captain and Engineer were relieved, and they did another
work up and sailed for the Far East the day after completing it.
