You are right about the nostalgia Ravi! We went right around the Indian
Ocean, Mauritius, Seychelles. East Africa, Persian gulf as far as Basra,
'showing the flag'. Kuwait was a small walled city in those days and half
the population turned out to see us. Then Karachi, Bombay, Colombo Madras,
Rangoon, Singapore and back to Trincomalee. Didn't see much of Singapore as
we went into dry dock and most of my time was spent on the bottom of the
dock, checking propellers and underwater parts.
But I really liked Trincomalee. We were moored in line with the entrance
channel where there were 5 or six flashing buoys more or less in a line.
They all flashed different periods and as we slept on our camp beds on the
quarterdeck you could watch them and after 5/10 minutes there would come a
time when all the flashes came at the same instant. then the pattern broke
up and if you could stay awake you could wait another 10 mins for the next
time they synchronised.
We would take the ships whaler and go for a weekend picnic on 'Sober Island'
which was uninhabited at the time.
Our white tropical kit went to a local laundry and if you went into 'town'
you passed a small lake where you could see your shirts being bashed against
a rock to clean them. We had wondered why the shoulders always wore out
first...
There was a guy in the town who was selling a fine pair of ebony elephants
about 2' high. Every time I passed him i asked the price and it was always
lower. Just as they were becoming affordable to a young officer we were
called away at short notice so i never got them . Still have a smaller set
however. Shame such a lovely place is a war zone now.
Spent some time in Colombo later on selling engines to the railways, but
never got back to Trincomalee.
Maybe one day...
Edgar

wrote in message
ups.com...

Edgar wrote:
Hi Ravi! I was so pleased to read your post.
So it is still the 'Royal' Madras YC.- that is nice because now that you
guys are independent I thought you would have done away with the
'Royal'
prefix!
I visited the Royal Madras YC in 1946 as an engineering officer on the
10000
ton cruiser HMS Glasgow which at the time was engaged in 'showing the
flag'
around British territories around the Indian Ocean, following the end of
the
war.
We would arrive and lay on a party aboard for local dignitaries and
their
families. All took place on the quarterdeck under the shadow of the 6"
guns.
The Royal Marine band would be playing during the evening.
. The stern windlass was converted into a roundabout for the kids.
Our ship was very smart because as soon as the war in the Far East
was
over we got rid off the grey and repainted her in the pre-war East
Indies
fleet colours, white hull and yellow funnels. We floodlit her at night
too.
Looked really good.
I have a photo of myself and a friend sitting on a jetty in Madras
watching
a turtle swimming in the water.
We were based in Trincomalee and that is another place I would love to
return to, but sadly it is a war zone at present
Regards
Edgar


Nice post Edgar. I can detect overflowing nostalgia! There's a cure.
Come on over. And I can promise you that at RMYC you can still find
excellent hospitality! And Madras is certainly not war zone.
Trincomalee is. But that is another country!

And I would love to see that photograph you have mentioned. And others
too, of this parts, if you have.

Rgds
Ravi