Open Writing

One day the CO called two of us in and said we had been there long enough and were now ready to go in for more active work and were to be posted overseas. This meant a spot of home leave, which was achieved by a boat to Liverpool and a train to London. After a week at home, a posting to Wilmslow, near Liverpool, before kitting out prior to overseas posting.

A letter which my father wrote me reads:

“Thursday, 16.7.42

My very dear Son,

You have just left, I can only say God Bless you and keep you safe and well.

You are doing man’s work and you will do it well. I’m proud of you and we all love you so much and shall eagerly await your safe and Please God early return.

I shall pray for you all the time and hope my prayers may be heard.

All my love

Daddy”

Injections were part of the process, and we soon realised we were going somewhere warm because light khaki drill with topees to protect our heads were issued. As usual I had a slight problem with my topee because of my outsize head, and they found it difficult to produce one to fit me.

Finally we were shipped onto the vessel awaiting us offshore in Liverpool harbour and were shown to our luxury quarters. We were way down in the bowels of the vessel in an area that had once been for lascar seamen. It had housed six seamen but 18 of us were crowded into it.

We were indeed a very mixed bag, all pilots and including all kit. Some were considerably older than the rest of us (Canadians, Australians, Americans and Britons). It took a long time before the ship finally sailed and there seemed to be some chaos. This led me to write a letter home in which I said, “If you want to know what it is like here, read the book” - the name of which I do not remember any more. It told the story of the British operation when we sailed to Norway to try and help them in 1940, and managed to get the wrong people and supplies on the wrong ships, and it took a long time before the ships finally sailed. This was the only piece in any of my letters home that was censored during the war, and that was neatly cut out.

“On board ship

My very dear all,

For the second time in just over a year I am sitting down and writing you a letter immediately prior to leaving the country. Everything is much the same as last time, but the difference is that we are now going overseas for a completely different purpose. Last time it was to train and this time it is to put the training into practice.

As I half expected, Ernie Berryman has not come with us but it should not be long before I make some friends - they are a good crowd and I already know several. We are not too uncomfortable aboard, in fact we have been very lucky compared to some.

There is unfortunately very little more I can write, but if you want a rough idea as to what has been going on read a chapter [censored]
My very best love”

Finally we sailed without knowing where we were going. Poker was the game that entertained most of us most of the time. I learned the game the expensive way by losing fairly regularly. The Poles were rather more experienced.

It soon became evident that we were heading south, and after some days we anchored outside Freetown in West Africa, and all sorts of canoes and small craft came out with African lads trying to sell various items to us on board. They were also very skilled divers and encouraged us to throw coins overboard. They would then dive down and would usually find them and bring them up.

We took on supplies - perhaps we took on fuel, I don’t really know, but finally set sail again and a few days later reached Takoradi - an important Nigerian port. There we were unloaded and placed in a camp.

We gradually learned something of African life. What none of us could understand at the time was the relationship between black and white people. We were called Master or Massa and were given an African servant to look after us, do our washing, make our beds, etc. This was coming to the end of the British Imperialistic period. The fact that I was even offered a 12-year-old girl as wife was an indication of how the Imperialist world was operated.