大象传媒

Towards the end of June we heard news of an imminent British invasion of Madagascar then garrisoned by the Vichy French. The whole operation was carried out very swiftly by 121 Force, a Division of Royal Marines commanded by a General Maitland who I was shortly to meet. 121 Force landed on the northern tip of the Island at the port of Diego-Suarez and very quickly moved down to take the capital Antananarivo. Apparently the plan was for East African Command to take over the Island when it had been secured. This would then release 121 Force to do something else.
I was rounded up together with a DADMS, a DADOS, a CRE and a Signals Major to form a group of specialists. Our job was to go over to Madagascar to inspect, analyse and report exactly what The EA Command was going to have to take over. My job particularly was to inspect and assess the suitability of the coastal defense guns for our own use. Also to have a quick look to see if there were any armoured cars or tanks that might be useful.
Out of Mombassa on the 20th July, the five of us were the only passengers of the good ship 鈥淜iniciukyo鈥�, a Polish freighter in ballast bound for Diego-Suarez. She rolled like an empty barrel on a pretty rough sea for the five days of the voyage. The skipper was the only member of the crew who could speak a little English and the two stewards both chewed garlic incessantly while serving us at table. The result was a permanent feeling of sea sickness. With nothing else to do we got in the habit both before and after dinner of playing liar dice - for money! Not unnaturally, by the time we arrived we all knew exactly how each of the others played and lied.
We anchored in the harbour during dinner and afterward settled down to our last session of liar dice. Half an hour later we heard activity on deck followed shortly by a pair of bare knees coming down the companion way then a colourful kilt and lastly the rest of an enormously tall Scottish brigadier. Anderson by name, he greeted us noisily and introduced himself as the 121 Force Commander's Chief of Staff. He said that the General would like to brief us in the morning.
Having offered him a drink, quickly accepted, he took a look at the dice and five piles of African shillings on the table and said "Are you chaps playing liar dice"? When we said that we were, he said "May I join you for a bit before going ashore". We rather gleefully said "Yes of course", anticipating an easy killing. He finally went ashore at about three in the morning full of our whisky and with most of our winnings over the last five days.
The following morning we duly reported to General Maitland, a very forthright individual. He indicated that he would like us to do whatever we had to as quickly as possible as he was not staying much longer "in this place" and he wanted us away before he went.
I was in Madagascar for about ten days. Most of it seemed to stink to high Heaven with open sewers running between the footway and the road in the few towns I visited. I remember seeing nothing of the marvellous flora and fauna that is supposed to exist there. I took a look at the coastal defense hardware at Majunga and Tamatave and then paid a short visit to Antananarivo the capital before getting back to Diego-Suarez. Where the other four got to I haven't a clue.
I had all the information I needed for my report to East Africa Command in multitudinous note from which I expected to write up on the four or five days voyage back. I went in to see the General just before dinner on the day of my return to Diego-Suarez and told him that I had finished my inspection of all the captured enemy equipment that mattered. "Fine" he said, "There is an armed merchant cruiser sailing for Mombassa at midday tomorrow and I have arranged for you to go back with her". "Let me have your report".
I explained that everything I had seen, done, classified and inspected was all in note form only and that I intended to write up my report for Command HQ during the trip back. "Maybe you are" he said, "But you will give me a copy of it before you leave here. I wish to see what you are going to report to your command about things within my command"! I said that it would be a long report and take some time to write longhand. He wasn't having any, "Never mind about that, I will give you a couple of naval writers and you can dictate it to them all night". And so I did until about four in the morning. The writers went off and sure enough by breakfast time it was all typed up and didn't look too bad. I took it into the General and sat for what felt like an hour while he read it through. "That's fine, you seem to have done a good job, now get aboard the 'Chitral', the Commander is expecting you. Have a safe voyage". He shook hands and that was the Marine General Maitland.
With the aid of a Marine corporal, my boy had not come with me on this trip, we got my gear down to the quay on the dock where there was a very smart pinnace awaiting me. We made out to the AMC "Chitral" at anchor in the bay. She was the P and O liner "Stratheden" now converted to an armed merchant cruiser and sister ship to the HM Transport "Strathaird" in which I left Liverpool two years previously.
The pinnace came alongside impeccably, with a flourish. I duly mounted the gangway, saluting the quarterdeck on arrival. I was greeted most warmly by a fairly rotund Commander who said "Welcome aboard鈥� he said, 鈥淵ou are our only passenger and an Army one at that. I'll show you your cabin then we can go to the ward room for a pink gin, it's about time". It was then around midday and basically that is how it all started and finished.
My cabin had an enormous bed, was well furnished and looked rather like what one would expect of an owner's suite. I went down to the ward room and was introduced by the Commander to a number of naval types who had just come aboard from various chores ashore. These were the paymaster and provisioning types with the odd engineer all ready for a pink gin and more than hospitable as far as I was concerned. The Commander excused himself saying that he would not have a drink as he was off to the bridge and we were sailing shortly. After lunch I slept like a log and was awakened by a steward only just in time to make myself presentable for dinner.
The voyage took only four days as opposed to five in the Polish tub and apart from one U boat alert it was most relaxing although, alchoholwise for me, very demanding upon my physique. The non deck officers, who had been ashore when I came on board, in the nicest possible way, tried hard to get this Army type properly sloshed. They had four days to do it and the almost succeeded, but not quite.
The hook was dropped in Mombassa harbour about midday on the 4th of August and all the guys who had been plying me with gin all the way over picked up their brief cases and went ashore to do what they had to. Meanwhile, all the deck officers including the Captain, whom I had not met so far, came down to the wardroom with a sigh of relief that unescorted we had not been torpedoed. They ordered large pink gins in succession. This session lasted well into the day and it was some time before I was allowed to go ashore. When I finally did so I suspect that I was not very far off DTs after four days of continuous naval drinking.

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