SEAVIEW HOLIDAY CAMP
As Visited
By Terry Haynes, RAF Abu Sueir
Friday, January 30th – Tony and I collected our Leave passes today, and we are going to the holiday camp at Port Said on Monday.
On Monday morning Tony and I caught the 11 o’clock train from Abu Sueir which took us all the way to Port Said and we were there in time for lunch at one. When we got off the train the first person I saw was Ernie Smewin, one of our thirteen from Melksham, also on his way to Seaview Holiday Camp. Within the camp we met up with Curly Patterson – a keen cyclist who had come up from Kasfareet on his bike.
We have booked in for seven days but will certainly stay longer if our money holds out. There is a dance hall, cinema, billiards rooms, table tennis and darts rooms, hairdressers, library, six hard tennis courts and – well, everything. We are sleeping in tents that accommodate four – Tony and I had one to ourselves, but two army chaps have now arrived. Lew and Jock, the soldiers who now share our tent, are two splendid fellows. Lew is a sergeant and Jock a Lan Corporal both stationed at El Ballah in the north of the Canal Zone. Both within a week or two of demob and both in real holiday mood.
Seaview is situated on an island – Port Fouad – so when we went out sightseeing, we had to cross on the Ferry Boat which ran every 15 minutes or so. We soon found out the Britannia Club which was one of the most luxurious clubs in the Middle East. During out leave we played table tennis there, tried out the club’s cinema and put up our names on the roof of the club along with many others from the British Isles and all over the empire. At every place of interest we visited people seemed to consider it an honour if we would sign our names and write a few nice things about it.
We were now becoming quite a group. As well as Curly and Ernie, who joined us now and again in our wanderings, there were their friends from Kasfareet, Ken and Barry, and two lads I knew from Abu Sueir, Harry and Johnny who were both clerks.
We had an evening out at one of the Port Said cinemas. Tony, Lew, Jock and myself visited the El Dorado and sitting in the ‘one and ninepenny’s’ (nine piastres) saw James Stewart in “It’s A Wonderful Life”, which we had seen before Christmas back at camp. The moment when Jimmy Stewart asks Clarence “S-Say little fellow, just who are you?” and gets the reply “Angel – second class” didn’t get quite the same thunderous reaction as it did at the Astra but, on the whole the film seemed to be enjoyed very much by the audience. At the close we all stood for the Egyptian national anthem – four voices silently uttering the words familiar to all British servicemen in Egypt.
Thursday, February 5th – It’s hard to believe we have already been here three days. We are still having a grand time; the camp is even better than it looked at first. There are some large visitors’ books in the games room. They are divided into counties and under Berkshire there was only one other entry frpm Maidenhead, but plenty from Windsor, Slough, Wycombe etc. We had a little rain last evening and a shower early this morning just to make us feel at home.
The shops at Port Said are a treat if you’ve got a thousand pounds to spend, full of priceless silver and clothes, etc. Every other shop sells cameras, watches, cigarette lighters – they are all reasonable but as for the other shops it would take us six months’ pay to buy any one article.
We extended our holiday for an extra four days to end on the second Friday. We went down to the beach one afternoon and did a spot of paddling in the Mediterranean, largely for the benefit of the cameras. Among the many photos we took was one of the Statue of Ferdinand de Lesseps – when the Egyptian soldier at the end of the promenade turned and saw m just as I took the picture, he shouted and waved his rifle in greeting and we moved on quickly.
During mealtimes we were entertained by “Radio Seaview” to which we could made record requests. Jock put in one for two tank corps sergeants who were indulging in some friendly rivalry with Lew and himself – “Rum and Coco-Cola”. They replied with something like “Got A Penny In My Pocket”. The funniest choice was requested for release groups of 100 and over and was “Till The End Of Time”. It kept me laughing for weeks.
Wednesday, February 11th – Only one more whole day after this one before we leave here but it has been a most enjoyable holiday. I think we have done just about everything I played tennis yesterday and have just finished another game this afternoon. We have had cycles out and ridden round the island. Tony, Curly and myself have all won prizes at the whist drives – boxes of chocolates and cigarettes.
Friday, February 13th
– We were up about eight this morning – early for a change
– had two breakfasts and left Port Said just after eleven and were back
at Abu Sueir by half past one. There is a new addition to our billet –
an electrician – but apart from that it is just the same as when we left.
It was raining when we said goodbye to the lads at Seaview but fine when we
got back here
