大象传媒

Intro cont.

But we managed it and to the accompaniment of much huffing and puffing interspersed with the usual range of military adjectives we arrived at the station and boarded a train that travelled all through the night and finally arrived early on the morning of the 26th at Liverpool. From there we struggled onto a line of trams, clattered down to the docks and almost immediately on to our ship, the Niew Holland. It was Dutch, of only 19,000 tons into which we were being squeezed. Three thousand troops of various units including artillery, infantry and REME. We were all part of the 56th (London) Division whose sign is a black cat with tail curled to the right on a red background signifying Dick Whittington and the Great Fire respectively.

During the journey I had tried to imagine certain aspects of the inside of a troopship but I was surprised at the conditions even after three years of war preparation in the UK. The sergeants area consisted of a section immediately below the main deck, a little aft of midships, directly over the ship鈥檚 magazine and with the troops cookhouse on one side and the ship鈥檚 cookhouse on the other. Into that small area six hundred of us had to make ourselves comfortable. There were overhead racks for our big packs, all small arms went into the magazine and our kitbags into store. Long tables were supplied for meals and so on and there were no other fittings. Most of the men below decks where inevitably stale air was intermixed with the sickly stench of oil from the ship鈥檚 engines.

Officers, warrant officers and a few lucky senior sergeants were squeezed into cabins which although not a great deal more comfortable at least had a regular supply of fresh air. By mistake I and two friends strayed into one of the ship鈥檚 messes and ate a really good meal which was the last of such quality until we reached Cape Town and were able to go ashore.

The next morning, our first on board ship breakfast was fatty pork! And the cook was obviously a comedian! Later in the day the ship moved out of harbour and into midstream where it spent that night. There was a problem of providing sufficient meals which had not yet been solved and the atmosphere was very hot in the lower decks.

Next day at 1210 hrs we started moving. The water was very smooth all day long and during the evening we passed by the Isle of Man. The following morning I can remember awakening to find the ship in a heavy swell and my hammock swinging from side to side. Already several sergeants were sick and I did not feel too good myself although I was able to keep down my food but I had to be very careful over what I ate. We were hove-to off the coast of Scotland but were under weigh by 0900 hrs and the steady roll of the ship continued. All the troops on board ship wore slippers and these proved both safer and much more comfortable than army boots. In addition they prevented wear to the decks and those accidents that undoubtedly would have happened wearing the heavier footwear.

On Sunday August 30th we were given eggs for breakfast, no doubt as a special treat, and I managed to avoid church parade but somehow found myself on PT. Later I had a hair cut and singe by the battery barber who was quite naturally known as 鈥楧an鈥� because he was also in charge of the latrines when not on board ship.

At this time the seas were heavy and the air cold. The following day began with a marvellous sunrise but I felt thoroughly browned off with life. I was not yet used to living at sea, my stomach was in a constant state of upset and there was not the slightest comfort, haven of rest or any place to sit down except on the deck. The weather was cold and dank and we were all at sea in more ways than one. I can remember very clearly one or two bundles of clothes on deck that were in fact soldiers who were too ill from sea sickness to move and with below decks being so awful they were just curled up on that part of the troop deck that rocked and rolled least of all.

The beginning of September arrived and found our meals still in a chaotic state and on one red letter day rabbit stew was served with bits of fur floating on it. Nevertheless gradually we were all sorting things out. There was another change round of cabins and sleeping quarters with the ship being thrown into a muddle for most of the day.

September 3rd was conspicuous for a private tragedy for my 鈥淏lackbird鈥� fountain pen was broken and I was forced to buy another which was very annoying because apart from the cost it was a special purchase made just before leaving England and I had found it to be a good writer considering I was left handed.

The accident which caused the breakage was one of those infuriating events that everybody experiences from time to time. There was an organised game going on with a medicine ball and somebody threw it particularly hard. It whizzed past me and in doing so very nearly removed the nib and broke the fitting behind it!

