Hullo Old Home

[brian daley]

I was free at last , there in that blue tropic sea ,down in the turquoise ocean with only the fish for company; shafts of sunlight shimmered down from above as I swam toward that shadowy shape in the distance..was it her ? As I swam nearer I could see her naked form ,graceful as a dolphin , she came my way.God but she was beautiful,and soon I would know her ,as a man should..
Then suddenly my world was shattered by the rasping sound of a bugle What the f!... "Come along now ,'ands off c###s and put on yer socks !!" Where the hell was I? Raising my head from my pillow ,I saw the other boys looking as shocked as I was
This was Reveille and I was bone dry and still a virgin.
Scotty was ranging up and down the hut ,rattling the bed frames with a stick, "Come on you layabouts , it's time for a little exercise!". My god ,was the man mad ,it was still the middle of the night and he was expecting us to get out and do P.E.!!
With a coughing and a spluttering ,the cream of British youth emerged from their slumbers and ,exchanging pyjamas for shorts and a vest ,were led out on to the parade ground where we beheld the sight of white scrawny forms about to undergo the same trial as us.
After what seemed an age ,we were led to have our morning wash , in cold ,very cold, water in the smallest sinks I had ever had to use . They were wedge shaped units made out of bare galvanised steel. No porcelain here boy. Those little sinks were for both us and our laundry. Time would tell of the effects it had on our hygiene.
When we got back to our hut to get changed for breakfast ,we noticed that we were three boys short. They had decamped during the night ,this was'nt the picnic they thought it would be . Once dressed we were led down to the Vindi for breakfast ,after which we would be given a medical examination and then issued with our uniforms.
We did'nt have to run a gauntlet of staring eyes today, everybody was intent on being fed.
The queue of boys stretched along the quay and up the gangway but it was moving pretty fast ,we were hungry now,it's amazing what a bit of exercise and a cold water wash can do for a boys appetite.
We reached the serving hatch at last and were given soup plates upon which the cook dolloped a ladle full of burgoo ,this was a form of porridge ,quite unlike what mother made,
I think Polyfilla must have got their recipe from this cook ,it stuck to your ribs and needed plenty of sugar too. Let me tell you about the cook , he looked like he was an escapee from Broadmoor , maybe 6 foot 2 inches tall ,25 stone ,lips like a rubber liferaft from which there always hung a cigarette ,the ash from which would drop off into whatever food lay beneath it,seasoning he called it. After the burgoo ,there was a cup of tea and then it was off for the medical.
The medico was a lady, she was called Codeine Annie ,I can't remember her proper name ,but I'll never forget her . She was not like my lady of the water ,no ,she was about 5 foot nothing ,very round , her hair looked as though it had just had 50,000 volts shot through it, and she wore glasses with very thick lens. We had to strip off and get the full monty of an exam , cough, bend ,say aah. And then we were weighed . She promised us that we would all put on weight during our time there, "Your diet has been has been expertly designed to ensure that you will be healthy ". Which meant that we would'nt be getting much !!
As we were taken from place to place ,we gradually learned more about what would be our home for the next few months. The camp itself, was built upon high ground above the canal, it was situated between the docks and the canal with railway running between the river frontage and the village. The town of Berkeley was close enough to walk to and across the River Severn was Lydney ,this was connected to our side by a many spanned railway bridge. The camps hut were brick built ,with corrugated roofs ,finished in whitewash ,they looked very neat and tidy. To reach the canal we had to negotiate a series of steps and then cross the lock gates to get aboard the Vindi . It was a pleasant looking place,this was before the days of leisure craft ,then it was a working canal but the main traffic was us trainees.
There were some very nice boats for us to train on , there was a pinnace that had belonged to King George the 5th ,a whaler ,a motor launch and a couple of lifeboats.
The Vindicatrix loomed large in that small canal and ,as painting would be a part of the skills needed by a sailor ,she was kept in pristine condition at all times. I was baffled by all the ropes and wires that festooned her masts ,but that was what I was here to learn about.
After the medical ,it was off to the stores for our kit .We had to pay for everything and what we got would stand us in good stead for our first few months at sea ,and longer.
The battle dress and trousers, blue shirts 2 off, beret with silver badge ,fishermans top ,2 pairs of dungarees,a black tie,sea jersey ,sou'wester , oilskins and sea boots. Fully laden ,we returned to our hut to become civvies no longer ,but Vindi Boys .