Queen Mary as troop ship (Part 2)

Part 2

Tues 29/12/42 Up today at 7.15am about my normal time but I am by no means first. I am third on the waiting list for a bath, its very oppressive & we’re already looking forward to 8.20am when we can have the portholes open. A bath & a shave & then up to Prom Deck for a smoke, one door is open forward & a drop of fresh air is coming in, how wonderful is the taste of fresh air after the foul atmosphere in the enclosed decks. I continue writing this on the afternoon of the 30th. What a 24 hours we have just passed through. When I look back in retrospect it seems I must write pages to describe clearly my thoughts, experiences, and the grand panorama we have seen. Anyway to continue from where I left off. Breakfast as usual & then up to Boat Deck for breather. The sea is wonderfully calm, just like a pond, now & again disturbed by some sea creature but otherwise almost still. The ship cuts its way easily and smoothly through the water & the wash curls lazily back as though the water is loathe to be disturbed. Boat drill 9.45am finds me on Boat deck & I keep edging to the back of the crowd hoping there will not be room for all of us on the hot prom deck & that I may stay above. My crafty move works, thank goodness. I stand there leaning over the rail (about 60’ up) and thinking of poor Renee nearing the end of the evacuation from Cherhill, of how dearly I love her & wish I were there to help. The order stand-easy and smoking permitted interrupts my thoughts & I spy Cyril and Bob not far away so I make my way through the crowd to them. Its getting hot & uncomfortable standing about so we sit down & shortly there’s excitement, a Hudson goes over so we can’t be a long way from land. More excitement, ships in sight about 11.30am, a convoy, although our speed seems a good deal reduced we pass the convoy in a comparatively short time. Spend quite a time chatting with Cyril and discover he is apparently no mean organist. We talk too of home and of his Norah and of my Renee. Although at first I didn’t take to Cyril I find him easily the most interesting chap I’ve met & I have already spent many pleasant hours in his company. The chaps are beginning to sort themselves out more now Martin Brown & Cpl Cree, Mendoza & Donelly, Oswald and Jack. I spend most of my time with Cyril and Bob. Dinner — capital beef, potatoes, butter beans & apple rings & custard, then back to Main Deck forward, for my siesta, ordered as from today from 2.0pm to 4.0pm. I write and doze alternately, Cyril is with me, Bob not. I’m comfortable on my floats on some rope, wire and wood. Excitement again 3.0pm, gunboat coming towards us, cheers from the lads followed immediately afterwards by louder cheers as a destroyer comes near. Then greater excitement as somebody shouts “Land ahoy!” Everybody jumps up excitedly but I can’t see anything. Next everybody is ordered off Main Deck forward & boat decks. I go below to draw my emergency rations and mosquito cream. On returning to Main Deck find all the shutters open (why the hell haven’t they been open before?) and that we’re entering a harbour on the starboard side & within about half a mile of land & what a sight, mountainous country completely covered with tropical vegetation, palm trees, beautiful lagoons, the earth is almost red, the green trees mostly almost evergreen dark. Boats begin to draw alongside as we drop anchor at about 4.0pm. We’re at Freetown, Sierra Leone & have called mainly for oil & fresh water to last us on the 4,000 — 5,000 miles trip to the Cape. The darkies forming the major part of the ships’ crews are black not brown, but sooty black. The chaps start dropping pennies, packets of cigarettes & biscuits for all of which the darkies scramble eagerly but most eagerly for the money. Orders for the day preclude any trading with the natives & everybody is very disappointed as there were great hopes of obtaining some fruit. Tea over, we’re back on Main Deck forward & Cyril & I exchange gen on our sundry jobs until it gets dark. There is not blackout at Freetown so we’re allowed on deck until 9.30pm but with sundown we must wear slacks tucked into socks, shirt sleeves down, collars fastened at the neck & all exposed parts smeared with mosquito cream. It burns & is very greasy but the smell is not unpleasant. On a cargo boat alongside we see two dogs two monkeys and a cockerel. Nobody has been allowed ashore, the district is full of wild animal & bird life & mosquitos and malaria are prevalent. After dark loading goes on by the ships’ lights and searchlight. The harbour looks lovely & the lights of Freetown make one think of what Southampton or whatever our return port will be will look like. We read one or two of the messages flashed by Aldis lamp from other ships, several of them wish us a Happy New Year & Bon Voyage. The arrival of so big a ship has been quite an event in the harbour. At 9.30pm we retire below & I prepare to report for duty at 9.45pm. It is found that all posts have been duplicated so after standing on parade in Piccadilly Circus for half and hour I retire to bed. As I expected to be on duty I’ve let another chap have my bunk for the night so I take his place on the floor. With the ship lying at anchor we’ve lost the cooling breeze which has been the saving grace of our journey into the tropics so far. Although Freetown is only 8° north of the equator the sun is in the tropic of Capricorn about 22° south of the equator so we are about 30° north yet of what are the hottest spots on earth at present. Tonight we can have the ports open so although we’re still its not too bad but I think conditions will be very unpleasant at night in the next few days. Goodnight Sweetheart xxxx. One more reminiscence — up on Prom deck just before midnight for a crafty smoke a soldier Scotsman standing beside me turned to me and said “What a beautiful sight, it nearly beats Loch Lomond!” Surely no finer tribute could be forthcoming from a Scotsman!
