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Handwritten notes kept by Private Cecil Arthur Saunders No. 13112984 Royal Army Ordinance Corps and found among his private papers after his death in 1989. Driver in Egypt and Palestine: around Alexandria, Port Said and the western desert until the end of the war, returning home in Easter 1946.

Friday 15th January 1943
Left Cotteringham, arose at two o’clock in the morning, breakfast at 2.30 and then prepared for journey to Hull by lorry at three o’clock.

Arrived at Hull 3.30, waited on station in train until five o’clock for the unknown destination. Rations had been drawn for the day’s journey of two meals. One stop was made during the journey for a cup of tea — very good tea. We arrived at Liverpool about 2.30pm, the train having drawn up at a wharf siding, and all feeling very fed up. We were then marched up with our sea kit bag and full backpack to trams about ten minutes walk at a tram ride to another dock siding. Then quite a good walk from here to the quayside and then straight onto the boat ‘Highland Chieftain’, 21,000 tons.

Properly tired out but were lucky enough to have good accommodation — a first class deck all sleeping in bunks three high which was good compared to the poor fellows down the lower decks where they have to sleep in hammocks and also is the mess deck where all our meals are taken in about three different sittings which is always a proper mess up. Eighteen on each table, all food having to be fetched from the upper deck which is always a bit of a job to get through the crowds. Meals are reasonably good, one thing is nice to see is that it is all white bread and always butter. Always four meals each day. Lights out at ten o’clock and so far we get up about seven o’clock, breakfast at 8.30, dinner 1.30, tea five o’clock and supper about seven thirty.

Saturday 16th January
Done nothing all day except feed and wander around the boat.

Sunday 17th January
Done nothing as on Saturday except collect lifejackets. Boat drill was explained, the warning was given and all fell in on decks and were given a boat station, mine is at Number Nine on the starboard side of the ship. This boat drill is at any time of the day mostly at five o’clock when we are sitting down to tea. When up we rush for our proper stations with greatcoats, water bottles and lifejackets. All on Ready, day passed very slow and does not seem a bit like Sunday. Papers are missed very much, have not seen one since we been on board.

Monday 18th January
All much about the same as Sunday, very much fed up on board doing nothing. Cannot find out when or where we are sailing for.

Tuesday 19th January
Still nothing doing or any signs of moving from here. All very much fed up.

Wednesday 20th January
At last there is talk that we are moving up to Scotland to pick up a convoy. And at 10.15 we move off and sail out in the open sea. A very nice trip up to the top of Ireland, when we seem to run into some very heavy swells and the old boat begins to rock. By the time 4.45 all feel very sickly having very little tea myself, laid down most of the afternoon but this seems to smooth down by seven o’clock and we all seem to enjoy most of our suppers. But still on the move here. Get to bed again as soon as supper is finished and soon to sleep. I understand we reach Gurick [Gourock?] in the Firth of Clyde about 2.30 in the early hours of the morning.

Thursday 21st January
A very thick morning mist but we are anchored in between some very nice hills and are a picture of colour all different shades of green. It certainly is good to see land again. There are certainly a great number of boats about. As many as seventy have been counted — looks like a very big convoy making up. Cannot find how long we are to stay here and very fed up and cannot get any mail from home and have written two letters which is all that we have been allowed.

Friday 22nd January
We were paid ten shillings this morning, this is all we are allowed each week which is enough as there is very little to spend it on, a few things like a tin of peaches at one shilling and threepence. A tin of milk if you are lucky after lining up for two and a half hours. I did get one also a jar of honey which is a nice change. Only wish I could send some home. Also we are allowed oranges three times a week for our dinner, these certainly are grand to see. Also today we have sailed up the rear to get our degaussing tested before moving off. Some very pretty country on each side, very hilly, looks grand. There is talk of moving off during the early hours of the morning but that is only talk as everyone seems to be guessing at the time of sailing. But nothing moving up to 10.30 at bedtime. Very noisy outside our sleeping mess by sergeants and officers.

Saturday 23rd January
Still in the same harbour; up early — six o’clock, shaved and washed by seven o’clock. I have been detailed with four others to scrub floor. First work since we came onboard. Just about half an hour’s job. Boat drill was given at 2.30 just as we were about to have a sleep. The weather is much cooler and some snow is on the hills, looks very nice in the sun which got out quite nice by 10.30, everything looks a picture on land. How I feel it, not being able to get home, it being our second Saturday on board. Getting very fed up, all our thoughts are at home. If only we could get a letter this would help but we have been told that not any mail will be issued until we reach our first port of call which will be about five days from this port.

Sunday 24th January
Sail from Firth of Clyde on Sunday morning early about 1.30, everything quite calm at sea. When wakened in morning at six o’clock boat just has a slight rock but going is quite hard, we seem to pass right up to the top of Scotland by the Hebrides at that was about the last bit of land sighted. We seem now right out in the open sea, the sea’s much rougher and waves lashing well up the side of the boat.

Monday 25th January
Sea is very rough, now waves very high, the boat is rocking from side to side, it is quite an effort to walk about and my tummy feels all up and down. By tea time I am feeling rotten, am just able to keep a little tea down but dare not risk anything to eat. By six o’clock I am all in, sick and bad, feel like nothing on earth, up most of the night being sick. A gale was blowing all night, just makes one wonder how a boat can stand up to its glasses being broken in the lounge, the furniture is going from side to side, the poor guards are having to be tied to the post on the boat deck. I was very lucky not having to guard on same but am just too bad. The sea is washing through all the front lounges, fellows are working all night with pails and brushes sweeping the sea out. What a night, thanks for the morning.