From September 4th the weather suddenly turned warm, very warm in fact and it was not very long before people started changing into their khaki drill shorts and shirts. Each day there was a half hour or so PT to help keep us in a reasonable state of physical fitness so far as it was possible in the very restricted and crowded conditions. Where we were concerned it always took place amidships on the starboard side in the narrow area between the superstructure and the rails at the ship鈥檚 side. In general nothing happened until midday and all afternoon the main deck both forward and at the stern was as crowded with prostrate bodies enjoying the sun and making up for lost sleep as some of those beaches at the more popular resorts in the Mediterranean.

I was responsible for taking the 鈥渟pecialists鈥� on various lectures and on the 5th the subject was 鈥渃alibration鈥�. In brief this was a particular procedure we went through to ensure that our 鈥渄irectors鈥�, which were a very simplified form of a surveyors theodalite, were suitably adjusted for use in whichever part of the world we happened to be. The main factor being the difference between magnetic north and the grid north used on ordnance maps and this factor changed from one place to another.

The following day, a Sunday we all took part in 鈥淏oat Stations鈥� drill at 0900 hours as usual and that was the only parade because attending a church service was entirely voluntary on board ship and that was probably just as well because there was very little room for a large number of men to gather together owing to all the bits and pieces on deck, not forgetting Orlicon guns for anti-aircraft and anti-submarine defence. Also hatches, lifeboats and so on. Therefore the day was spent lazing around, talking, writing, soaking up the sun, gazing out to sea or at the other ships. Nevertheless Ernie, Eddie and I found time to consume two large tins of fruit between us.

On September 7th I had to lecture on 鈥楻AF Cooperation鈥� which dealt with the use of aircraft as 鈥渟potters鈥� for the artillery and for which there was a set procedure which had to be followed to obtain the best results. At 1330 hrs I was detailed to take HQ Troop on PT. This went off fairly well. The only slight problem with such exercises on board ship was that each individual had to be aware of the movement of the deck when jumping up and down and to realise that it would be a little nearer or further away than was expected. On this particular day our exertions were followed by an issue of mineral water and later in the afternoon we greatly enjoyed a ships concert.

I awoke as usual at dawn the following day because I and hundreds of others were sleeping on deck to make the most of the beautiful night air and had to move early to enable the Lascar crew to clean up and hose down the decks. Whilst shaving I felt very ill and had an attack of dysentery on a minor scale. Therefore I reported sick and was admitted into the ships hospital by 10.30 hrs and put on a liquid diet. Eddie visited me during the afternoon. It was very warm during the night but I felt a lot better the next day. At 1100 hrs we sighted land and it turned out to be Freetown, Sierra Leone.

It was not a very imposing sight but maybe we were not in the busy area. In fact everywhere was very green and from the sea it could have been somewhere around the coast of Britain except for the difference in temperature. I slept very well that night, the last between sheets for quite a long time. On 10th September I was discharged from the ships hospital. I felt quite fit as regards the dysentery but was a bit shaky on physical training. The weather was wet warm and showery like an April鈥檚 day in England. These conditions continued which I thought rather odd for latitude 10 degree north. During the day we were kept amused by the antics of some Negroes who came alongside in small boats and sang their native songs, probably in the hope of earning a few pennies and indeed several coins were thrown during the day. Others had bananas and various tropical fruits for sale. In the evening there was a singsong on deck and a good time was had by all.

The next day September 12th was much warmer. In fact the sun was quite hot and so, during the afternoon, I washed my khaki drill and it was quite dry by teatime. Everybody was doing their washing and it was hung everywhere that could be used as a line. The problem was having to use sea water. We had an issue of sea water soap but it was almost impossible to get a lather from it. It was a case of lots of rubbing and patience. There was no other way of keeping our uniforms clean and of course we had plenty of time on our hands. Indeed it had become very much like a pleasure cruise without the fun. Lunch today must have been particularly bad for I noted that it consisted only of spaghetti but dinner was better and in part made up for the omission.

