大象传媒

This story has been written onto the 大象传媒 People鈥檚 War site by CSV Storygatherer Robin.D.Bailey on behalf of the author Gerald. P.H. Cox. They fully understand the terms and conditions of the site.

I was evacuated aged 9 years with my Brother, David aged 7, from Chelmsford, Essex in August 1940 to Australia. This was under the Government Scheme to send children to Commonwealth Countries, due to the threat of German invasion.

We travelled to Liverpool, where we stayed in a school while the preliminaries, such as final medical examinations were undertaken. We slept on the floor in the classrooms and spent a good deal of time in air-raid shelters in the playground as the city was being bombed at night.

On the 5th August, we embarked on the Polish liner MS Batory and that night slipped out of the Mersey to join a vast Convoy, one of the largest of the war. There were Royal Navy Escorts and in the beginning air cover. This was all very exciting for young boys.

Many of the well known ships were with us, The Empress of Britain, Acquitania, Andes, Stratheden and many more. One night we heard explosions, which were depth charges, and a submarine attack had been repelled.

We were in a group of boys from Essex in the charge of a young New Zealander, Mr Dixon. Our cabins were family rooms and quite well appointed. The Batory had plied pre-war between Gdyinia in Poland via Tilbury to the USA.

Lifeboat drill was the order of the day and we carried lifejackets at all times. There were 483 children on board with as many or more troops bound for the Far East. Seasickness and homesickness were a great problem, but the Polish crew and the soldiers were kind and did help a lot.

By the time we reached our first port of call, Freetown in Sierra Leone, children had got their sealegs and were feeling much happier. We took on oil and water but did not go ashore. To avoid Malaria, we were dosed with Quinine and wore our pyjamas all day to protect our legs from mosquito bites. The sight of outrigger canoes around the ship delighted us, as the locals bartered with the soldiers.

Sailing South, the weather became very hot and we crossed the Equator taking part in the Crossing of the Line ceremonies. There were no formal lessons on board, but sing songs, concerts and talks about our new country were given. The whole thing was an Education in itself !

Our next port was Capetown. Here we were entertained royally and taken out sightseeing by womens organisations; I have the book to this day given to me by the Mayor of Capetown. I remember a picnic we had in a beautiful sub-tropical garden next door to General Smuts home.
Here, in Capetown, the Red Cross and Rotary provided lots more books, games and toys, also films which were in short supply.

We had become fond of the ship and its crew and soldiers and were dismayed when we learnt that we had to change ships. However, a desperate signal to the Admiralty back home caused a change of heart.

Leaving South Africa behind, we headed East into the Indian Ocean with the Stratheden sailing nearby. Later, we learnt that a German Raider group were scouring the ocean for shipping, including the Batory. We began to alter course frequently and headed North to India and Bombay. Here, again we were entertained with enthusiasm. I remember the glorious sunsets, the hungry Kites silhouetted against the sky, and the melancholy Towers of Silence.

Sailing South Eastwards now, we were fascinated by the very green island of Ceylon. In Colombo, a charming lady took several of us out for the day in her car and to an evening meal and promised to write to our Mother (which she did).

Singapore was our next landfall and here we said goodbye to the soldiers. Once again we had a great welcome, people anxious to do something for the home country. This was to be our last port of call before mainland Australia.

As we sailed South through the Sunda Straits with the volcano Krakatoa on the horizon, anticipation grew with thoughts of what awaited us in our new homes in Australia. We heard stories and leant songs about life in the new land ahead.

Our first view of Australia was Freemantle, and here, children bound for homes in Western Australia disembarked. We fell in love with Perth, but were anxious to sail on, first to Port Melbourne and then round to Sydney.

As we sailed through the Heads, a Kookaburra alighted on the foremast to welcome us, and entering Sydney Harbour, we had rousing cheers from the crew of the Queen Mary which was at anchor there. A Pipe Band played on Circular Quay as we berthed near the bridge.

We had a great reception in Sydney as we had in Melbourne, and thirty five of us took the night train to Brisbane in Queensland. We had truly reached the Promised Land !

David and I had five happy years in Australia. We stayed with our Great Aunt and Uncle in Norman Park, a suburb of Brisbane. We were always encouraged to write home every week and spoke home by radio on one occasion.

We knew that one day we would return home, and in early November 1945, we sailed out of the Brisbane River on the P & O liner Stratheden, with very mixed feelings.

Postscript:

Many of the Evacuee Escorts who looked after us so well, sailed back to England to rejoin the War Effort. The German Raiding Group of ships, I spoke of, shelled and sank their ship the Rangitane; and our escort, Mr Dixon and five others lost their lives. Some of the survivors were put down on a Pacific island, and the remainder went to prison camps in Germany.

Sadly, a price was paid for our safe deliverance to Australia.

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