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Part 6 First port of call: Freetown.
On the 20th April, we had our first patient, the P&O Captain of the Uganda. He reported sick & his conditioned worsened of the next few days. It was determined he needed surgery & the question was whether we could get him off in time, for him to be medivac?d to the UK & have his op there or have to operate onboard. We arrived off Dakar, the furthest Western port of Africa & we were told we were going in. We could see the concrete towers of the city from the mouth of the Harbour but for some reason permission for us to enter was denied by the UK. So the Captain became our first surgical patient, using the ships normal hospital facilities, as the operating theatre we were assembling wasn?t ready for action. We had no blood in the fridge but regular blood donors where requested to come fwd with as RN hadn?t blood grouped their personnel (finally carried out ?84).
In the meantime we had settled into a routine. There was an agreement between the RN & P&O that normal cruising schedule would be allowed to continue until we arrived near the Exclusion zone. This meant spending several hrs a day at lectures on treatment of GSW (gunshot wounds), burns, abdo & chest trauma. In between we unpacked stores & assembles beds, OT tables & the sterilizer.
During The 1st dog watch, we had P.T. taken by a CPO had was Bootie trained. Never been one for excessive exercise myself but there were buzzes we might end up being put on the beach to support the Bootnecks & that thought was enough to make the effort.
The secondary reason that kept me going (wasn?t compulsory) was Cindy & her friend TS went. TS always wore the tightest shorts, which held me enthralled for the weeks we trained together.
Afterwards the perfect time to take a dip, ?Hands to bathe.?
We had two swimming pools, the smaller aft was taken by the RN & P&O officers (can you imagine the breakdown of discipline, if there was mixed bathing?) the fwd was left for the rest. Every matelot had his trunks & made full use of the pool until we got south of Ascension & the water become too cold. Not all the nurses had brought their costumes. I guess some hung back a while but as we got further south, with the heat coming off the African coast they just got in, in whatever they had.
I was just walking to the pool, when I saw two nurses coming back, one in a bikini the other in a bra that was semi transparent when dry, having just stepped out of the pool it was totally transparent. My jaw dropped & as I turned my head to follow them I saw the two RN officers coming along behind me. By the looks on their faces, they couldn?t believe it either; before they could say anything, the nurses just said ?Good evening Sir? to the senior officer & carried on. The XO looked like he was about to choke, I quickly turned before I burst out laughing, just when he would loved to have put someone on an insubordination charge.
Then to shower before dinner. The Uganda couldn?t make enough water for its own crew, let alone for the rest of us. It had been designed to call into port every other day so suitable water makers hadn?t been installed. So from day one at sea we were limited to one 30 second shower a day. Now my 19yo daughter can spend 30mins under the shower (cheaper to pour a bath!) & 1hr 30+in the bathroom. Our nurses would no doubt have liked to do the same so the duty PO had to stand outside the door of the shower, (single showers were situated in the corridors only a handful of cabins were en-suite). He timed for 5 seconds & knocked on the door; that was time to switch off, soap armpits & groin, then turn the water back on for 20 sec?s to rinse off.
This was quicker than the most ardent soap dodger would usually spend in the shower but for the ladies this was one of the toughest aspects of the whole campaign. On the first day a naval nurse refused to turn off the shower. The PO asked nicely then repeated it & in the end started making disciplinary threats. When she came out after a full minute at least, she below shoulder length hair was still full of shampoo & she was in tears. The PO was exasperated & couldn?t understand how she thought she would be able to wash her hair in 30secs. She was lead away & given a bucket of sea water to rinse off in. If you have ever tried this, it doesn?t give a nice clean feeling & the salt made it look like she had sprayed her hair with lacquer.
We could use a basin of water in our cabin to cat lick in the morning, shave (luckily I used an electric shaver) & wash underwear.
Our working uniforms, No8?s & our sheets would be washed once a week by the ships laundry. This wouldn?t have been too pleasant in the moderate climes; in the tropics it was pretty horrible. No doubt we stank but not as bad as when the casualties arrived & we still couldn?t change more regularly. And if you have seen a nurse?s uniform at the end of the day, imagine what it would look & smell like after a week.
Coming back from my shower, I walked into my cabin with just a towel on to find the Sprog entertaining two nurses on my bunk! Yep Sindy & TS were there, changed into evening rig ready for dinner, yakking away on the bunk I would have to sleep alone in that night. 2012-02-17_75.jpgJust another level of frustration. In this photo: Master Bates, Sprog, TS & Sindy.2012-02-18_70.jpg
I had decided to be true to RG; I had never been in the position of having more than one relationship at a time but I had decided to test myself to see if I could be faithful once I was a married man. This resolve was possibly just a foolish aspiration but when I make my mind up... Not to mention the more obvious likelihood that everything that happened onboard would eventually get back to the hospital.
Diner was the big social event of the day as it was the only time we all got together, as we had turned the other recreation spaces into bedded wards. There were two sittings, Jrn & Snr ratings, then the Officers. We ate in the first class restaurant & The Indian waiters treated us as first class pax. I hope they were too disappointed the end of the trip when our tips no were doubt less than they were used too. At first we had to consume what was left in the freezers as they hadn?t been unloaded in Gib. Salmon, Guinea Fowl & even Foie Gras was served.
