大象传媒

My uncle, Captain Louis Parkes RNR, during the war was an RNR captain and served on many Atlantic convoys. In the early 50's and as a very young lad he invited me to come aboard his ship which was docked in Newcastle. A Humber car, and driver, was sent to Sunderland for me and I duely arrived at the dockside to be greeted by my larger than life uncle. This was just post war, we were still 'on rationing', things were grim in the extreme but on the ship all was opulence. An officer accompanied me around the ship, we went everywhere. The cold store for the meat is a sight I shall never forget. The weekly ration of meat for a family of 4 cooked down to as much as one could put on ones hand, easily. This coldstore was full of sides of meat, hundreds of them! What a sight.
After all this trapsing up and down and around the ship my uncle invited me into his quarters. I stood virtually to attention in front of his desk. He was a big man with three rows of medals, I was impressed. "I have something here" he said " that I think you'd be interested in". He handed over the desk to me a pocket watch which had a perculiar dull steel case. "I was given that during the war by a greatful German Naval officer who we'd rescued after sinking his submarine. The reason for the steel case is that during the war the German Government requested that all gold be turned over to the state when in the case of gold watch cases base metal ones would be issued.
As I know you are mechanically minded, it's yours".
On a visit to our house I onced asked him was he 'famous'. He was a very imposing man and he said nothing but reached into his inner coat pocket and withdrew a diary entitled Master Mariners Association, opened it to page one and pointed to the list of officers of the association. At the top was his name 'Captian Louis Parkes, Secretary. He explained a bit about it and said he frequently met HRH the Duke of Edinburgh. Fascinated I said "What do you call him?" He waited a while and said "Sir", then after a brief pause he added "at first".
What a man, his great great uncle Sir Henry Parkes was Governer of New South Wales and that mans portrait is today on the Australian 5$ banknote. His own uncle was sent expressly with a tean of RN officers by Queen Victoria to find and return to England Dr Livingston's body after he had died in Africa. Dressed as an arab trader the Royal Navy team found and returned the body back to England. He ended his professional career in the merchant navy as Commodore of the Shaw Saville Shipping Line.

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