Surrounded by a frozen landscape with the stench of penguin guano clinging to his clothes, hair and skin, handyman 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 comfortable surroundings tackling jobs for householders around his West Linton home or carrying out conservation work on aging Edinburgh properties.
Here, though, he was balancing on a roof at the ends of the earth, fixing damage caused by the changing climate on historic buildings which once provided cover for a secret wartime mission.
His challenge was to carry out crucial repairs to buildings linked to the mysterious Operation Tabarin, when daring men were sent to the harsh but beautiful frozen landscape of Antarctica on a double-edged Second World War objective.
Led by Aberdeenshire-born James Marr, a marine zoologist, their work spanned meteorology, topographical and geological surveying, biological research, glaciological studies and sea ice observation.
But central to the covert wartime mission were their orders to ward off claims to the region from Chile and Argentina.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the extraordinary wartime operation which laid the foundations for the British Antarctic Survey, which carries out crucial nature and scientific research in the region.
For father of two Graham, meanwhile, the journey to the earth’s basement and quite possibly the 'coolest' DIY job in the world, would have its own important goal: to ensure its historic buildings remain wind and watertight – and standing - for generations to come.
It would also be a unique chance for the conservation carpenter to inspect his own handiwork: 14 years ago he carried out repairs and construction work at the same Antarctic site.
This time, the task would be far from straight-forward: there’d be extreme weather to contend with, very limited supplies to work with – no popping to the nearest DIY store for extra nails – and the most basic living accommodation, some nights spent sleeping under tents on the ice, and others in a wooden hut without even the luxury of a flushing loo.
Plus, there’d be five months spent in close confinement with up to seven strangers and the company of thousands of curious, noisy – and smelly - nesting penguins.
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As work progressed to repair and conserve buildings like timber-built Bransfield House, Port Lockroy – set up as Base A by the wartime team as they arrived on Goudier Island in February 1944 – and at Base W, Detaille Island, home to a 1950s British research station, the impact of climate change would become all too obvious.
Now back home, Graham says his incredible polar repair job was an “unforgettable” experience.
“We were quite lucky, we managed to get everything done that we needed to do,” he says.
“But we have noticed that over the years, the buildings there are getting wetter due to warmer climate.
“They are decaying more quickly.
“One job was to repair the structure of a roof on one building that had failed because so much wet spring snow had fallen and overloaded the roof and fractured the roof trusses.
“That is a real sign of the warming and the change of climate.”
Graham had offered his services to the Antarctic Heritage Trust, which cares for six designated historic sites and monuments on the Antarctic Peninsula.
They include the Operation Tabarin site, established in 1944 against a background of rising unease over sovereignty in the region.
Tension had soared after German warship Pingvin intercepted and captured 11 Norwegian whalers and 23,000 tons of whale oil in 1941.
The seizure of the oil affected the manufacture of margarine potentially impacting British food supplies, at the same time as concerns grew that Argentina would mount a claim on Antarctica.
Operation Tarabin was intended to deny safe anchorages to enemy vessels while also gathering meteorological data for allied shipping in the South Atlantic.
Marr and his crew’s arrival saw Port Lockroy on Wiencke Island become the first British base in Antarctica, followed by two others, at Deception Island, South Shetland Islands, and Hope Bay, which acted as a centre for dog-sledge-based fieldwork on the mainland.
However, scientists endured horrendous winters, suffering frostbite and one point having to make way for 10,000 penguins which invaded one of the bases.
Before they left, they completed a range of experiments, including a failed attempt to transplant plants and soil from the Falkland Islands and meteorological and sea ice observations.
Graham’s recent trip was the first full conservation season at the historic site since 2012-13, and involved two years of preparations with building materials, tinned and dried food delivered months in advance.
On the way, he spent Christmas on board ice patrol vessel HMS Protector in the Falkland Islands, sending a brief video greetings home to his wife, Anna, a doctor, teenage sons Thomas an James.
“When we finally emerged from the tempestuous waters of the Drake Passage, I caught sight of the rugged coastline and the jagged peaks of the Antarctic Peninsula. The landscape was just as breathtaking as I remember,” he recalls.
“I was exhilarated to be back again in that unique environment.”
At Base W, Detaille Island, he worked alongside archivists sent to record and check the condition of historic artefacts.
The hut, dating from the 1950s, was a base for scientists working on mapping, geology and meteorology but was abandoned in dramatic circumstances when unrelenting sea ice prompted an emergency escape across the ice sheet.
The building has been retained as a time capsule ever since.
Graham, 57, adds: “The timber buildings were showing signs of stress from the driving wind which blows ice fragments against the wood.
“It’s like constant sandpaper on the outside of the building which means the timber tends to get worn away. But was still in pretty good condition, all things considered.”
The polar climate threw up its own issues: “We experience the full range of weather conditions from glorious calm sunny “dingle” days to wild weather. Even in mid-summer, the bay regularly fills with huge chunks of ice driven in by the bitter southerly wind.
“As my colleague Dale and I struggled with sheets of roofing felt in the icy wind we could appreciate the difficulties faced by the original inhabitants of these buildings.”
But, he adds: “Detaille is a spectacular place; the scenery is constantly changing. Every day, icebergs shift in the bay, driven by the wind and tides. We often watched passing pods of whales as we went about our work.”
At Port Lockroy, the wet and snowy conditions made working outdoors challenging.
“The building has been there for 80 years and although it’s stood up quite well, it’s starting to feel the effects of the damp,” he adds.
Home for most of his stay was a basic Nissen hut on the football pitch-sized Goudier Island where there is no running water, no flushing toilets and only limited electricity from solar panels.
On the plus side was spectacular Antarctic scenery, and the constant companionship of countless fascinating if a little smelly, penguins.
“You can’t disturb the gentoo penguins when they are nesting, and they like to nest beside the building,” he adds.
“The whole island smells of penguins; everything is covered in penguin guano. Your clothes smell of it, the smell becomes ingrained in your skin.
“You do get used to it, after a few days you don’t even notice it.”
And, he adds, it’s a small price to pay for working in one of the world’s few remaining wildernesses.
“To watch animals in the wild go through their mating cycle, see the gentoo chicks hatch, grow up, leave the nest and swim away is amazing,” he adds.
“We do our best to preserve the human history of Antarctica with the hope that it helps people understand more about this fragile continent.”
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