Wed 30/12/42 L Cpl Pallett was going to awaken me at 3.30am to report for duty 4.0am (parade 3.45am) but he did not. Some noise however woke me at 3.45am & I quickly awakened Martin. In doing so I woke Les & Brian both of whom should have reported at 1.45am but hadn’t awakened. Martin & I parade just before 4.0am & proceed to our points of duty. Again both are already manned so we return to our beds. On arising I have a splash around, no bath permitted as we’re in harbour & the water drawn by the ship is not so clean, then upstairs to watch the activity. Natives are diving for pennies thrown down by the troops, they must be very keen on obtaining the money as the waters are shark infested. Quite a lot of pennies are lost but every time a native dived he brought up the penny for which he went under. They were diving from craft somewhat like canoes, one-man affairs. I miss boat drill this morning as I am on duty, my job from now on when on duty is described officially as “To guard the persons of all A.T.S.” The corridor is very hot and I begin to wish we were under way again. After dinner I go up for my siesta to find that from today main deck forward & A deck forward are reserved for officers use only. They now have all the best positions on the boat & whilst the troops are herded together in conditions which would probably not be tolerated for animals the officers are allowed to stretch themselves out. This state of affairs makes me very bitter & hotter than ever. I find a space about 9 inches wide between some rafts on boat deck and have a restless sleep until 3.30pm. Prior to this of course I forgot to mention at about 1.0pm we steamed away from Freetown. No time had been lost in loading & it was obvious that in view of the unhealthy nature of the climate we were staying no longer than necessary. On duty again 4.0pm to 6.0pm, I find standing about in the hot corridor very trying on my feet and quite often wear my boots in preference to gym shoes. Off duty & then tea — pilchards (hardly appropriate I should have thought for the climate). After tea up again on boat deck with my D.T. miscellany. I find a spot behind some rafts again, there is nothing to be seen from such a position but almost every square inch of the deck is already occupied & as I am always in No 4 meal session, the last, (breakfast 8.45am, dinner 1.45pm, tea 6.45pm) everywhere is crowded by the time I arrive. All day today the sea has been very calm, calmer even than yesterday, in places it was impossible to observe any movement at all. We have made very speedy progress since leaving Freetown. On deck I talked to a soldier whose peacetime job was steward on luxury liners on cruises. He said he’d been on 32 cruises, 4 of them world cruises. There has been a mist over the sea this afternoon & it has shielded us from the sun, in consequence I find it very refreshing leaning over the side before going in at blackout time 8.20pm. On the prom. Deck I sat talking to Bob, the heat - hardly any ventilation — is colossal & perspiration just rolls off from every part of my body. At 9.30pm I go below its warm enough down there but not so bad as above. I book a bath & find I’m fifth on the list. I find that although all through this trip so far I have meticulously avoided staying in the sunshine during the heat of the day, I am already acquiring a tan. After bathing I offer my bed again to the chap on the floor & he accepts. I find it cooler on the floor. Cooler I say, yet my pyjamas are soon wet and perspiration runs off my face on to the pillow almost continuously. Sleep soon overtakes me and another day is over.