After dinner the smokers congregated in the smoking area & I would retire to my cabin to write to the GF. I had barely written the inside page of a Bluey (an airmail letter, sent free to & from servicemen at the time) when Sindy walked in. ?Can we talk?? Not wishing to be inhospitable I cracked her one of my 3 a day beer ration & as I sat at the bed head & she on the other end we began what turned onto our regular evening discussion on the likelihood of us sailing south of Ascension: the war, of how we would cope with the expected rough weather, the horrendous casualties that they were training us to deal with & our folks at home.
She knew I had a RG & saw her pic on my bulkhead. She didn?t have a relationship at the time so mostly talked of her time in Plymouth were she had been serving until recently & North York?s where her family were.
As we didn?t have communal rec spaces, it was accepted the sexes could mix in cabins as long as the door was open. We had been told although they couldn?t actually stop sex between consenting adults, it was forbidden in the cabins: the rec spaces, the lifeboats ect. ect. So it was like being at home with her Mother continually popping in to make sure you weren?t snogging in front of the TV ect.
25th April, we arrived at Freetown & unloaded our patient. 2012-02-18_114.jpgThe Capitan had been operated on & was deemed fit to travel. We were initially expecting to get ashore (remember this is yrs before the civil war) but as government elections were about to take place the locals refused to allow us ashore. In fact they sent troops down to make sure we didn?t step foot on Serria Leonne soil. I was slightly amused they thought guns& grenade launchers were necessary to enforce that order.2012-02-18_115.jpg2012-02-18_116.jpg
As we could get ashore to buy souvenirs, the locals came to us, selling skins, coconuts & carvings from dugout canoes. As we didn?t have currency, they just swapped these items for plastic containers. As we didn?t have many empty containers, there was a sudden rush on the stores cupboards & bottles of bleach were emptied & passed over board. I hope they rinsed them out well before using for drinking water.2012-02-18_117.jpg2012-02-18_120.jpg
The morning after we sailed evidence was found on the upper decks that drugs had been brought on board. The fact we had users onboard alerted the powers that be that the morphine stocks could be broken into so we were put into a rota & guarded the locker every night thereafter. As we headed for Ascension, we wondered if the following port would be or Southampton.
Here?s an example of a couple of the more appropriate swimwear worn by our nurses.
On the 20th April, we had our first patient, the P&O Captain of the Uganda. He reported sick & his conditioned worsened of the next few days. It was determined he needed surgery & the question was whether we could get him off in time, for him to be medivac?d to the UK & have his op there or have to operate onboard. We arrived off Dakar, the furthest Western port of Africa & we were told we were going in. We could see the concrete towers of the city from the mouth of the Harbour but for some reason permission for us to enter was denied by the UK. So the Captain became our first surgical patient, using the ships normal hospital facilities, as the operating theatre we were assembling wasn?t ready for action. We had no blood in the fridge but regular blood donors where requested to come fwd with as RN hadn?t blood grouped their personnel (finally carried out ?84).
In the meantime we had settled into a routine. There was an agreement between the RN & P&O that normal cruising schedule would be allowed to continue until we arrived near the Exclusion zone. This meant spending several hrs a day at lectures on treatment of GSW (gunshot wounds), burns, abdo & chest trauma. In between we unpacked stores & assembles beds, OT tables & the sterilizer.
During The 1st dog watch, we had P.T. taken by a CPO had was Bootie trained. Never been one for excessive exercise myself but there were buzzes we might end up being put on the beach to support the Bootnecks & that thought was enough to make the effort.
The secondary reason that kept me going (wasn?t compulsory) was Cindy & her friend TS went. TS always wore the tightest shorts, which held me enthralled for the weeks we trained together.
Afterwards the perfect time to take a dip, ?Hands to bathe.?
We had two swimming pools, the smaller aft was taken by the RN & P&O officers (can you imagine the breakdown of discipline, if there was mixed bathing?) the fwd was left for the rest. Every matelot had his trunks & made full use of the pool until we got south of Ascension & the water become too cold. Not all the nurses had brought their costumes. I guess some hung back a while but as we got further south, with the heat coming off the African coast they just got in, in whatever they had.
I was just walking to the pool, when I saw two nurses coming back, one in a bikini the other in a bra that was semi transparent when dry, having just stepped out of the pool it was totally transparent. My jaw dropped & as I turned my head to follow them I saw the two RN officers coming along behind me. By the looks on their faces, they couldn?t believe it either; before they could say anything, the nurses just said ?Good evening Sir? to the senior officer & carried on. The XO looked like he was about to choke, I quickly turned before I burst out laughing, just when he would loved to have put someone on an insubordination charge.
