history file
Little Gibraltar
by Reg Reynolds
Korean War’s ‘Ape of Gibraltar’ During the Korean War (1950-53) Hill 355 survived so many attacks from the Communist forces that Canadians fighting there nicknamed it Little Gibraltar. Sergeant Nick Todd of the Royal Canadian Regiment was one of the hill’s harried defenders. When he was given R & R to Tokyo he decided that something Little Gibraltar lacked was a hallmark of the real Gibraltar — monkeys. Accordingly he purchased a monkey for $60. Todd took the monkey with him back to Little Gibraltar and together they survived numerous attacks from Chinese and North Korean forces. News of the monkey’s existence quickly spread around the frontlines and he was given the nickname the ‘Ape of Gibraltar’. The monkey even received a write up in the US military paper Stars and Stripes. In April 1953 the Canadians were relieved by the Australians and Todd was given leave to return to his hometown of Vancouver. He was determined to take the ‘Ape of Gibraltar’ with him. But when he tried to board a Canadian ship at Pusan the officers in charge refused to allow the monkey on board. Furious, Todd disembarked with his ‘buddy’ exclaiming, “He goes with me or neither of us goes.” That night the inseparable pair drowned GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2012
their sorrows with beer. The next morning the monkey was sleeping off a hangover so Todd tucked him into a duffle bag and smuggled him aboard a plane bound for Japan. From there Todd was able to arrange passage for both of them to Canada. Before departing Todd admonished a collection of bemused press officers, “Any monkey that helped make a monkey out of the Communists deserves a good home back in Canada and that’s where this ape is going”. Little Gibraltar was the dominating feature
“
Any monkey that helped make a monkey out of the Communists deserves a good home back in Canada and that’s where this ape is going
”
in the Canadian sector throughout the War and therefore was a prime target of Communist artillery and frontal attacks. On one night alone 2,500 shells fell on the hill. On several occasions Little Gibraltar was overrun by the Chinese only to be retaken by the Canadians. Examples of how harrowing and hand-tohand the combat could be are illustrated in the book Far Eastern Tour by Brent Bryon Watson. Watson describes one case of a Canadian soldier killing an attacking Chinese grenadier with a trench shovel and another incident where a Canadian shot an enemy at point-blank range and had to crawl over the still warm body. Watson also reports that, while battle exhaustion was rare among the Canadian rank and file, the exception was Hill 355. Of the 51 soldiers of the Royal Canadian Regiment killed in the war 38 (70%) died on Little Gibraltar. 516 Canadians were killed in the UN-sanctioned police action (war was never declared by either side), which ended with a cease-fire signed on 27th July, 1953. In total 26,791 Canadians and one monkey fought against the Communists. n
57