I was given a couple of weeks embarkation leave before shipping to the far east, that's all we were told of our destination. I reported back to Crookham to be kitted out with a couple of lightweight green uniforms complete with underwear,
We travelled to Southampton early on the morning of 11th August 1952 and I can remember walking thro' the sheds onto the dock and there was The Dunera which as it was the first ship I had seen close up, looked like the Queen Mary.
Everyone lined the rails to wave goodbye even if we had no relatives to wave to! We were given a boarding card and then eventually found our deck which was down in the bowels of the ship. We slept on bunks three high and in countless rows, not the best of accommodation which is why we were thankful when the ship sailed into the warmer weather so we could sleep up on the deck.
We were issued with this horrible 'sea soap' that had to be used as the ordinary soap just wouldn't lather.
The sea was rough from the first day out, and virtually everyone was seasick.....and someone had the forsight to put fish & chips was on the menu!
The trip took 28 days and it was four weeks of rest except for light fatigues .
Myself and my mate Phillips were assigned to assist the ships projectionist which we loved as it meant showing films every night on various decks, one thing sticks in my mind they showed us The Cruel Sea while we were in The Bay of Biscay!! we were virtually extra's in the film.
We saw The Jolson Story so many times that we could virtually recite the whole film from memory.
To stand on the deck of a large liner seemingly to sail through the desert was truly memorable, this was the Suez canal. Another sight that that stays in the memory was the Dolphins that used to accompany the ship, playing in the bow waves and generally having fun!
I went ashore at Columbo and Aden, but we were forbidden from going ashore at Port Said, so the 'bum boats' came out to us, coins would be tossed to the young lads who would then dive for them, and then surface holding the coin aloft! The traders in the boats would sell souvenirs and fresh fruit , somehow a few would find their way onto deck even though miltary police were standing guard on all doors to the lower decks.
I enjoyed sleeping on deck when the weather was hot, and then in The Straits of Malacca the Captain announced that the aircraft carrier HMS Glory was also in The Straits and her planes were on a bombing mission over Malaya and their Captain had invited The Dunera to come alongside - at a safe distance - to watch the aircraft land after their mission.
When we docked at Singapore our unit was called up on deck to be told where we would serve...Malaya, Hong Kong or Korea. I was picked for Malaya.
In 1952 travelling abroad was not available to the general public as it is now, so the sights and smells of the ports when we were able to leave the ship were totally alien to us, especially at Singapore. The National Servicemen on board I'm sure felt the same as I did, only a few months earlier we were working at some humdrum job and now here we were....Singapore!
On later visits.....while I was on Night Train duty.... I used to walk among the markets with various foreign smells wafting about me, bargaining for the items on my 'import' list from my 'muckers' at 16 Field Ambulance. I saw the famous Raffles Hotel named after the founder of Singapore. which was opposite our own Union Jack Club..
Singapore now is obviously a different place to that which I visited, but my memories are still of the Singapore in the 1950's! |
