Merchant
Navy Memories
 |
听 |
 |
|
City
of Worcester 1949
|
听 |
SS
City of Yokohama
|
I
was a cadet on the Ellerman Hall Line, between 1947 and 1950. Our
purser/chief steward, Hank Johnson, had been hospitalised in Hong Kong. So our
captain made me acting purser for 6 weeks.
My
duties were discussing menus with the cook, dishing out the
supplies,
writing menus, keeping store rooms tidy, checking stock daily and
running the bonded stores - the latter entailed issuing cigarettes
and spirits to the officers, cigarettes only to the Indian crew.
 |
|
On
Deck in 1947
|
Among
the ports we visited was a tiny town
with a single wooden jetty called Tobako, on the east coast of Luzon Island. It
was a hazardous passage, through hundreds of tiny islands and narrow straits,
and I was on watches for two days. When I awoke the next morning, I glanced out
of the porthole, and I couldn鈥檛 believe what I saw.
Looming
up behind the town like a great brooding nemesis sat Mayon volcano - 8,000 feet
high, and belching out a huge stream of white smoke.
 |
| Phil
on deck |
I
realised that this was the thunder I thought I鈥檇 heard during the
night. As we discussed the possibility of an eruption, Bill pointed
out to sea. About half a mile out, shimmering in the water, were
a couple of fishing boats unloading their catch into an oxdrawn
cart. "It鈥檚 a miracle" said Bill, "Jesus could walk on water, and
now he鈥檚 taught the oxen how to do it!".
We
subsequently found out that over the years the lava from Mayon had
run out to sea and solidified below the water, forming a natural
causeway!
We
spent a few days in Tobako, and had some adventures, including being chased by
two huge water buffalos as we explored the jungle that began at the end of the
main street. The raffia sombreros in the photograph were made by the local "hatter"
- and show Geordie and me looking like a couple of Mexican bandits.
 |
|
City
of Yokohama, May 1948
|
|
'Me
and Geordie go native'
|
Happy
Days.
Phil
Taylor (Extract from his memoirs)
听
|