31/12/42 Awake at 6.10am & jump straight into bath to clear away the dirty sweat of the night, a shave, straighten things up, & then go aloft to prom deck for a smoke 6.50am. The door is partly open again & we inhale as much fresh air as we can. At 7.15am a naval officer says we can go outside provided we don’t smoke as blackout is not lifted until 7.40am. It’s very lovely watching the sunrise and gives me an appetite for breakfast too. Just recently I have thought more & more of my Darling Renee. I always visualise my homecoming as being to Woodlands Rd, I hope it is; What a happy day that would be & what excitement for all of us including our baby not yet born. I visualise my homecoming as being during 1943 & I pray to God that in this I may be correct. Today is the last day of 1942, tomorrow what I think will be the year of victory begins. What a month Decr 1942 has been. It started off with me at Compton Bassett up to 3rd & off duty with my darlings Renee and Malcolm. Today exactly four weeks later I’ve travelled about 5000 (more or less I don’t know which) miles away, the journeying has occupied only 8 days but prior to that were 17 days, lazy days at Blackpool. Although I have been away from Renee only four weeks it seems like months. I wonder if Renee feels the same. I carry with me on my travels & until I return memories of a beautiful love, I don’t think anyone could ever have been or will be so deeply in love as I am with Renee. Some lines I read this morning express my emotion, I think the second line one of the most beautifully expressed in literature. “Give a man a girl he can love; As I, O my love, love thee, And his heart is great with the pulse of Fate, At home, on land, on sea.” I spend most of the morning with my D.T. Miscellany as company on boat deck. At 11.0am I go below to wash out towel, handkerchiefs & gym vest. Then queue for 30 mins for some bottles of orange crush, followed by a chat with Bob & then below for dinner. Very good dinner too, an excellent pork chop, potatoes, peas & gravy, for desert [sic] pears & custard. The best dinner I’ve had on board including Xmas Day. Whilst I washing my clothes I hear the ships guns open up, a chap dashes in & says put on your lifebelt. I watch from the porthole, the firing is extremely accurate on a gradually receding target about 3 miles away. I should say the most inaccurate shot fell not more than 25 yards off target, it turns out to be a practice shoot & gives everyone confidence in the guns crews. About dinner time it starts to rain. Although we don’t know accurately we must have passed the Equator at about 1.0pm just 7 days travelling time after leaving the Clyde & when its taken into account that we went round the north of Iceland, it must be reckoned as very good travelling, bearing in mind too that during the hours of daylight at any rate we follow a zigzag course, changing about every 7 mins. The rain gets heavier but I want to go above so I put on my boots & carry my groundsheet. I manage to persuade Bob & Cyril to come too & we spent a pleasant 2½ hours high up in a raft & under the cover of the Sun Deck. It was pouring with rain the whole time with the result that the sea is not now so calm. Quite a number of chaps take advantage of the streams of water pouring down from the boats and deck above to have fresh water shower baths. Although we’re on the Equator its really quite chilly. On coming down, we find that sitting in rafts is forbidden in future so that’s another hideout we’ve lost. Starting today we’re allowed above until 9.30pm so I have an early tea, put on tie & tropical tunic as although the rain has ceased the night air & breeze is inclined to be cool. I walk up & down the deck smoking until 7.40pm blackout, when smoking must cease. It gets dark very quickly once the sun has gone down & the sun disappears over the horizon very quickly. I begin again to feel a bit homesick, longing for my Renee & I recall happy incidents of the past & dream of the future. I feel I’d like to take Renee on a Mediterranean cruise one of these days, I know she’d love it. I resolve to save as much as I can or spend my money wisely whilst I’m abroad. I want Malcolm to learn the piano, I want him to be strong, healthy and good, loved always by Renee and myself and loving us. I want to be a good husband to give Renee the best possible in life. I lean over the rail and with the strong breeze blowing its difficult to soliloquize any further. The foam, churned up by the ship appears phosphorescent in the darkness, a phenomenon I had not known of before. Around me all the lads start to sing; its New Years Eve and I think most of the lads are thinking of home. The songs are not of the lower type, as is often the case but we sing “White Xmas, When they sound the last all clear, Tipperary, Pack up your troubles, two or three hymns — For those in peril on the sea etc and finish up with “Abide with me”. 9.30pm I go down to Prom Deck chat with Bob & along comes Parkinson, he tells us that Stalingrad is completely free, the Russians have also retaken Rostov on Don. We sat together & disperse to our beds at 10.20pm. As I’ve found it much cooler sleeping on the floor I give up my bunk again. All over the ship, Scotsman are very hot and sweaty I am soon asleep.

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