I
imago
.... is how I feel about the decomissioning of Halley V. Which probably means not much to most people, and why should it? So here's a little tale if you'll excuse my indugence.
22 years ago this month the ship left and a crew of 10 construction workers remained on base. We were the first crew to over-winter in Antarctica without any experienced (been there before) members since Scott set out to the Pole. The base wasn't nearly finished when the ship left, when it returned a year later it was a functioning station. Plumbers, sparkys, chippys, mechs and techs worked through months of darkness and temps down to -52 to finish and comission the base.
That base which we worked so hard to complete reached the end of it's useable life, and has now finished decomissioning, and you'd never know it had been there. That's the sad bit. A quote from one of the build crew on Halley VI allows me a little pride to go with the memories "It has lasted 22 years compared with the 7, 11, and 9 years of Halley II, II, and IV. It could have gone on indefinitely but for the fact that the ice it is on will soon become an iceberg." So I'm raising a glass to the base and the team, and a special mention for John Stapleton, a damn fine Electrician and a bloody nice bloke. RIP mate, and RIP Halley V
Good luck to Halley VI and all who work on it.
Halley Research Station Z ? History - British Antarctic Survey
22 years ago this month the ship left and a crew of 10 construction workers remained on base. We were the first crew to over-winter in Antarctica without any experienced (been there before) members since Scott set out to the Pole. The base wasn't nearly finished when the ship left, when it returned a year later it was a functioning station. Plumbers, sparkys, chippys, mechs and techs worked through months of darkness and temps down to -52 to finish and comission the base.
That base which we worked so hard to complete reached the end of it's useable life, and has now finished decomissioning, and you'd never know it had been there. That's the sad bit. A quote from one of the build crew on Halley VI allows me a little pride to go with the memories "It has lasted 22 years compared with the 7, 11, and 9 years of Halley II, II, and IV. It could have gone on indefinitely but for the fact that the ice it is on will soon become an iceberg." So I'm raising a glass to the base and the team, and a special mention for John Stapleton, a damn fine Electrician and a bloody nice bloke. RIP mate, and RIP Halley V
Good luck to Halley VI and all who work on it.
Halley Research Station Z ? History - British Antarctic Survey
