Diary of Cyril Strahan Parry - Part 3

28

way along we are surrounded by  

great numbers of native canoes

(Catamarans) these belonged to fishermen
 from the native Villages along

the Coast. We found at Colombo

great numbers of ships & also Warships

including Russian, Japanese, English,

& Australian, all the afternoon we are

on deck gazing at the City & land

we haven't seen for a long while &

won't see again for a few days after

we leave here.

November 16^th Monday.

All day we are anchored off Colombo

taking in Fresh Water. All the boats

from the City, that came alongside were

manned by Cingalese, who caused 

29

a great deal of amusement to all on Board

The troops amused themselves by throwing

pennies and small silver among them

so they should have a scramble. They were

mostly half naked and wore gay coloured

garments & turbans. Their skins were a

beautiful copper colour and very shiny.

One old chap amused us by singing in 

the native language, & all the while

flapping his arms, like a wet fowl

flapping its wings. We taught some of

them how to salute & one or two of them

even had a try at semaphore signalling.

Several climbed up the side with the aid

of nothing else but a single rope.

While they were not amusing us (or

being amused themselves) they used

30

to sit in the shade & chew "Bettle" nut

this they did by placing on a flat

leaf a quantity of "Beetle" & mixed it

with lime, then the whole lot was

rolled up into a wad & placed in the

mouth, The effect was to make the

teeth quite red, & probably the nigs

got some enjoyment out of it as well.

We preferred to look on instead.

It is the cool season here, so it is very

pleasant & looks like rain.  All day

long ships are coming & going & it is

surprising what a tremendous trade

is done here.

About Mid-day each day the native

fishing fleet comes in. They use peculiar

looking boats with large three - 

31

cornered brown sails, & each boat is manned

by 3 or 4 men. They are very handy with

these boats & no doubt are well trained.

All day the ship was surrounded with

swarms of beautifully ^coloured butterflies. Some

being several inches from tip to tip. The

ship was lying som little distance off the

Coast so they had quite a long way to fly

out to us. At half past three a launch

from the H.M.S. Hampshire brough a load

of German Prisoners aboad, They

seemed quite broken hearted, one poor

fellow was actually weeping. They are

stationed aft & are being well looked

 after, much to their surprise.

During the night fresh supplies

were being taken aboard from 

32

Lighters manned by natives. The

supplies included a large quantity

of Ceylon tea, Pumpkins or Melons,

Guavas, Mangoes, Tangarine,

Bannan Bananas, Fresh vegetables,

& Managastenes, One or two of our

corps managed to get ashore here, & of

course are the envy of all those left on

Board. The New Zealand Transports

are in the inside of the Harbour & the

troops are allowed ashore in lots of 40

in charge of an officer.

Just opposite our ship is a large lighthouse 
that flashes all night long. There

are 3 flashes in quick succession &

then all is darkness for a few seconds

& then flashes again. To-day I received

33

a letter from Athol (on the Geelong) &

learn he is well & enjoying himself

thoroughly. Just a little above the ship 

is the anchorage for the native Boats

& for a mile or so along the shore there is

a genuine forest of small masts. There

are numbers of quaint sailing vessels &

junks arriving at Colombo every day.

There is a fine breakwater at the entrance

of the Harbour & just opposite to us is

the Railway Station, the Government

buildings & the Barracks of Indian Troops.

November 17^th (Tuesday)

During the morning we are amusing

ourselves by watching the natives dive for

coins. They are very clever at it & I never

saw them miss one. They use small

34

canoes made of pieces of wood tied

together with cocoanut fibre, & they

just hold three men, They are

propelled by means of a paddle about

five or six feet long & about six inches

wide all the way along, yet the speed

at which they travel through the water

is surprising. The men only wear a

loin cloth & don't seem to mind sitting

in the sun all day without head dress.

At 11a.m. we left Colombo for Aden & left

a portion of the Transports behind to

finish coaling & join us at Aden.

We very soon lost sight of land &

are now well on our way again.

