Young Storykeeper Volume III

100 | STORYKEEPERS VOLUME III AGE NINE | 101
THE WARTIME LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER
My name is Ava and I became Ireland’s first female lighthouse keeper
in the summer of 1941. I was stationed on the world-famous Hook
Head Lighthouse. My father had been the lighthouse keeper before me
and I spent most of my childhood playing in the fields surrounding the
lighthouse. I always dreamed of following in my father’s footsteps. Little
did I know that I would be the lighthouse keeper during one of the most
important periods of world history.
My job as lighthouse keeper was to make sure the lighthouse was
kept in good condition and that its light was always there for passing
ships at night and in poor weather. I also alerted the lifeboats of any
ships which need help. Living and working in the lighthouse was always
interesting. The view of the sea was beautiful and I loved listening to the
waves crashing against the rocks. Passing ships would sound their fog
horn and a wave was exchanged between me and the crew. Life was
great.
In the spring of 1943, this all changed when World War II visited the
waters off the coast of Hook Head. I first noticed something unusual in the
sea, a vessel unknown to me at the time. I later learned it was a German
submarine, or U-boat. For days it remained in the bay without moving
so I alerted the lifeboat crews that a strange vessel was in trouble and
needed help. One of the lifeboat crew members had previously served in
the British Army and immediately noticed that the vessel was a German
U-boat, likely waiting for a British merchant ship to sink. Immediately
he used the lighthouse’s radio system to send a coded message to the
British Navy.
Early the next morning, I was awoken by an aircraft flying over the
lighthouse. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I looked over the bay. A
gun battle had begun between the crew of the U-boat and the what I
later learned to be a British fighter jet. I will never forget the noise of the
gunfire and bombs whistling through the air before crashing to the sea.
Overpowered, the German U-boat went under water and disappeared,
never to be seen again.
When I told the locals of what had taken place that morning they
laughed at me and said I was reading too many stories and I had a great
imagination. Over the weeks and months, I soon forgot about the battle
but one day in 1945 I received a letter in the post from England. It was
a letter from Her Majesty the Queen, thanking me for my role in alerting
the British Navy. The letter said I has saved the lives of over 200 sailors
that day.
THE ABANDONED LIGHTHOUSE
This week is the best week of my life! My dad is coming home for good.
If you are wondering why, then I will tell you. My dad works in Africa
studying animals. He is paid a lot of money but I only get to see him
twice a year. The company my dad works for has gone out of business
and he is coming home for good soon. Though, there is one problem:
the owners have abandoned the lighthouse near the harbour because a
glacier is moving towards it. We need to get it working to warn the ships
of the danger.
Now let me introduce myself, my name is Samuna and I am from
Greenland like my mum, but my dad is from Sweden. Every day after
school, I go up to the lighthouse to see if there is anything we can do to
get it working. However, I do not go in, as there is a creepy old man who
stares at me every time.
One day my mother and I went up to the lighthouse and the man
was there.
“Come with me,” he mumbled to us. We followed him up to the
lantern room in the lighthouse. We saw two ships on the horizon.
“My dad is on one of them,” I said.
“My brother is on one of those ships also,” the man said.
I flicked the switch to turn it on but it did not work. “I love you,
Daddy,” I said while crying.
Suddenly it came on and I saw a dusty old plaque on it. It said
Burg’s Lighthouse.
Burg is my surname. Wow, my family must have built this lighthouse!
I ran to the harbour just as the ship was docking and I spotted my father.
We ran to each other and I jumped into his arms.
I told him about the plaque and how it must have been our family
who built the lighthouse. He told me, “It’s a family secret!”
We walked back to the lighthouse and when we got there, we heard
a loud CRASH! We turned around and saw a large piece of the glacier
smash the lighthouse, knocking it into the water.
“Oh my God! Thank goodness it survived until you got home safely,
Daddy!”
Liam Woods
Co Dublin
Avaleigh Reilly
Co Cavan