Don't Step on a Stonefish!

Don't Step on a Stonefish!
Author(s)	Dan Raschen
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Subject(s)	Autobiography
Publisher	Buckland Publications Limited
Publication date	1993
Media type	Print (Hardback)
Pages	176 pages
ISBN	0-7212-0848-7
OCLC Number	28889912
Preceded by	Send Port & Pyjamas!
Followed by	Diplomatic Dan

Don't Step on a Stonefish! is the third volume of autobiography by Dan Raschen. This volume takes Dan to the age of 35 in 1961.

Back in England efforts were made to train Dan in military technology, and his subsequent soldiering was unusually varied in scope. After a spell in a weapons design team, in 1960 he went to the Central Pacific to command an independent unit and to advise on coral blasting.

When channels through the coral reefs of the former Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony (now the independent countries of Kiribati and Tuvalu) were being contemplated, Dan happened to be the only Royal Engineers officer going that way. The book describes a unique project undertaken by the Royal Engineers in peace time. The trip to untouched and highly remote atolls, where the International Date Line crosses the Equator, is interesting for its description of the colonial community and the magnificent islanders. Coconuts mattered more than money and the allure of a grass skirt was judged by its rustle.

Dan was disquietened by the advice "Don't step on a stonefish!" He was told they are almost invisible and invariably deadly. In Chapter 15, Dan describes how he found himself anchored to a large explosive charge with a quickly burning fuze. He describes the incident as "sporting".

The book includes a foreword by General Sir John Stibbon, KCB, OBE, Chief Royal Engineer.

Other books by Dan Raschen

• Wrong Again Dan! (1983)
• Send Port & Pyjamas! (1987)
• Diplomatic Dan (1997)
• Sam’s Soldiering (editor, 2000)