6
THE HONGKONG TELEGRAPH, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1947.
BISSET of the QUEEN ELIZABETH
Days
of luxury
Round the world
with the rich in
the era of plenty
try
COMMODORE
SIR JAMES BISSET, C.B.E.
All resumed to
A
wandered through those ends of the earth as a minefields, I occured to me that mere boy, it was not until view the plates of the Rocluick were only Chithth of an inch thick, we
1912, when I was 29, that. I will all be blown sky-htth. If we went to London.
Then it was I met my future wife at a friend's house. May was a London girl, and booking back through all the years she has waited for me on my home- coming from sea--waiting rive me all the love and couragement a sailer could wish was a car of - um glart it
love at first sight.
10
A-
We were married in London
on June 28, 1918.
When war broke out in 1914 I was ready for service with the Navy.
The Cunard Line had always required their officers to serve for a time with the Royal Naval Reserve, and in 1910 i had re- ceived a commission as a sub- Heutenant in the RNR, and had done a year's training in a battle-cruiser.
In August 1914 I ww ofleer in the Caronia.
Brxt
struck a mine,
For the first week or ze whenever 3] • • *k + J
would enter my head,
I remember that
lay down to sleep, these
bat 1 got wed to a ne o never thunght services were extremely any more about it.
I often wonder if I have ever been
jasptually death.
IN
ON PLEASURE
Passengers splashed
their moncy
Carmania,
as Art leer of
Then, as chief ofttery in the Fran- ti I made two world enises, each lasting about five and a half mothe
... י !ין
teadied!!
the
continues his story
£ 8 0 0
ses
The
religious well nt
That was the only war "wound" I hair from sustained- aptart
my turning nearly white by 1945!
Instructions were received to hed staught for Liverpool, and when we me e Irish runt on the evening of September 11 there was an onls hurst of joy, for everyone seemed les think that our troubles were over en land had been sighted.
slons, probably torpedoes which ex- ploded after missing u15.
I was again thrown to the deck, this time without breaking any bones, We returned to Britain, and on the
Failed!
Mar: elle a I took the Franconia to leeland to way
We had no who had start up the Allied base. Polishermen with 700
and 22 nurses evenped to Malta in a roll vessel. infantry, pattalion in April 1940 we' were ordered to board and 500 tons of stores. Norway.
Here at the anxious task of I know that was not so, for many leaving my escort and nhelgating the 1919 I returned to the submarines were lurking around that Franconia up the North Flord un- IN March
const.
accompanied Comart Lam
We were
to land a dock labour The day we landet I had 50 # 40 letters from passengers Thanking battalion at Horstand.
The ship survived two my attacks e profusely for getting them across
1 had in while in the Hord, but the operation because the hal- afely. Alment at structions to go out in convoy with was a wash-out.
aboul 24. hous tablon were only two other liner. to Port Said.
A six-ch
Otted, all ashore when they returned to the Wire luxury furnishings removed and on slip.
The German advance had been too September 28 we sailed as a troops carreer with 2,000 men.
rapkl. Wel 11 Mediterranean indent, but there We with stunderstandin another liner in the convay, with the prashell result that the Franconi
to her at an angle of 45 degrees. dimaging our stem. grinding our lifebest, to powder as the two ships and, meldentally, swing! together. throwing the to the deck and break the ing my collarbone.
were rich man's hobby... app out up to Chim a herud passage money alone and we tried nearly 400 pargers each cruze, mostly American, There were only about 50 13mitida
1:
mar
WWIN
withoul
before the big financial d
United States. Is 1-
dee have 1 seque cover before or money splashed about se plentifully Sone of the America were inter an aith this pleasure jatint for the
third or fourth time.
She was converted armed merchant cruiser and stationed off New York to pre- vent informed German finers from esenpins.
MAURETANIA Saved by swing Str 1916 I joined the old Mauretania, and we made four Dardanelles the voyages to carrying tropis.
The only real danger we ran into was an attack by two tor-
simultaneously. perloes
By swinging the ship to glarbeard The torpedoes passed harmless- ly within a few feet of the stern.
Later the Mauretania WHS converted into a hospital ship, and
P experietuve I gained on the little- manparatively a in waters was fo and ne b Book tad en later and more vital
11:
Kaiser's pride
with
bl acquaintance mom tee Emery came in 1927, when I was appointed staff captain' of the 52,000-tem Bergara, formerly the Kaiser's perde as the Impervcter.