Then to shower before dinner. The Uganda couldn?t make enough water for its own crew, let alone for the rest of us. It had been designed to call into port every other day so suitable water makers hadn?t been installed. So from day one at sea we were limited to one 30 second shower a day. Now my 19yo daughter can spend 30mins under the shower (cheaper to pour a bath!) & 1hr 30+in the bathroom. Our nurses would no doubt have liked to do the same so the duty PO had to stand outside the door of the shower, (single showers were situated in the corridors only a handful of cabins were en-suite). He timed for 5 seconds & knocked on the door; that was time to switch off, soap armpits & groin, then turn the water back on for 20 sec?s to rinse off.
This was quicker than the most ardent soap dodger would usually spend in the shower but for the ladies this was one of the toughest aspects of the whole campaign. On the first day a naval nurse refused to turn off the shower. The PO asked nicely then repeated it & in the end started making disciplinary threats. When she came out after a full minute at least, she below shoulder length hair was still full of shampoo & she was in tears. The PO was exasperated & couldn?t understand how she thought she would be able to wash her hair in 30secs. She was lead away & given a bucket of sea water to rinse off in. If you have ever tried this, it doesn?t give a nice clean feeling & the salt made it look like she had sprayed her hair with lacquer.
We could use a basin of water in our cabin to cat lick in the morning, shave (luckily I used an electric shaver) & wash underwear.
Our working uniforms, No8?s & our sheets would be washed once a week by the ships laundry. This wouldn?t have been too pleasant in the moderate climes; in the tropics it was pretty horrible. No doubt we stank but not as bad as when the casualties arrived & we still couldn?t change more regularly. And if you have seen a nurse?s uniform at the end of the day, imagine what it would look & smell like after a week.
Coming back from my shower, I walked into my cabin with just a towel on to find the Sprog entertaining two nurses on my bunk! Yep Sindy & TS were there, changed into evening rig ready for dinner, yakking away on the bunk I would have to sleep alone in that night. 2012-02-17_75.jpgJust another level of frustration. In this photo: Master Bates, Sprog, TS & Sindy.2012-02-18_70.jpg
I had decided to be true to RG; I had never been in the position of having more than one relationship at a time but I had decided to test myself to see if I could be faithful once I was a married man. This resolve was possibly just a foolish aspiration but when I make my mind up... Not to mention the more obvious likelihood that everything that happened onboard would eventually get back to the hospital.
Diner was the big social event of the day as it was the only time we all got together, as we had turned the other recreation spaces into bedded wards. There were two sittings, Jrn & Snr ratings, then the Officers. We ate in the first class restaurant & The Indian waiters treated us as first class pax. I hope they were too disappointed the end of the trip when our tips no were doubt less than they were used too. At first we had to consume what was left in the freezers as they hadn?t been unloaded in Gib. Salmon, Guinea Fowl & even Foie Gras was served.
After dinner the smokers congregated in the smoking area & I would retire to my cabin to write to the GF. I had barely written the inside page of a Bluey (an airmail letter, sent free to & from servicemen at the time) when Sindy walked in. ?Can we talk?? Not wishing to be inhospitable I cracked her one of my 3 a day beer ration & as I sat at the bed head & she on the other end we began what turned onto our regular evening discussion on the likelihood of us sailing south of Ascension: the war, of how we would cope with the expected rough weather, the horrendous casualties that they were training us to deal with & our folks at home.
She knew I had a RG & saw her pic on my bulkhead. She didn?t have a relationship at the time so mostly talked of her time in Plymouth were she had been serving until recently & North York?s where her family were.
As we didn?t have communal rec spaces, it was accepted the sexes could mix in cabins as long as the door was open. We had been told although they couldn?t actually stop sex between consenting adults, it was forbidden in the cabins: the rec spaces, the lifeboats ect. ect. So it was like being at home with her Mother continually popping in to make sure you weren?t snogging in front of the TV ect.
25th April, we arrived at Freetown & unloaded our patient. 2012-02-18_114.jpgThe Capitan had been operated on & was deemed fit to travel. We were initially expecting to get ashore (remember this is yrs before the civil war) but as government elections were about to take place the locals refused to allow us ashore. In fact they sent troops down to make sure we didn?t step foot on Serria Leonne soil. I was slightly amused they thought guns& grenade launchers were necessary to enforce that order.2012-02-18_115.jpg2012-02-18_116.jpg
As we could get ashore to buy souvenirs, the locals came to us, selling skins, coconuts & carvings from dugout canoes. As we didn?t have currency, they just swapped these items for plastic containers. As we didn?t have many empty containers, there was a sudden rush on the stores cupboards & bottles of bleach were emptied & passed over board. I hope they rinsed them out well before using for drinking water.2012-02-18_117.jpg2012-02-18_120.jpg
The morning after we sailed evidence was found on the upper decks that drugs had been brought on board. The fact we had users onboard alerted the powers that be that the morphine stocks could be broken into so we were put into a rota & guarded the locker every night thereafter. As we headed for Ascension, we wondered if the following port would be or Southampton.
Here?s an example of a couple of the more appropriate swimwear worn by our nurses.
) really gave a good insight into the inner workings. Conversations and every day happenings really help imagine a real life on all these.
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