Surrounded by a frozen landscape and with the stench of penguin guano clinging to his clothes, hair and skin, craftsman Graham Gillies raised his hammer to tackle one of the world’s most unusual repair jobs.
Normally, the self-employed carpenter would be in more pleasant surroundings, carrying out work for homeowners around his house in West Linton or carrying out conservation work on ageing buildings in Edinburgh.
Here, however, he was balancing on a roof at the end of the world, repairing damage caused by climate change to historic buildings that had once provided shelter for a secret war mission.
The work included carrying out roof repairs on a wooden hut on Detaille Island (Image: Contribution: UK Antarctic Heritage Trust)
His challenge was to carry out vital repairs to buildings associated with the mysterious Operation Tabarin, which sent brave men with a double-edged goal into the harsh but beautiful icy landscape of Antarctica during World War II.
Led by Aberdeenshire marine zoologist James Marr, their work included meteorology, topographical and geological surveys, biological research, glaciological studies and sea ice observation.
(Image: UK Antarctic Heritage Trust)
But at the heart of this secret war mission was their order to repel Chilean and Argentine claims to the region.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the extraordinary wartime operation that laid the foundation for the British Antarctic Survey, which conducts important natural and scientific research in the region.
For Graham, a father of two, the trip into the basement of the earth and what was probably the “coolest” DIY project in the world had its own important goal: he wanted to ensure that the historic buildings remained windproof and waterproof and would last for generations to come.
It would also be a unique opportunity for the restorer to examine his own handiwork: 14 years ago he carried out repair and construction work at the same location in Antarctica.
Conservation carpenter Graham Gillie’s work colleagues – a group of nesting gentoo penguins (Image: Contribution: UK Antarctic Heritage Trust)
This time, the task would be anything but easy: extreme weather conditions would have to be dealt with, the resources available would be very limited – you wouldn’t even be able to make a quick trip to the local hardware store to buy extra nails – and accommodation would be basic. Some nights would be spent under tents on the ice, others in a wooden hut that doesn’t even have the luxury of a flush toilet.
Added to this would be five months in a confined space with up to seven strangers and in the company of thousands of curious, loud – and smelly – nesting penguins.
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As repair and conservation work progressed on buildings such as the wooden Bransfield House at Port Lockroy – which had been established as Base A by the crew when they arrived on Goudier Island in February 1944 – and Base W on Detaille Island, site of a 1950s British research station, the effects of climate change became all too clear.
Now back home, Graham says his incredible polar repair work was an “unforgettable” experience.
“We were pretty lucky and were able to get everything we needed to get done,” he says.
The weather research hut in Detaille, which needed conservation repairs (Image: A Malaos/UK Antarctic Heritage Trust)
“But we have found that the buildings there are becoming more humid over the years due to the warmer climate.
“They decay faster.
“One job was to repair the roof structure of a building. It was broken because so much wet spring snow had fallen, overloading the roof and breaking the roof trusses.
“This is a clear sign of warming and climate change.”
The Nissen hut at Port Lockroy, originally built by Graham Gillie, pictured during his last visit (Image: Contribution: UK Antarctic Heritage Trust)
Graham had offered his services to the Antarctic Heritage Trust, which looks after six designated historic sites and monuments on the Antarctic Peninsula.
This includes the site of Operation Tabarin, which was established in 1944 against a backdrop of increasing uncertainty about sovereignty in the region.
Tensions had increased sharply after the German warship Pingvin intercepted eleven Norwegian whalers in 1941 and captured 23,000 tons of whale oil.
The seizure of the oil had an impact on margarine production and potentially on the British food supply. At the same time, concerns grew that Argentina might lay claim to Antarctica.
Penguins at the base in Port Lockroy (Image: Contribution by: UK Antarctic Heritage Trust/Graham Gillie)
The aim of Operation Tarabin was to deny enemy ships safe anchorages and at the same time to collect meteorological data from Allied shipping in the South Atlantic.