She was a fine stalp of 23 knots. In May 1931 ↑ was lippointed cap- It had on in the Cimard review.
nu 24 peats to reach that rond pattion. I was 17 years old.
taken
Riven anmand of the I was Auranin, in die Cuoadian trade, and later the Ascania the ship which ed the Usworth erow and gain- mle:national Tame
No doubt many readers remember
we made three voyages my "broad-squats rigged." stocky carrying each time 2,000 siek gure as captain of the Laneustria and wounded back from Galli. when she made 14 short pleasure
enuises from London In the poli.
Just preceding this lust war.
Reports were current that she
be stopped and might searched in an isolated part of the Mediterranean by a U-boat. We took great pains to Set
WAR ALARM
Liner painted grey and blacked out
years
that, should a German officer IN June 1939 I took command of board us. there would be the Francusi (20,000 tons) and nothing to give him offence.
in the wards we had a game called "The Road to
Berlin": you had to guide silver bullets through the open mouth of a cardboard Kaiser.
Solemnly these games and overboard!
WC
www
Secret orders
the
EXPLOSIONS
She was the feat big ship to call there during the war.
Norway again, for the evacuation two hours at home-I was recalled of our Forces, and then after exactly from Cheltenham by telegram-we soiled for Brest, in company with the Lanastrta, for the withdrawal of the B.E.E. from France.
Bombs 30ft. away
At the last moment we were order ed to enter Quiberon Bay and, while negotiating the netted gloway with- mul proper charts, three bombs came whistling down and struck the water 30 feet away from use on the bridge. The ship shuddered as though hit by a giant hammer, and the engines stopped.
The chief engineer rushed up erverid with soot and sweat, and the trip back to the Clyde we narrowly exeaped damage off bully shaken. He reported that the wrecked and th Scottish const. There engine non seemed were two heavy underunter explo- was full of Seat and water,
Two torpedoes that missed us
Holiday on Tito's new railway
ARAJEVO, ancient capital of Bosnia, is a strange mix-
ture of cast and west, of the old and the new.
1 listened to the Imam-the priest-calling Sara- jevo Moslems to prayer from the balcony of a gleaming
white minaret.
Before his mournful song had ceased to echio round the rooftops, another chant broke on the air.
Tito! Tito! wont its refrain, bringing the impact of the new world on the ancient Moslem scene.
of
by
G. E. R. GEDYE
Central European Corres- pundent for several British newspapers, who has just visited Yugoslavia.
Yugoslavia, which has caused great indignation there can, think, be definitely written off
As we were right in the centre of The gateway and in danger of drift-a
fouling our propellers, ing and sald "For God's sake see if you can Hive us a few turns of the propellers, and get us out of this gateway."
BY THE
WAY
by Beachcomber
MAKING
a violent attack on
C. Suet, Esq.. Mrs Bugloss. of the Board of Interim Reor- ranisation, said:"
The Suct Plan for Schedullsation Is merely Overall Schedullsation un- der another name, with the old re- clonal councils re-appearing as locni bourda. I will nak Mr Suet one ques- tlon: How does he propose to rein- legrate personnel without adopting the overall system?"
Suet's reply, given in an interview, was: "Mrs Bugloss la confusing her termu Under the overall Bystem personnel is dealt with by the con- trol counell. Under my system, the kcal boards would be self-contained. There would therefore be no question of overlapping."
'Tibetan
DIN
Moonflower' (XVIII)
3
Me
shc Bald
the
Бац
INGI-POOS clapped her hands, An old footman in a pointed straw hat brought in another bottle of Josh-brandy, Mince's speech was growing thick. Egham's eyes were looking seven ways to Sunday, Thele heartless hostess watched them as a
brace starving boa, watched
Shall we get table rabbita. Presently she pointed to
her side. at
over?" the tiresome signing over?" asked, "Jolly old s forward vio-
tune,' "Signature Mince, jerking his head iently. Egham, with a foolish giggle, Dingi-
oul the pen
"Wa-one little After what seemed a Bfetime, he Pos
Business sald Mince, got the engines moving and we pro-kiss first, ch?"
Dingl-Poor eeded dead slow for a quarter of a before pleasure," replied
"I'leasures allmine," snid Egham, mile, and dropped, anchor,
ying
of the pen. to catch hold
he added. "Better see what it says," Dingi-Poos frowned, and withdrew the document. "You don't trust me," she said, "Kisses before pleasure,
"Oh, sai Mince, ogling the kidy.
sold rubbish," et sign all this Egham, and took the pen. Snibbo
During this time, the Lancastria steamed past us into the bay.
was found at once a
There
70 ships, and heavy utr vald
almost ensued.
