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Sailing to War
Orders to sail came on 22th September 1941. The regiment went to Liverpool and embarked in the ‘Dominion Monarch’, a 27,000 ton Shaw Savil luxury cruise liner. She sailed on 30th September, destination unknown.
To minimise exposure to U boats the Dominion Monarch was escorted across the North Atlantic, down the east coast of North America, and across the mid Atlantic to Freetown, Sierra Leone, where she joined other ships including the aircraft carrier H.M.S. Argus . From there she sailed to Cape Town, where the gunners enjoyed five days' shore leave. By now they guessed that their destination was the Far East, although Britain was not yet at war with the Japanese.
During our shore leave in Cape Town, a friendly Family took John and me in, they were a very nice couple, and Jewish, but their conversation was limited to South Africa. At around eight o’clock we left them but somehow John and I got lost.
Trying to find my way to the ship, very few people about, an open touring car stopped, it looked very expensive. A middle-aged man who looked like a second-hand car salesman asked if we were going to our ship. I explained we were, but damned if we knew where it is.
“Jump in and I will take you” came the answer.
It was certainly some car but I did not know the make. When he asked if we were hungry I became a bit wary about this bloke, but whilst feeling a little hungry, I wanted a beer. He felt I was being a trifle uneasy, he laughed as he swung the car around and we entered a large car park but it was almost empty. He stopped and within seconds a young lady, today you could say a model, she had a very short skirt and a little pinny, saying in a soft voice.
“How about some toasted bread and crispy bacon with a bottle of beer”
She disappeared and came back minutes later with two trays, she clipped one each side and I found the meal, hot and appetising, this was my first and last meal in the evening with the lovely full moon. I told him this was my first encounter with this unusual way of an evening meal and he explained it had only been open a matter of months but is proving very popular. Some time later he left us at the ship.
After breakfast everyone was silent and we all knew we were thinking this was our last day in this friendly and hospitable city. In the men’s Dining Hall I heard many saying they were coming back here after the war.
I smiled to myself, they were falling into the same pit as visitors to Blackpool. Seeing visitors paying the landlady seemed to the lads she was handling a fortune. How many sold up and bought a boarding house, only to realise too late there was only a few weeks of a summer trade.
I had arranged that Sergeant Major Woosnam and my self should spend our last day boozing, enjoying Cape Town hospitality but it wasn’t to be. At the dock gate a young couple with a baby greeted us and promised a drive to see the countryside. We had not left the City when the driver pulled up sharply, the baby left the mothers arms and hit her head on the dash board. Screams and yells followed, the couple quickly deciding they had to take the baby to hospital. At that point I remembered as a nipper banging my head, mother just got out the butter mug and put a pat of butter on my head with a ‘stop crying’. We felt sorry for the couple, but this was out last day and sitting in the hospital car park was not exactly our cup of tea.
An elderly gardener came over and winding down the window asked if we likes Cape Town. We told him how much we had enjoyed the wonderful hospitality shown to us it was just amazing. We did not mention our astonishment at the notice in all bars which read.
‘DON’T PAY FOR A DRINK TO YOUR FRIEND, STRICT LAW’
We had asked the landlord what the notice meant because it seemed daft to us. Ourselves, we lived by the rule of ‘WHAT ARE YOU HAVING’ it was as natural as breathing to us. The old codger told us it was brought in about two years ago and was mighty unpopular, but everyone had got used to it. He explained in the first world war he was with others in London before going to France and the Londoners gave them a grand time, even though London was taking a whacking, what with bombs every night, and thousands sleeping in the tubes. My friend John chipped in explaining that we have only just left England and the bombs at night. Sergeant Major Woosname was now on his hobby horse going into it in detail of night after night lovely old buildings were being blown to bits, and it went on and on.
I was now wishing the couple would come back, which they eventually did, the mother happily telling us that x-ray and other tests no problems. Her husband apologised for the long delay but it meant there was no run into the country. His wife offered us a meal at their house and a drink and her husband stopped at a cake shop to pop in and get something as they did not expect guests. Getting out I followed her into the shop for some cigarettes, She was buying some boiled ham, cream cake etc. and saw a large round cake which she also decided on. As I was paying for the cigarettes I don’t know what made me say I would pay for the cakes etc, as it seemed wrong for her to buy them for us. I did not think for a moment she would agree, but she smiled and thanked me. I think the price was about twelve shillings, to me was a small fortune. I cursed myself for being an absolute fool but worse was to follow.
Having had our fill at their home, we went into their lounge and the husband brought out three bottles of beer. At that time in my life, seven pints of ale was normal, so seeing the bottle, I and my friend both finished it off before our host had sat down. We kept looking at the empty bottle but he did not seem to know the damn things were empty. Let me save time and say over the next hour he did not make any effort to save our thirst, so we left, both moaning our last night in Cape Town with only one glass of beer. The public houses were now closed and I was down thinking of the hospitality given many families, some soldiers even got watches. I had been given a sandwich and one beer and paid dearly for it.
Next morning at 9 o’clock we said goodbye with our memories and seeing Cape Town and Table Mountain melting away in a thin heat fog. I smiled as it came to mind and then caused me to laugh and not feel too miserable in sailing away, being fleeced by the husband and wife to pay for them supplying us with food.