With the arrival of Marr and his crew, Port Lockroy on Wiencke Island became the first British base in Antarctica, followed by two more at Deception Island in the South Shetland Islands and at Hope Bay, which served as a centre for dog-sled field research on the mainland.
Conservationist Graham Gillie (Image: UK Antarctic Heritage Trust/Graham Gillie)
However, the scientists had to endure cruel winters, suffered frostbite and once had to make way for 10,000 penguins that had invaded one of the bases.
Before their departure, they conducted a series of experiments, including a failed attempt to transplant plants and soil from the Falkland Islands, as well as meteorological and sea ice observations.
Graham’s recent visit was the first full conservation season at the historic site since 2012–13 and included two years of preparation, with building materials, canned goods and dry food delivered months in advance.
Along the way, he spent Christmas aboard the ice patrol ship HMS Protector in the Falkland Islands and sent short video greetings home to his wife Anna, a doctor, and his teenage sons Thomas and James.
“When we finally emerged from the stormy waters of the Drake Passage, I saw the rugged coastline and jagged peaks of the Antarctic Peninsula. The scenery was just as breathtaking as I remembered,” he recalls.
“I was thrilled to be back in this unique environment.”
Graham Gillie and a colleague at work at Detaille (Image: Contribution by: UK Antarctic Heritage Trust/Graham Gillie)
At Base W on Detaille Island, he worked with archivists dispatched to record and review the condition of historical artifacts.
The 1950s hut served as a base for scientists working in mapping, geology and meteorology, but was abandoned in dramatic circumstances when relentless sea ice forced an emergency escape across the ice sheet.
The building has been preserved as a time capsule ever since.
Graham, 57, added: “The wooden buildings were showing signs of stress from the strong winds blowing shards of ice against the wood.
The wooden hut in Port Lockroy (Image: UK Antarctic Heritage Trust)
“It’s like constant sandpaper on the outside of the building, which causes the wood to wear down. But all in all, it was still in pretty good shape.”
The polar climate brought its own problems: “We experience the full range of weather conditions, from wonderfully calm, sunny ‘Dingle’ days to wild weather. Even in mid-summer the bay regularly fills with huge chunks of ice driven in by the icy southerly wind.
“As my colleague Dale and I struggled with roofing felt in the freezing wind, we were able to understand the difficulties faced by the original residents of these buildings.”
But he adds: “Detaille is a spectacular place; the landscape is constantly changing. Every day, icebergs move in the bay, driven by wind and tides. As we went about our work, we often observed schools of whales passing by.”
In Port Lockroy, wet and snowy conditions made outdoor work difficult.
“The building has been there for 80 years and although it has held up quite well so far, it is starting to feel the effects of the damp,” he adds.
The hut at Detaille during construction in the 1950s (Image: UK Antarctic Heritage Trust)
For most of his stay, he lived in a simple Nissen hut on the football-field-sized island of Goudier, where there is no running water or flush toilets and only limited electricity supply from solar panels.
On the positive side, there was the spectacular landscape of Antarctica and the constant company of countless fascinating, if somewhat smelly, penguins.
Port Lockroy was the site of Operation Tarabin (Image: UK Antarctic Heritage Trust)
“You can’t disturb the gentoo penguins when they’re nesting and they like to nest next to the building,” he adds.
“The whole island smells of penguins, everything is covered in penguin guano. Your clothes smell of it, the smell sticks to your skin.”
Graham Gillie and colleagues from the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust (Image: Contribution by: UK Antarctic Heritage Trust/Graham Gillie)
“You get used to it, after a few days you don’t even notice it anymore.”
And, he adds, it’s a small price to pay to work in one of the world’s few remaining wilderness areas.
“It is incredible to watch animals in the wild go through their mating cycle and see the gentoo penguin chicks hatch, grow, leave the nest and swim away,” he adds.
“We are doing our best to preserve Antarctica’s human history in the hope that it will help people better understand this fragile continent.”