The chief engineer found that, due to the violent conetission, the bed- of the auxillary plates of much inchinery had been fractured and a lot of pipes broken, though not the main strum pipes.
Lancastria
Two hours later the steamed out under orders to go up river to St. Nazaire to embark troops, The Text day she was sunk by combs with the loss of about 3,000
lives.
But for our engine-room treuble we would have been with her and might have suffered the same fate.
WE
FOG-BOUND
Off port occupied by Germans
communicated our plight to the Admirally through a des- troyer, and were ordered back to Brest.
held
บ
And
H "Scalded Heart. saya of EAR what Dawn Kesimrec, star Snihbo. "I wouldn't touch the stuff with a barge-pole. I am so beauti ful that don't need any of your
on my face." Just when Snibbo Lid, was about To foul chemicals qu to law, the sales manager reported that this new method of advertising bad trebled the sales iri two weeks. Evry woman wants to see if she can be more beautiful without it tha with it.
Nothing doing HORSE-FACED Lady Cabstarleigh, in drinking nothing but (for her figure, of champagne course), found on her hall-table the other day a little poem from an in- peruulous admirer who had recently taken her out to dine, and tried to bend her off the wine-list by having a jug af water placed before her.
We were off that port at midnight | Britannia's largest butwork in a dense fog, with no possibility į of entering the harbour until the weather cleared.
The first result of such a re-
While moving slowly along, wait- fusal would be expulsion from ng for a clear, we were nailed by the Union of Students, carrying two London tugs. A naval officer in its train exclusion from tak-shouted:
-ing any university degree and -"Don't try. tu...get into Brest. It
this barring the student from has been occupied by the Hun." his chosen career.
We imprd back to Liverpool on
But impartial and informed one engine.
to
observers assure me that even
which In August 1040 I began trooping the small percentage.
in the Franconia round the Cape to may come unwillingly, have no Suez and other ports, helping to
which was they build up the fores complaints to make once reach the well-run camps, where withstand the fury of Rommel. life much resembles that in # I left the Franconia In Trinidad Territorial camp in England. on February 10, 1942, after having
or
the
Volunteers
10,000 miles under of the British steamed in her brigade were sent, out by two war conditions and carrying 30,000 clifferent organisations the troops. Bribish-Yugoslav Society, whose At Trinidad I got the cable which volunteers were practically all was to send me to the captalucy of near-Com- the Queen Mary, and eventual ap- Communists,
and I munists,
the National pointment as Commodore of
Cunard White Star Line. Union of Students.
NEXT WEEK The latter's volunteers in-1
.The Greatest Job That is that there is an "In- cluded quite a number of stout Brigade" of Tories as well as Labour Party
of My Life nothing ternational guerillas being trained which students in search of partakes in guerilla fighting on more sinister than an inexpen- the Yugoslavian and Atlantic sive, active and healthy holi-
day. borders of Greece.
as baseless.
I watched the singers, a de- tachment of "anti-Fascist Bos- nian Youth," marching with picks and shovels, preceded by huge red banners displaying the Communist hammer and sickle and the Yugoslav Soviet star.
They were marching back to their huts after a day's volun- the 170-mile to another teer labour on looking forward Was
Youth Railway which will break world cruise the following year.
nearly three weeks before the 1,000 years isolation But
up with war was declared we look on board Sarajevo and link it
the main Zagreb- large quantities of sandbags and Semac on was told to make certain our float-Belgrade-Sofia line to the north, ing pleasure beach was well stocked collected all with sand.
The youth of Yugoslavia is threw thenr
In New York, on August 27 1 got building this new iron highway wold to darken ship. Two hundred with the aid of student volun- I was promoted Commander painters were recruited from shore teers from many nations.
Six months and and the Franconia's white uppere 1918 R.N.R. in March
That story seems to have been works and black tipped red funnel 200 British given command of the des-
built up on the basis of the submerged uniter the coat of
of one group of grey that covered troyer Roebuck, patrolling and battleship
60.000 international 80-eniled HEARD
British including
Socialist students "brigades" which, convoying merchantmen until entire ship
The engine-rom skylight and the TODAY, there are
young people working on
British, are
shouldering their who found the massing of ex- the end of the war through the English Channel between Eddy- steering gear were sandbagged, and the new railway, the second to
all port-holes blacked out.
be constructed by this incans. spades, but not rifles, to build clusively Communist banners! and portraits in their huts; stone and Start Point; and
'Ten
percent are foreign this Youth Railway.