It is very hot, & but for a slight 

breeze would be unbearable. 

35

November 18^th Wednesday.

We are now some distance below the Coasts

of India, & is very hot. From today all

Fresh water taps have been cut off & we

are only allowed a small allowance

each morning & night, (it is only just

enough to wash with & that is all) at

9.30a.m. we were all vaccinated by

the Army Doctors & the rest of the day

we had to ourselves. During the

afternoon the ship passed through

a very large shoal of Dolphins

(about 3' to 4' long) the shoal

extended for about 1 mile & was

travelling Northwards at a very high

rate. The Dolphins were leaping very

high out of the water, some of them

36

Turning in the air.

At 8.15p.m. we attended a lecture

on the promenade Deck, entilled

The 1^st Aust. Naval Victory, by Mr

Bean the Aust. War Correspondent.

November 19^th Thursday

Today I am Orderly Sergeant so have

no drill at all to do & very little

else as a matter of fact.

November 20^th Friday

Am beginning to feel the heat as well

we are getting into hot regions so have

taken things very easy all day.

After dinner tonight the Transports

left at Colombo catch up to us &

remain on our Starboard Side.

November 21^st Saturday 

37

During the early hours of the morning

a collision occurs between the Ascanius

and Shropshire just a little ahead of us.

No damage was done other than the

smashing of a few upper works of the

Shropshire. Half Holiday this afternoon 
& Cricket matches are the order

of the Day on the Boat Deck.

November 22^nd Sunday

This morning the line of ships that

caught us up on Friday evening leave

us again to go full speed to Aden

under the Escort of the Ibuki.

At 10.15a.m. we again have Church

Parade under the Methodist Chaplain

(Captain Dexter) on the Promenade

Deck. There are 3 Church Parades

each Sunday. The second is also

38

a Methodist on the Forward Well Deck

under Chaplain (Colonel) Green, & the

third is a Roman Catholic which is

held on the Main Deck, by one of the

officers. After Church Parade

we had a March Past on the

Promenade Deck accompanied by

a Pipe Band & also a Brass Band.

Continuing the March 10 times

round the Deck for Exercise, & were

watched by the German prisoners.

November 23^rd Monday.

We sight the East Coast of Socotia.

during the morning  & sail round

it & along the Northern side of the

Island. What we can see from here,

is nothing but bare hills & rocks &

not at all tempting. There seems to 

39

be no signs of inhabitants at all.

Towards evening we loose sight of the

Island & are at sea once again.

November 24^th Tuesday.

Today we are in the Gulf of Aden &

the sea is like glass not even the

smallest ripple. During the afternoon

we leave the rest of the fleet & make off

at full speed towards Aden under

the escort of the Hampshire.

November 25^th Wednesday.

This morning about 6 o'clock we see

land ahead, rising straight up out

of the water, as we get closer we can

see a lighthouse & a few white

buildings high up on the rocks.

Just at breakfast time we anchored

in the Harbour at Aden, & a little later

40

we moved further in a bay just off

the landing pier. At either side of

the Entrance are high rocky hills

with not a trace of trees or grass

of any description on them, In fact

Aden is just the same. We are all

satisfied that we wouldn't care to

live here. All the Buildings are low

& flat roofed. The native quarters

being on the opposite side of the

Harbour on flat land. At the back

Back of Aden are high bare mountains

called Ras Bal El Mandeb & all round

the foot of them are sandy deserts

We are taking in coal & water from

Lighters manned by Arabs & the

ship is also surrounded by crowds of

small boats of native traders who are 

41

selling to the troops, Fruit, Tinned

Pineapples, Tobacco, Dates, postcards etc.

