Bill Hall Remembers His Early Years

From exchanges with Mike Connolly and adapted for the web by Laval Desbiens on October 18, 2005

 

I was a Marconi Radio Operator for Marconi in Frobisher 1955/56 along with three other guys: Di Jones (Welshman), Joe Smith and George Mason.

 

Others I remember were:

 

Stu Briggs - R.O. Head of Operations - He moved around a lot. He had a short stay in Frobisher. No idea where he went. He had a lot to do with setting up the Frobisher Network and was one of the best R.O.'s I ever worked with , could operate around 40 W.P.M.

 

Roy Hall - R.O. Site 41 (Cape Dyer) - See notes below. Briggs & he were in a class of their own.

 

Gord Grant - R.O. Site 41 - Another high-speed operator. Gord spent more time in the Artic than anyone I know. He is a wealth of knowledge and should be able to fill anyone in on almost anything that occurred during that period. He presently lives in Elliot Lake. Horked for D.N.D. after DEW Line.

 

Bill Jones - R.O., site 37 (?) (Cape Hooper near Cape Dyer). EX-RCN Operator. Worked for D.N.D., Leitrim, Ont. before and after his stint in Arctic.

 

Naismith - R.O. Site 37 (?) (a Scot)

 

Harry Fitzgerald, R.O. Frobisher - Great R.O., but got lovesick after a month or so and shipped out.

 

Harry George (Bearded Scot) - Was the R.O. who accompanied the F.C.C. foreman opening up new airstrips/Sites. He had some hair-raising experiences and on one occasion when they were dismantling a temporary site. The other operator, Art Latreille was up the mast when it fell with him holding on - he was badly injured. Harry had seen a ship on the horizon that morning. He had the presence of mind to have noted that the old Marconi LTT4 transmitter had a 500KC Xtal in it, left from its by-gone days. He managed to load the transmitter on 500 Kcs and called the ship and what he described as a miracle occurred - the ship replied. It turned out to be a U.S. Naval ship with a helicopter and Art Latrielle was air lifted out. As you know, the chance of any ship being in those waters was remote. Art recovered and worked at Leitrim.

 

Don Hayes R.O., Site 37 - Tape recorded morse traffic and played it back at half-speed. To impress us he would break in and send QRQ.(a code signal meaning 'send faster'). We didn't catch on until Naismith told us what he was up to.

 

Note:   

SITES  were outposts installed here and there in the great North, where, of course, radio operators were required , under contract with Marconi and others !

 

Those sites were either for main ,short range or gap-filler radar installations or radio beacons.  For example, N30 was Resolution, (voice call-sign FOOTLOOSE) , N31 was Frobisher Bay (voice call-sign WAR LORD)

Would you please add the following two photos to Bill Hall’s page? These photos were taken in Frobisher where Bill was a radio operator with DND in 1955 and 1956.

Merci

Mike Connolly

May 13, 2017

 

BILL HALL IN FROBISHER - 1955

BILL HALL IN FROBISHER - 1955

 

HALL, William (Bill) James Peacefully, at the Scarborough Centenary Hospital, on March 25, 2008, at the age of 79. Beloved and devoted husband to May, cherished father to daughters Janice (Michael Connolly), Laura (Jeff Kennedy) and son David (Kathi). Joyously remembered and dearly missed as grandfather to James, Jocelyn, Diondra, Amanda and Madelaine. A service to celebrate Bill's life will take place at The Toronto Hunt Club, 1355 Kingston Road, Scarborough, on Friday, March 28 from 4 - 7 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Heart and Stroke Foundation would be gratefully appreciated.