MONOTONY

I went from Southampton on the HMT Windrush in 1952. once the novelty of looking over the side had worn off there was very little else to do for most of the day. There was always a long queue for breakfast and if you were a little on the late side, it wasn’t a bad idea to join the queue for lunch on your way out. I think we all told each other our life stories, short though they might have been, over and over again, but I think some of the chaps got carried away and told the most fanciful tales. Anything that was readable was passed around, or more accurately sold around, until it fell to bits. The ship announced news each day around noon, but like all loudspeaker systems, nothing could be made of it and we were left for the best part of an hour asking if anyone had heard what was said.

Nothing was provided for the troops on board to while away the many hours, but on a few occasions rifle practice was arranged for the infantry at the stern of the ship. There was a ‘bar’ open in the evenings which sold watered down orange cordial, the dilution of which was about fifty parts water to one part cordial. For the first half of the journey dozens of card games were running. With cheap cigarettes being the currency of the day. However, after a number of games the cigarettes became useless as all the tobacco had fallen out, going through the many hands, meaning you could win a thousand fags and then end up just throwing them in the sea.

The real excitement of the day was to see something other than sea, such as Malta in the distance and the trip down the Suez Canal. The Suez Canal journey was eventful in so much as we reached the half way point on the Bitter Lakes only to spend three days there because the engine on board the ship had broken down. Whilst in this rather vulnerable position we were told not to walk around the deck as the locals had a habit of taking pot shots at passing troopships, and in a sense we were sitting ducks.`