Tuesday 26th January
A very welcome morning, the gale has died down but the sea is very rough and I am feeling very sick and sorry for myself. How I wish I was at home, to have someone just get you a cup of tea, just crawl about and have nothing to eat all day. Just cannot face going down to deck mess which is in the bowels of the ship where our food is taken, so just crawl about sick and bad all day.

Wednesday 27th January
Feel much brighter, the sea is much more quiet and the boat is quite normal. I take things quiet and have a little dinner but cannot face much and we are informed that we are expected to run into another gale before night is out but the morning is quite sunny and bright and warm.

Thursday 28th January
Weather is very nice, quite a high wind blowing but quite warm, the sun is nice and warm — does not seem much like January and it is all very boring, just having nothing to do but read, walk around the deck and feed the same time each day.

Friday 29th January
Very high wind blowing and sea is quite rough. Had to do some deck scrubbing this morning, this passed the time away for a bit, the morning soon went. I was paid our usual ten shillings which is all we get each week while onboard. This afternoon we had inoculations so shall not be feeling too good for a time. Very fed up with being cramped so much, how nice it would be to get some mail from home, not had any mail since the 14th January. How we look for our first [new mail], we just keep reading our back letters, these are good to read and do help to console one.

Saturday 30th January
Had a rotten night, kept on waking up every hour. Glad to see the morning here due to inoculations. I feel as if I have got the flu but that is usual and all I want to do is lay about. The weather here is quite warm, quite like summer and some of our boat have left us going into Gib[raltar], leaving only fifteen in all. Quite a small amount to what started. Got to bed early.

Sunday 31st January
Our second Sunday on board and a week since we set sail. The sun is now grand and the sea is almost like a pond. During the morning we passed a Spanish pleasure boat doing the morning journey in the opposite direction, first of anything we have seen since we started. I am feeling much better today, the weather perhaps has a lot to do with it but how I wish I was at home.

From the 31st — 6th February
The weather very good and a beautiful sea, the sun is better each day just like summer at its height and it is grand to see the flying fish leaping out of the water, shoals of them. There seem to be hundreds of them. Then dolphins. The evenings are now quite long, light up to eight o’clock but how the time does hang.

We drew into Freetown harbour on the 6th February, the place looked very nice and peaceful. It stands at the foot of a range of hills which look quite majestic and how good it would be to be able to go ashore but no such luck for us as we have only drawn in here for fuel. The colourings are wonderful, it is the start of their summer and the trees look beautiful, a wonderful green with a brick-red sand behind them. There seem to be quite a number of small craft belonging to the Navy and all the native sailors look grand in their pure white clothes as they are very black jet. The little surf boats made out of a trunk of a tree get along well and it is funny the natives dive in from them for a penny. Some have a few bananas and coconuts to sell but they seem quite dear. A banana is one penny and a coconut sixpence and a pineapple two and sixpence and the bum boats are not allowed out to sell to us but a number of bananas come aboard today and tomatoes — just hope to get hold of some. The whole scenery is grand like a highly coloured picture postcard. One can describe same. Quite frustrating to have to stop on board when land is so near, about three quarters of a mile out.

Sailed from Freetown on 9th February at about nine o’clock, the sea is just like a millpond, the boat just rides with a little sway but quite pleasant, but how very hot it is. Getting not a breathe of air, we should pass over the Equator on Thursday or Friday night.

An electric storm is going on and the whole sea is lit up with lightning like day all night.

I am on guard tonight and the sweat just pours out of us night and day; we must be losing pints of it, too hot for anything.

Sailed into Capetown 25th February, a very good harbour; a nice looking town situated at the bottom of a range of mountains with the Table Mountain at the back of town — a wonderful sight. A very modern town with plenty of fruit and everything of all kinds; stopped there four days and set sail again on the 29th after refuelling and taking on supplies of all kinds.

29th February
Sailed from Capetown around the Cape of Good Hope, quite a good journey. We pick up more convoy boats out from Durban which are bound for India. These boats leave us about the 12th March for India — we seem to have kept with them for protection of the two escorts and numbers seem to count in this from subs which seem to be quite on numbers according from talk from the crew and the way we have to zigzag all the way. We will be running into Aden the Arabian port on the 15th March and a very good port. A lovely big bay but not any docks to berth at so have to stop out about 300 yards from the shore and are refuelled by a pipeline piped to buoys — a very good idea for this type of bay.

Arrived at Port Sultan on 21st March after four days good sailing up the Red Sea — we disembarked on the Monday, 22nd about 1.30 in the afternoon but have to be up by 4.30 in the morning. We waited about until 1.30 when we got into lighters which took us into port — a very poor type of port and not any very good wharfs for large boats. The town looked very dirty, Arabs sitting about everywhere in dirt and sand looking very quaint in their long nightshirts as dress. We marched to the station about fifteen minutes from port and trained to Ismailia — arrived there about 6.30 and had about one and half hours spare to catch train for our destination Lec Abas [?] — arrived there about ten o’clock and had supper and got into kit about twelve o’clock and very thankfully to lay down and this proved to be a transit camp for anywhere.

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