Dunny Issues

By George "Pills" Parker, 110 Sig Sqn, South Vietnam
(3 Dec 1968 - 10 Dec 1969)

110 Sig Sqn Sgt Mess Dunny with a view
110 Sig Sqn Sgt Mess Dunny with a View (left side).  Note the pisser phone in use!   Sgt Mess (right side).

Well if you were standing outside of the 110 Sig Sqn, Sgts Mess at 1ALSG, Vung Tau, early 1969, then you would of heard me brief the unit Sig Blowfly, who was a thick as a piece of chalk.  I told him that the dunny needed a good slow burn out and explained to him the ingredients, 1 in 4, that is, one measure of petrol (or range fuel) and four measures of diesel, and yes he got the ingredients vice/versa. The eruption was a dream for an avid photographer as Sig Blowfly returned an hour later after a good soaking in shit!

He was always wary when lighting the dunnies, and he threw a match at the dunny hole from the door and no ignition, he got closer and threw another match in, and still no ignition, and then he stood over the hole and dropped the next match in and the ingredients began to ignite, and the dunny began to shudder.

Sig Blowfly came screaming out of the door of the dunny, like a startled gazelle, with look of fear on his face.  For three seconds the dunny shuddered and rocked and rolled, and Sig Blowfly was running on the spot, the power cables to the dunny began writher like a snake, the dunny floor began to lift and shudder like a 6.8 earthquake ---and WHOOSH, the whole contents of the hole splattered everywhere and the top of the dunny seat chased Sig Blowfly away from the exploding installation.  We had to get the 1ALSG fire truck out to hose the dunny remains down.

110 Sig Sqn dunny under reconstruction
110 Sig Sqn six seater dunny under re-contruction in 1ALSG, Vung Tau, 1969

The ORs dunny also had drama about the same time, as the same Sig Blowfly blew it up a couple of times. They had it replaced with a new 12 seater, which was only held down by concrete nails.   Over that short period of time with the sea breezes, the frame became loose.  Six blokes were enjoying their morning tea hard hits, when a great gust of wind came along, and the whole dunny roof and frame 'blasted off' like at Cape Canaveral and ended up down in the gully near the MPs.

George Parker
2013


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