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EJF Records

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Living and working aboard

Service in the Far East during the 1930s was very different to the modern ships today. Sailors slept in hammocks in large messes below deck.

Before the advent of air conditioning aboard ship sailors would tackle the heat of the tropical climate by sleeping on deck. Records writes on Wednesday 8 May -

"Rained hard about 2 o'clock am time. Blew in from port side and most hands had to shift at once. Some of them rigged various screens so as to keep out the rain and prevent them from sleeping in the mess decks. Very stuffy and hot. Wake up in the morning and have a hard job to open your eyes, and not a bit refreshed due to the air. It is known as sleeping in Charlie Chang's den. I put a rain coat over myself and stuck the rain showers out until after 4 o'clock."

He records an attempt to sleep inside on the mess deck, and its effects, just four days later -

"I tried sleeping down below last night. I had the middle. I had no sleep until after 4 o'clock. Sweat rash itched like the devil and as I got into my hammock after the periodic spasms, up ashes, boat muster, close B and C doors, the mattress was wet with cold sweat from my body. It is only since the rainy weather has set in, that the crew have had sweat rash. Very few have not got it."

Holystoning - cleaning the decks with a tablet of sandstone. (RNM)

Records had a variety of jobs on board and seems to have been a fiesty character. In his diary for Saturday 9 March 1935 Records accounts an incident with Petty Officer Springett whilst 'holy stoning' the decks -

'The day started with holy stoning. Wouldn't have been so bad if PO Springett hadn't wanted to know where I had been when I departed as soon as hands fell out for a cup of tea. Made me feel up the pole [angry]. I got on my hands and knees and rubbed away very slow especially when he tried to give me gee ups in the bullying way of his... As I went over the gangway when we had finished, to scrub the boat out, the Ch(ief) Buffer came up to me and said "It has come to my notice that you were not doing your best on the holy stones this morning. What was the reason?" I thought carefully. My reply was that getting on my knees made me sick, eyes ached, head went queer, and my knees ached. He then started "Now you're an AB (Able Seaman) passed for LS (Leading Seaman)..." I cut him off there and told him it was a bake on this ship. I entirely disagree with everything he said and let him know it...'

Their argument did not stop there, as Records accounts -

'As I stood in the skiff later Buffer sang out "Lets have a look at that loom". I stood in the bows and glanced down and saw the loom of a brand new oar. I held that up thinking it might be marked or something. The Buffer "Not that. Don't you know what a loom is?" I mimicked a boy at Shotley with a query "No Chief". All he could think of was "It's about time you did." I looked towards the stern and saw the broken loom of an oar. That I immediately passed to the gangway and sang out loud enough for him to hear. "Give this to the overfed pig up there." If looks could kill.'

Related External Links

• HMS London