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| Aunty Glad's Suitcase |
This blog continues on with the story of Malcolm Micheal Shepherd's journey with the 30th and 34th Battalion on the ship Hororata, from Sydney to England, told through they eyes of Corporal Crossingham and illustrated with pictures and postcards from Aunty Glad's Suitcase.
Corporal Crossingham continues with his dry humour, describing visiting the different ports, the joys of being able to buy fresh fruit, along with tales of some very dubious meals on board the ship. As his story continues, you begin to feel a little of their sense of uneasiness of what lies in the future for them, their relief at not being based in the dessert and the impact of their first sight of Gilbralta.
Continuing Corporal Crossingham's Story:
"May 24 –Arrived at Colombo and here we were allowed to go
ashore. Had a route march, and were
taken out to the Garrison Barracks where we could purchase any amount of fruit
at reasonable prices. Pineapples only
cost 3d a piece, coconuts 3 for 6d, bananas, 1 /- per bunch of anything from
50 t up to 100. The Y.M.C.A. had a
refreshment stall there where one could get cakes 1d each, soft drinks 2d, tea,
coffee or cocoa 1d per pot, cold boiled eggs 1d each, and sandwiches 2d.
We were allowed to have one beer there, and
to make sure we go no more we were issued with tickets which cost 3d without
which we were not supposed to get a drink at all, but the boys soon found out that
“where there’s a will there’s a way”, with the result that we all had a merry
time. It was very interesting to watch
the coolies at work. They will do almost
anything for money. They are very good
workers, and especially when there is a rope end handy. It was very laughable to watch them having
their meals, which consisted of boiled rice with liquid curry poured over it,
served out to them on palm leaves, cut into small squares about 12 inches by 12
inches. Once a day they get a banana as
an extra.
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| Malcolm Shepherd (LHS) and fellow soldiers |
May 26 – Left Colombo, when the coolies became very excited,
and shouted “good-bye” till they were quite hoarse.
June 1 – Great excitement caused by the announcement that
there was a plum duff for dinner But the
shock when it came, I am quite satisfied all our boys do not suffer with a weak
heart. A man dare not show his head
above the edge of the table for fear he would draw the fire on himself and when
the pieces began to fly they rattled on the ship’s side like bottles breaking
on a brick wall. Someone suggested
praying for it, but he was ruled out of order, as we decided it was past
redemption
June 3 – Sunday morning. Attended church parade. Sighted land at noon. Passed the Bay of Aden on the Arabian Coast on
the starboard side and the African Coast on the port. Great interest was shown
by the boys watching thousands of porpoises playing about Aden.
June 4 – Sighted a small town called Monkka, which, I was
told, was famous for coffee making.
June 5 – passed the Twelve Apostles which is a group of 12
rocks rising up out of the sea.
June 8 – Caught our first glimpse of the much talked of
Egypt at 8 a.m.
June 9 – Anchored in Port Suez. At 2 p.m. weighed anchor and
entered Suez Canal. I am told that all troops
that came over before us were allowed ashore to strength their legs, but for
some reason or other we were not allowed to do so. It was very interesting going through the
Canal. It is well guarded day and
night. Here and there in isolated spots
one can see a small patch of grass struggling for life, or else a few reeds
growing on the edge of the canal. With
that exception all one could see was one long strength of sand, white and
glistening with camps of troops dotted here and there over the desert. No one was more pleased that I when we were
told that we had to proceed to Alexandria.
The sight of that vast stretch of sand and the temperature was quite
sufficient for me. All the boys who had
the bad luck to be stationed there have the sympathy of every one on board our
boat. The Canal is reckoned to be 34
miles long and takes 16 hours to do a trip through, as boats are not allowed to
travel any faster than 5 miles per hour on account of the was doing damage to
the banks. Leaving the Canal we came
along to Port Said, arriving there about 7.30 am. Port Said presents a very
busy scene by what one can see from the boat.
It is a hurry and scurry, small pleasure boats rowing about everywhere.
June 11 – Leaving Port Said we went on to Alexandria. As soon as we left Port we were ordered to
don life belts and were never without them till we arrived at Plymouth. They were worn all day, and even slept in
them. It was a very queer sensation to
wake up the first morning and find a life belt hanging to one’s neck by a piece
of tape. It made one feel as if one had
been having a night out, and did not remember what had taken place before
retiring.
June 12 – Arrived in Alexandria, which looks similar to Port
Said, the only difference being that the buildings do not seem to be so close together,
and it is cleaner in appearances. We
were now formed up and marched off the Hororata and around to the Aragon, which
had been waiting for us for some days.
There were already about 700 troops on board from Egypt. When on board the Hororata we were praying
for a change of boats. But what a change
it was when we did get it. We simply
wished we were back on board the old home once more. For we were out of the frying pan into the
fire. We were packed like sardines in a
tine and no room for all at that. It was
a good job for us that we did not have a very long time to put in before getting
to our journey’s end. It was very seldom
that we got bread that was not sour, and not too much of it either. The Aragon is a fine boat in appearance, but
for tucker and accommodation it has a lot to pull up. We left Alexandria on the 13th.
June 14 – Passed the Island of Crete at 2 a.m when we were
picked up by a new escort.
June 15 – Passed along the coast of Greece following in the wake
of our escort.
June 17 – Arrived at the great fortified rock,
Gibraltar. One has only to glance at
with its guns bristling from every nook and crevice, and it will be realized
what an impregnable barrier it really forms.
Coming in from the sea all one can see is a great bare rock rising up
out of the sea with a few guns mounted here and there. But when the boat comes around the Rock to
the entrance and one gets a rear view it downs on one that there is danger
behind that great rugged rock." *
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| Post Card from Aunty Glad's suitcase - Gibraltar |
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