 Despite the provision of a small jetty in 1902 the islands remained at the mercy of the weather.The authorities were unable to do much to assist them, although reliable radios and other infrastructure denied to the civilian islanders were later to be provided for the military base at a cost of millions of pounds.After World War One most of the young men left the island and the population fell from 73 in 1920 to 37 in 1928.