We left Freetown at 0700 hrs on the 13th September, a Sunday and were soon out on the blue seas of the Atlantic Ocean again where the weather was even warmer. A spelling and general knowledge bee was held on deck this morning and better still we were given a good breakfast and lunch. The following day we endured PT for half an hour which was twice the normal length of time. During the day an escorting destroyer picked up five men in a lifeboat, all survivors from a ship sunk by the enemy. Later on the warship dropped some depth charges. It was quite exciting and most interesting because Eddie and Ernie could, between them, read the naval heliograph signals passing between the various warships and kept us lesser mortals in touch with events going on over the horizon. The difficulty in reading the naval messages was that the heliographs were not pointing exactly in our direction but from one warship to another.

In the afternoon it was my turn to be sergeant in charge of the ships guard for 24 hours. The weather was bad for 6 degree north latitude but what I remember most about my tour of duty was the sight of the many hundreds of bodies at all angles below decks. Sleeping on the floor, on tables and in hammocks and what was even more amazing to me was the procession of troops to the toilets all through the night. It never ended! It was just like a continuous parade of zombies. Surely they could not all have had weak bladders? The one item of excitement was caused by a ship in the convoy showing a light rather late at night. It shone like a searchlight and was duly reported but was a long time being put out. The 15th was a pay day and I drew my usual two weeks allowance. On the same day all sergeants were allotted a special sleeping area towards the stern or blunt end as it was usually called.

Over the next two days the convoy of twenty eight ships together with escorting warships ploughed on and we learned subsequently, on arrival in South Africa, that we had altered course far to the westward in a successful attempt to slip past a waiting German raider. The weather had turned quite cold considering our closeness to the equator and a strong wind blew constantly. The good news was that I found my pipe, a new 鈥淏arling鈥� which I had lost a week previously. Another soldier found it and happened to be sitting beside me, smoking away and thoroughly enjoying himself. He returned it with no ill feeling as soon as I identified my ownership. I also had a late supper with Eddie and Ernie down in the gunners messdeck. The bad news however was that I missed the winning number in the ship鈥檚 sweepstake by the finest of whiskers.

It rained during the night of the 17th and the weather developed a nasty habit of doing so on a regular basis which was almost inconvenient with so many of us sleeping out on deck. It meant a scramble to the nearest shelter and a loss of sleep. Today鈥檚 big event was the 鈥渃rossing the line鈥� by the convoy accompanied by the usual ceremony. Our colonel was the victim and was duly ducked in the ship鈥檚 swimming pool.

Each day we continued with our PT in the morning and with military training in the afternoon. On Saturday the 19th we had a most enjoyable time listening to the band of the Royal Fusiliers playing a selection from the Merry Widow. The weather was now turning colder and at times it was very cold indeed. The water was very rough and as the convoy steamed through turbulent seas the ships propellers would suddenly appear when their sterns drove through troughs in the waves.

On September 22nd we all changed back from our tropical dress to battledress and were very glad to do so for the weather continued to deteriorate and was biting cold. We were told that we would reach Cape Town in three days time and everybody began looking forward to the event, especially as we were fairly certain that there would be shore leave. During this period, not being a good sailor, my stomach was upset once again, but nevertheless, on the 24th I managed to consume some chicken sandwiches in the evening. A rare delicacy and indeed it was probably the first time in my life that I had tasted that particular bird. Turkey, yes and rabbit too, but never so far as I can remember had I tasted chicken before. Probably because my family lived on beef in those days. The other odd thing about my bouts of feeling ill was that at no time on the voyage was I seasick. Maybe I would have had a more comfortable journey if I had been able to join those unfortunates who spent their first few days at sea leaning over the ship鈥檚 rail. It was almost a month to the day since leaving Wivenhoe and in that time I lost nearly 28 pounds in weight. Not all due to the sea, so me because of the poor food.

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