My memoirs
Chapter
Off to the States by Queen Mary
What excitement!! A posting to Miami U.S.A. All those sun drenched beeches, lovely American dolly birds and the cream of Britons youth!! What a cocktail? And we were ready to mix it. Little did we know at this time that the Miami was in Oklahoma the dust bowl of America, and not Florida as we thought .No matter, we were on our way and after some embarkation leave we boarded a train for Gourock in Scotland. It was quite a long train journey and of course it must be remembered it was war time. The train was packed with all sorts of armed forces and train times were plucked from a hat. Of course no restaurant car. (Even if we had the cash)
Following our arrival at the Port we were obliged to board a lighter to take us to our boat which we then learned was the Queen Mary. What a ship? I recall as we approached her she was getting larger and larger until we were alongside and then she was immense. We, of course, had quite a lot of equipment to carry such as kitbags and the usual full kit strapped to us over our greatcoats. This had to be manhandled off the lighter and up a gangway to enter a large door in the side of the Queen. We were led through a maze of passageways and decks to a reception area where we were allocated our sleeping quarters. I was lucky, though at the time I thought I was cheated because I was allotted a cabin in which there were three bunks when it was designed for two. I had a quick look round the local area and found a magnificent bathroom with hot water. I couldn't believe my luck. Gold plated Dolphins for taps! Hot water. I nipped back for towel and soap and prepared myself for some wartime luxury. I wallowed in the tub for some time then decided it was time to get moving so started to soap myself... nothing happened... it wouldn't lather! It was salt water and needed special soap. I felt grubbier coming out than going in. Not even a bell to summon the Captain?
Most of the large and magnificent stairways were boarded up to prevent damage and of course this luxury liner was now geared for use as a troopship. It is interesting to note that because of her speed she traveled the Atlantic on most of her runs unescorted as it was considered she was too fast for a U Boat to attack her and indeed she completed the war intact. We spent four days waiting to sail I think most of that time was spent returning part of the boat to its original splendor for our special guests because we were to learn in due course that aboard the ship, as well as umpteen thousand of we minions, we had the whole War Cabinet including Churchill, also, a whole group of German Prisoners of War. Ex.U-boat crews. I don't think the latter bothered us much except they were fed before us, but they certainly didn't please the crew of the Queen, many of whom had been torpedoed when on other vessels. I recall one occasion when one of the RAF was on guard duty ( we did have duties on board) over these prisoners he was approached one night by a sailor who had a candle on the end of a long pole and he only wanted to ‘Torch the beard of a U-boat Captain’ whilst he was asleep!!!.
We did not see much of the War Cabinet but they were a very democratic group. They had one half of the boat and we had the other half!! I'm surprised we didn't sail with a forty five degree list to Port.
On one occasion I was in a crowded lift and Air Chief Marshall Sinclair stood in front of me. My nose came about to the level of his medal ribbons and I didn't know whether to salute, shake hands, or point out that I was in the Air Force too!!
We had one near miss as we approached New York. I was down below when suddenly the ship keeled over at an angle I wouldn't have thought possible in such a big vessel. I dashed up top to learn that an American destroyer having underestimated our speed had cut across our bows. This had happened on a previous occasion and the Queen had almost cut the boat in half.
As we approached New York harbour we had a taste of the America we had been used to on the movies. We heard a siren and saw a very fast Naval speedcraft draw up alongside and a very smart American naval officer cry out through a loud-hailer to the Commodore. "We were not to proceed further, but were to anchor in the roads" A voice came from the bridge above "On whose authority” Some authority was quoted and our voice cried out. "That is not sufficient for me" whereupon smarty pants turned and hot footed it back to tell his Dad! Some time later the siren sounded again and this time it was a very senior looking officer (his Dad) covered in gold braid who again informed our driver. "He was not authorized to proceed further". Our voice responded with the statement that. "It was too late for him to change his plans and he would therefore continue". What we didn't know was that there was a Dockers strike and thus no tugs to pull us in. Anyway we continued and as I understand it, it was the first time the Queen had docked without tug assistance. I have no doubt with hindsight that the backing of Churchill helped in making up the Commodore’s mind.
Lying on her side looking very sad was the Normandy in the next dock to us. She had I believe been sabotaged. This I learned much later not to be true. It was a fault in re-fueling which had the result of destabilizing the vessel so that she capsized.
Of course as you may imagine debarking was quite a lengthy business although I cannot remember just when we cleared ship. Our next destination was supposed to be Moncton in Canada but due to some epidemic there we were shipped to a big Army camp at Boston where we stayed for about a week or two. Eventually we made it to Moncton. This was not the nicest place on earth it was cold and overcrowded with potential RAF aircrew but it was the centre for all of us entering and leaving the States.
When we left Moncton we had a four day train journey ahead of us. I recall it was cold to start with but as we progressed further and further south the temperature became very oppressive. The trains were cooled by simply placing ice in troughs in the roof but of course this soon melted and there was a long journey before it was replenished. Although the carriages were sleepers there were no mattresses or bed linen so we had to sleep on the bare boards, which on a moving train were not at all comfortable. What a whinger I am!! It was better than trenches!!!!
We rode through days of Pine forests and open countryside with hardly any sign of habitation. It is a vast Continent. I very much regret now that I did not appreciate my luck to be traveling at His Majesties expense through such beautiful countryside.
On our arrival in Chicago we had almost a full day to wait and we were advised to go to the USO (United Services Organization). This was an eye-opener for us. Remember we had just left a war torn country with its blackouts and food rationing and shortages of everything, so almost everything in America amazed us. These USO's were organized on a voluntary basis to provide comforts for the troops but of course there were not so many troops in the States so the attention we were given was out of this world. On our arrival we were first directed to the restaurant where we had a superb lunch and all sorts of goodies. All free. Following that we went to the reception desk to find out what was on offer by way of entertainment. Because we had only a short time in the city we had to be content with things like a cinema show, places of local interest etc. Had we been there for a number of days we were offered all sorts of possibilities. , families to stay with, shows to go to, hotels, restaurants-Etc-Etc. All for free. The games rooms in the USO's were magnificent. I seem to remember the place taking up two whole floors of a skyscraper.
Well our rail journey continued and at last we arrived in Miami Oklahoma to see the whole of the town’s girls, who had just seen off the last course to pass out and were waiting for us to arrive!!! Of course I only had thoughts of flying and what time was church parade!!!!!