大象传媒

This story is submitted by Bill Spry and is added to the site with his permission.

On the 20th January 1943 I handed over my W/T station and started my long journey back to the UK. I was in the dreaded Freetown transit camp from the 23rd February to the 26th March before I got transport home.
I boarded the S.S Mauretania for the journey. The huge liner had been converted into a troopship and could carry an enormous number of troops. Fortunatly for this trip it wasn鈥檛 fully loaded.
Some of the hold had been converted into sleeping places. Very difficult to describe. There were gangways between stacks of bunks. Each stack was about ten bunks high. Each bunk space was about six foot long, two foot six inches deep and about the same distance high.
As you couldn鈥檛 sit up in your space it was quite tricky to get in or out. Even so it was lovely to have a space you could call your own. I was told that had the ship been full I would have had to share my space with two others, eight hours in, sixteen hours out.
Everything was done in shifts. Fresh water was only available at mealtimes. Wash basins and showers produced only sea water, always cold.
I landed in Liverpool on 8th April 1943 and went home by train to start my leave.
I have written elsewhere about my leave . At the end of my leave I had orders to report to a unit in York. Hoping that I might be there for sometime I took Sylvia and Chris with me. When we arrived in York (a very long tiring journey) I left them in the waiting room while I went out looking for somewhere to stay. I just went around knocking on peoples doors.
I must say that everybody I met was kind and helpful, giving me names and addresses of people to try. I eventually ended up with a marvellous couple, really wonderful. We kept in touch with them for years afterwards.
The first meal we were given was a big surprise. A dinner plate was put in front of us. On it was a big round object, about seven inches in diameter and about two inches thick, nothing else.
It was explained to us that this was a Yorkshire pudding, always eaten on its own before the main meal. It was delicious very light texture and just melted in my mouth. What are sold elsewhere as Yorkshire puddings are nothing like the real thing.
Mr Garnetts was totally blind, but this didn鈥檛 seem to worry him at all. We played cards in the evening using a Braille pack. We just told him the card we had put down.

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