The men were eager to tell of their time in Cape Town and stories were told:-
A local businessman having made a fortune in the 1914/18 war and now in this new one. It was apparently known that a troopship arriving, they invited the ships Captain or a senior army officer to have dinner with them. The butler announced that two private soldiers had been sent to the house for dinner and were sent to have a meal with the servants. After dining one soldier asked for envelope and paper so he may give his thanks. The rich man and wife read that the two enjoyed the meal and would he the master give the enclosed, five pound note, to the staff. Signed by a soldier doing my National Service.
We also learned to our amusement that two gunners had been invited by the wife of the Chief Engineer to the City of Cape Town to a dinner party in his home that evening. The other guests were wearing dinner suits etc. and the gunners explained they would have to go as they felt under dressed and quite put out of place in this ultra-modern large flat. It seemed as though the whole place was electrically fitted, even as the curtains were drawn hidden lights of different colours lit the place, the furnishings were tubular stainless steel. A guest casually asked them to find a chair or something and sit down. Looking about they spied two stands, one each side of the fireplace, standing on slender legs to about two feet high and balanced on the legs was a glass channel or dish about a foot long. They each sat in one, with their feet dangling as they were too short to reach the floor. A guest came along warning them to be careful getting out of the ash trays they were sitting in. Both were ordinary Lancashire lads and I doubted they could have thought this one up.
The journey across the Indian ocean was without event as the sea each day was calm and I lazed about, sometimes very bored, thinking what a world cruise would be like. On board about twenty Petty Officers were going to join the new battleship, the ill fated ‘Prince of Wales’. Each morning, at precisely twelve noon they were given a dram of rum, Nelson’s blood, they laughed and refused to share any with us. I got very friendly with a young man in the Navy, who was pleasant and easy going. One day the Chief Messing Officer presented him with a lovely iced cake, for luck on his twenty first Birthday, being a friend, I had a slice of the cake.
One day out of boredom perhaps, a soldier unreeled a fire hose and started spraying anyone in sight. This caused others to unreel more fire hoses. No action was taken, in fact we could not have found the instigators but because of this action, I lost my mess duties on arrival at Colombo.
Whilst on leave I bought a hard back exercise book, I thought I would write each day a sort of diary. Exactly what I thought I could do with it never struck me, however I kept up each night with my thoughts and activities, and tried to keep it humorous.
On arriving at Colombo, we all knew now our destination would be Singapore. Unfortunately, the Colombo dockers went on strike. Our ship was some 500 yards off the dock so to get ashore it meant we needed some craft. At just after midday meal, a tank loading and landing craft arrived so we got ashore, finding myself with Staff Sergeant Ted Little, Gas. We found ourselves by pure accident in a large army barracks and on the barrack square and as if by magic a large woman large with a show of authority, in near military uniform, in a massive voice thundered,
“Say you two are you in my husbands Regiment”.
That was easy to reply to, one of us was telling her we had just arrived by trooper, sailing we believe to Singapore. With that she tore in telling us she thought her husband would never allow his men to looks so untidy, finishing with, we looked as if we had been sleeping in are own clothes.
We saw a rank of rickshaws, driven by men who looked worn out and ill, but they were shouting, obviously wanting our custom. We agreed to have say two hours and so they seemed to understand and nodded. I think we should have made some agreement about payment but we were completely ignorant to the way they did business. They set off at a trot which was unbelievable, their naked feet making a pat pat noise. After a while we were in the countryside which was indeed beautiful and the sun was a bearable heat. Without any instruction to the runners thy turned into a long drive beautifully lined with tropical trees and ferns, taking us to the front of a large obvious Indian Hotel, all white and serene looking. Obviously this was part of the service, anyway we got out, not finding a bar we entered a dining room, again Indian fans were twirling overhead, Indians were sitting at the sides pulling on string’s working to work these fans. The Head Waiter came bowing and smiling showing his large white teeth, but he was not kidding anyone. Taking us to a table for two he produced a menu the size of a newspaper which when we looked, the menu was printed in Indian. Ted could not hold back and in a loud voice exclaimed,
“How the hell do we order steak and chips and a damn big ice cream”
What followed is a mystery and never solved. We had a pint each and Ted ordered a bottle of wine and then a meal of steak and ice cream was produced without us ordering it. Ted then suggested we find the bar which we did so and we had two pints of their native beer, it tasted very weak against our brews. We got back to the dock around six thirty. Now we found trouble or were the rickshaw pullers tourists experienced. I could not understand the money owing and was not expecting what happened as I handed over one pound ten. He shook his head wanting more. I asked Ted if he had any cash and he pulled out about the same. Clutching both amounts I was trying to peel off a dollar note, when he grabbed the lot and hot footed with the loot. His friend not in on the act was cursing I suppose or so it sounded, he knew we had nothing left so he set off in pursuit of the cash grabber. I had other matters to occupy me as Ted was leaning against an iron bollard swaying about. There was no doubt about it he was really drunk, but how, as far as I knew he had had the same as me. Maybe he could have sneaked one more, but to get in this condition. It took me and two soldiers to get him up the long stairs to the deck and cabin. The two soldiers were both saying something about he had had a real one. Could he have had a drink without me knowing and why should anyone give him a Mickey Finn?, I never could get to the bottom of this strange encounter.
We arrived at Singapore on the 12th November 1941 at around four o’clock in the afternoon. Just before docking we passed two quite large islands standing out in the ocean and I remember thinking to myself that I would see them again when we left Singapore but I never did. The largest of them was called Blackmatta and heavily armed, I found out later that a complete county Regiment of artillery, almost two thousand men, stationed there never fired or shot or heard a bomb explode.
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