| Bill Clearihue reports that "On October 13,1962, two Naval Reserve Gate Vessels visited Niagara-on-the-Lake for the 150th Anniversary of General Sir Isaac Brock’s death at the Battle of Queenston Heights. Hugh Franks and Peter Jones (UNTD University of Toronto 1952-57), both serving officers at HMCS YORK, were assigned to the weekend exercise. Hugh was foc’sle officer on one of the Gate Vessels. At a formal dinner held in the old courthouse after their arrival, the officers heard how an American flag had appeared the night before at the top of Brock’s monument.Fortified by several libations after dinner, Hugh declared the need to redeem the nation’s honour and the two former cadets organized a response in “UNTD style”. Scrounging a large Union Jack from the regalia lining the next day’s parade route, they blackened their faces and donned dark clothing. At 0230, with the aid of a hacksaw, they commandeered a rowboat at the marina and set out to cross the international border to Fort Niagara. As with the American invasion 150 years earlier, the river crossing proved to be a much greater challenge than expected. The strong current carried Frank’s small boat with only an 8-inch freeboard, towards Lake Ontario. With a supreme effort, the “raiders” in what almost became the “lost ark”, arrived under the high riverbank and massive walls of Fort Niagara. It looked impregnable. Scouting up stream they found what they were looking for, an eighty-foot flag pole.Unfortunately, it was in front of a brightly-lit U.S. Coast Guard Station -a decidedly unsafe place for drunken illegal aliens about to perform a criminal act. However, the situation just added to the excitement for our would-be commandos. They rowed gingerly into the quiet basin and climbed ashore onto an exposed apron under glaring lights -giant UnionJack in hand. It was a warm autumn evening and all the windows of the Coast Guard Station were open. The flag was clipped on by the head but not by the foot and hauled up with the loose end of the halyard gathering at their feet. The pulley at the top of the 80-foot pole, unaccustomed to such free-wheeling action, began to squeal vehemently. The raiders froze and looked at the gaping windows, waiting for someone to investigate the disturbance but no one did.With muffled excitement the raiders returned to whence they had come and the next day as the Gate Vessels were leaving harbour, the giant Union Jack fluttered by its head from the top of the U.S. Coast Guard flagpole. As they passed, Hugh Franks called his foc’sle party to attention, faced starboard andin typical UNTD fashion saluted the transgressing flag on the Fort Niagara Coast Guard Station." |
