A new book of Frank Craig’s time on Christmas Island is now available. Visit Amazon to buy a copy.
A one-year “tour” on a Pacific atoll sounded ideal but The Bomb in 1957 eclipsed the dream. The reality was enervating heat, primitive living conditions, rats, giant land crabs – and the prospect of The Bomb and its after effects. Leisure time could be bearable though, with curiosity, imagination and perseverance, laced with the occasional alcoholic party and the chance of leave in Hawaii…
Frank Craig was born in Bristol in 1936 and joined the R.A.F. at seventeen straight from Grammar School as an admin apprentice. He was posted to Christmas Island in August 1957, witnessing two of the biggest nuclear detonations in Operations Grapple X and Y. He left the R.A.F. in 1966 to become a geography teacher in Leeds.
He took early retirement at sixty but soon returned, where he taught for fourteen years part-time “because I enjoy teaching so much.” His passion is steam trains with photography thrown in.
Franks book can be bought on Amazon in Paperback and Kindle versions. Visit:
In Other Words, Wear Shorts: A Year on Christmas Island
Paperback: £14.50
Kindle: £1.49
ISBN: 979-8398570342
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