It is evident that the slightly oppressive. Lyme Regis.
volunteers, most, of course, but
bronzed, physically-fit youths I So they put up some Union We arrived at Boston on the day not, all, Communists.
We took on Britain declares war.
They started work on April saw today doing heavy railway Jacks and photographs of Mr for Galway and passengers 330
as to possible Communist reac-. Liverpool, but I was handed secret1 and plan to complete the rail construction work, thoroughly Attlee. After some hesitation
one-third of the line is now instructions to go to Ballfus, Nova way by November. More than enjoy their life...
There are abundant facilities tions, they added some of Mr for recreation, study and "cul- Devin, We were given Brand send-finished,
The experiment proved blood- frem Boston; every ship At Semila, where the longest tural activities," the latter, of
of IL strongly Com- less and entirely successful. blowing three long tunnel was completed recently, course,
Work.on last year's Youth: British brigade munist type,
Railway is calculated to have harbour bombs, which you threw by blasts for "Carewell and good luck" there was a
said nothing until 1 was 40 miles!
time numbered The heroes altered course which at onc
saved Yugoslavia .considerable hand if you got close enough to of Halifax, when I
and reade it known we were going 200,
instend of a submarine!.
Jn.
Foreign brigades work three GIGANTIC portraits of Tito, sums: the original credit for it
Stalin, Molotov and and weeks, with all found, and wind
other was £1,000,000 Com- £3,000,000 which it was esti
by paid construction bag full of secret up with ten days free holiday revered figures of the
in mated books, zigzag at white-walled Dubrovnik, on munist hierarchy, executed
I was hoping the Adriatic.
every conceivable medium, from labour would cost;
The 62,000 volunteers-i The British brigade is quar- coloured pebbles upwards, strike we had received tered close to those from Sean- the keynote and dominate every cluding foreign brigades-con- structed a 60-mile line linking ty sure we could do some good, That very day Six months later we were sup news of the sinking of the Athena dinavian countries-and to the camp.
Yugoslav students are all ex- up Brcko with the Banovici coal- plied with them in unlimited by it submarine, and this made the Greek brigade, some of whose
massé fields, in six months. passengers highly nervous, a te members have been alleged to pected to volunteer en
This was the maximum per- quantity
of affairs that did not help
take part in very different acti- for two months inbour. Towards the end of the war a
my job,
We organised
To refuse would obviously be missible since, Hiko the Sarajevo- boat vities on the Greek frontier- passenger stening apparatus was developed,"
im unwise in a land where overy Semac for an allegation which it is but it was not of much use, because drill and made preparations the thick traffic made it difficult to abandoning ship if torpedoed. Large possible to prove or disprove, single youthful mind is being through mountain country in In distinguish between the round made number of passengers were panicky
winter. by a U-boat and by the propellers throughout the voyage, and 1. my But one allegation, made in rightly moulded to uniform de- which all work is impossible in
self had little sleep,
eactionary newspapers outside votions and hatreds. of an ordinary ship.
It was a tricky job, because submarines were active and laying minefields. Many ships we convoyed were sunk, but my luck held and the Roebuck got through.
Soulia,
In my early days in this destroyer we had no anti-sub- off marine weapons beyond small the
Naval officers came aboard handed me
Two depth charges Later we had two depth documentignal charges, with instructions to dagiams, and codes, drop them only if we felt pret- to get an esport, but was
enrry on-alone.
in
tuiti to
me in
4
railway, it passes
Proves once again, I think, You can take a horse to the water,
But pot cannot make it drink.
TO RECAPTURE LOST SKILL
Britain has opened its first na- tional college of horology in an effort to regain pre-eminence in an art which the country lost a century Germany and age to Switzerland, America.
The school of horology-the art of Watches-1]1 making clocks and train executives and designers in a three-year preliminary course, a two- and a post- year advanced class graduate course designed to put Bri- fish clockmaking back into the ex- port trade.
"We are starting from scratch in competition with many old-establish- ed colleges in Switzerland and che- where," a Ministry of Education offi- cial said. "We have the most up- to-date equipment, much of it Swiss made."
DAVID LANGDON CARTOON
"Psst! Staggered, absenter, or evening soccer?
I
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