These men are exceptionally honest, &

not at all what we expected from

coloured men. Odd ones amongst

them have bright red hair & of course

look very weird. Everything is

remarkably cheap here. Very good

cigarettes being bought for 1/6 per 100

cotton singlets 1/- each & tinned fruit 8d

Just opposite to us is the landing stage

the Customs & also the Forts & the Barracks

There is very little to see here & is a

very desolate place. If it were not for

its importance as a coaling Centre it

would die altogether. Lying in the

Harbour are 1/3 of the Australian

Transports & the best part of the New

42

Zealanders, 2 of the Warships are also here,

The Ibuki & The Hampshire.

The Arabs here are very good traders.

They come alongside in Boats with all

their goods spread out. Whenever we buy

from them they throw up a plaited rope

with a basket on it so that we can put

in the Money. Then the basket is lowered

& at the same time we have to shout in

Broken English the name of the article we

want. This they put in the basket

together with the exact change & the

whole lot is hauled up the side of the ship.

We have to have all the port holes closed to

day on account of the coal dust & as we are

in the hottest port in the world, the cabins

are not very comfortable. We are able to get a 

43

mail off here as one of the P&O line is in

the Harbour & will soon be proceeding

Eastward. The Mails from Australia we

hope to pick up at Port Said, & perhaps

get another Mail off from there.

November 26^th Thursday.

This morning Early all the Transports sail out

of Aden. During the morning close along the

Arabian coasts. About Mid-day we sight the

African Coast & about four we sail through

the Straits of Bab-El-Mandeb into the Red

Sea. We passed through the Strait between

Perim Island & the African coast. All the

afternoon we are sailing close along the

Abyssinian Coast. There are high hills

all along & also a good deal of desert

country. Very hot indeed. Today we are

left by the Ibuki, who has been ordered

44

to the Pacific. Before she left us she

signalled "Best Wishes & good luck in the 

Future". We replied that we were sorry

they were not coming on with us. We have 

now only the "Hampshire". The sunsets over

the African shore tonight was magnificent

the best I have ever seen.

November 24^th Friday.

This morning about 8 o'clock we passed

7 high rocky islets on our Starboard

Side & later we passed a much larger

island with a lighthouse on it. The name

of the Islands I do not know. The sea today 
is covered with sea-weed of red &

brown colours. At 5.30 we sailed alongside

the "Geelong" in order to send over a stockers

who had missed their ship. Had a good

look at her through the glasses but could not 

45.

distinguish Athol. Passed 9 Indian

Transports to-day, going back to India, &

also Mail Boat going the same way as

ourselves.

November 28^th (Saturday)

To-day we are informed that we are not

going any further than Egypt so leave the

rest of the fleet & sail at full speed for Suez

which we hope to reached by Monday

morning & Embark the same day or

Tuesday at the latest.

November 29^th Sunday.

To-day is very much cooler & not at all

what we expected to find in the Red Sea

about 9 o'clock we passed the Brothers

(362 miles from Suez) They are very small

Islands right in the trade route & the

Northern one has a flashing light on it.

46

November 30^th Monday.

When we woke up this morning we found

we were in the Gulf of Suez, & it was quite

cold. The Gulf is now getting very narrow

as we are approaching Suez, we hope to

arrive there very soon now. There are

rumours about today that we are

are to go on to Alexandria before we land.

We arrived at Suez at 10 o'clock and

anchored just off the Canal Entrance.

We took in a further supply of water

here. Major Farr or our Corps together

with Several other officers go ashore

here in order to proceed to Cairo by Rail

& make the preliminary arrangements 

for us. About 4 o'clock we took on the

pilot & entered the Canal. As we were

entering we passed quite close to the 

47.

City (European) & passed quite close.

along the Main Street for quite a long way.

There was a good deal of cheering from the

people there. As we pass along the Canal

we see quite a number of date palms &

Maize Fields growing along a fresh

water Canal that has been cut from the 

Nile to supply Suez with water.

All along the Canal at very short

intervals are Stationed Native Indian

Troops & British Territorials, who

entrenched themselves & built small

fortifications along the Canal banks

as a protection from the Turks we are

not very far from here in the Peninsular

of Sinai.

The Canal is very narrow & we have a

large searchlight to find our way along.