大象传媒

After various experiences in the Royal Navy minesweeping I was sent to Liverpool to board the Mauretania and go across to America where a ship was being built in Savannah Georgia called HMS Pylades. I took a cabin trunk which I kept in my cabin with me. When we got to Halifax, Nova Scotia, I was sent by train to New York. There the baggage officer took charge of the cabin trunk but it never arrived at my hotel. I had to carry on to my new appointment without it. I had winter clothing and Georgia is sub-tropical in climate. They allowed me to go to the U.S Naafi and buy some new clothing. We picked up HMS Pylades and then sailed to Bermuda and then back to Newfoundland where we picked up a convoy. I stIll had no cabin trunk!
When Pylades was built in the States the fittings were all American. We had an American espresso coffee machine, and the mess operated on a cafeteria system. The ships were supplied with 6 tons reserve of water, where British ships had 20 tons. American ships had a distiller for seawater to make up the rest. In rough weather the coffee machine soon went and the distilling machine broke several times. We picked up the convoy in Newfoundland and had only been going for a few hours when the distiller packed up again and could not be repaired. We had to make do with 6 tons of water for the three weeks of the trip, as some of the convoy ships could only do 6 knots. There was no washing or shaving - the water was saved for drinking. We all had beards when we reached England!

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