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Every day they scanned the horizons for Japanese warships that were feared to be on their way to invade New Zealand from the south. They never saw one, as the Japanese had no such plan. But regardless of that, the Coastwatchers have long been praised for overcoming hostile environments to perform their duties, which as well as keeping watch included filing weather reports and doing scientific research. As an 18-year-old radio operator, Jones was the youngest of 56 men who did tours of duty at the inhospitable southern bases – two located on the Main Auckland Island and one on even more remote Campbell Island.