Snippets

If I Could Have That Time Again!

If I Could Have That Time Again.

The Orient Steam Navigation Company built the ocean liner RMS Orion in 1934 for its passenger and mails service between UK and Australia. During the world war she served as a troopship, and when she re-entered normal service at the end of hostilities the line preserved a section of teakwood taffrail carved with servicemen's initials  as a war memorial to the fighting men she transported on "B" promenade deck.

She was my first ship. I joined her in Tilbury as a deck boy in June 1957, a week after celebrating my 17th birthday.

Orion had berths for six deck boys who were supervised by five deckmen in the joint task of keeping the  passenger decks clean and tidy outside of their accommodation. This included scrubbing the teakwood taffrails above the ship side rails on our respective decks with water, sand and a short length of old canvas fire-hose. In my head I can still hear the encouraging chant of Aberdonian Deckman Davey Moore as we sweated over those rails.

Little drops of water, little grains of sand.

And a great big dollop of elbow grease

Will make those rails look grand!

During my second trip on Orion in 1958, we carried  Admiral of the Fleet, Lord Fraser of North Cape  as a passenger from Fremantle to Colombo.  Lord Fraser was a distinguished naval commander in the Second World War who commanded of Task Force 57 of the Royal Navy in the Pacific theatre. He served subsequently as First Sea Lord. Although now retired from active service, he remained a man of considerable presence and influence.

It was his habit to take the air in the early morning, walking around 'A' deck, before the other passengers were abroad and playing their deck games. 'A' deck, where I worked, was the uppermost of the promenade decks with the black-capped, buff funnel of the Orient Line rising high from a white-painted housing and  the much scrubbed deck planking.

Because it was a games deck there were two of us boys working there. Our first job every morning, after mustering at 0630 for a personal  cleanliness inspection by the Junior Third Officer on the Bridge Wing. Released to our duties about the deck, our first task was to polish the brasswork in the "A" deck ship-side, teakwood taffrails. I took the starboard side while Max, the other "A" deck boy burnished the brainwork not he port side rails. We needed to complete this daily chore speedily in order to give us enough time to set out the folding deck chairs and various games before the first of the passengers arrived on deck from the dining saloon, refreshed and invigorated by their breakfast.

The Captain and his officers were over- sensitive to His Lordship's presence. All of them were experienced officers and from the Junior Third Officer to the Captain they were each one qualified master mariners. The war had ended a little over twelve years beforehand and a number of them had served in the Royal Navy during the hostilities. Orion's master at this time, Captain JD Birch DSC, had been decorated for his gallant exploits while serving in the wartime Royal Navy.

Each morning the Captain and Chief Officer would gather on the Bridge wing to surreptitiously watch over Lord Fraser as he strolled around the deck. He was not only a very important passenger, but also, something of their hero and they were personally, as well as professionally, anxious that he might not always be pleased or satisfied with the ship, her crew and the services rendered to him.

There was no time for me to stand and watch the great man as two-dozen brass hinges, plus the brass plated ends of rails were waiting for me to burnish them. With only twenty minutes in which to complete the job, I vigorously applied myself to the task. Of course, I could not resist making several fleeting glances at the great man, but nothing longer than a split-second for fear of attracting the verbal wrath of my immediate boss; 'A' deckman, George Press – himself an ex-service Petty Officer and steeped in naval tradition, discipline and practices.