David Cole Recalls- ss Canberra

FIRST TRIP AS HOSPITAL ATTENDANT-AGAINST ALL ODDS
I had wanted to go to sea ever since I was 5 years old. As I grew older, this turned into an obsession. We lived on the south coast of the Isle of Wight near to St Catherine’s point where passenger ships passed fairly close inbound or outbound from Southampton. I sat for hours in our garden watching them. And every week as regular as clockwork, a Union Castle liner would pass by. You could set your watch to them. When I reached 15, my father took me over to Southampton to join the merchant navy. If successful, I would have gone to sea school at Gravesend before joining one of the companies as a Bell Boy. The date was Friday 2nd June 1961 the day Canberra sailed on her maiden voyage. Canberra being new and a totally different design became an instant favourite. Sadly however, I failed to join my beloved merchant navy having set my heart on it for so many years. I was told that I was too frail and thin to go to sea at that stage, and I did badly on an IQ test. It was suggested I fill out a bit and try again when older by going back with a trade. I was working on a farm at the time so learning a trade needed at sea seemed impossible. As we sailed home on the Red Funnel ferry to Cowes, we followed Canberra down Southampton Water bound for Sydney. Tears were rolling down my face knowing that I would almost certainly never work on a great ship like this. My father was just as gutted knowing how much it meant to me although he was also relieved at the same time. I then began to daydream that I was aboard Canberra and actually steering her. A few years later after my father died I emigrated. I went to New Zealand on the Northern Star as a passenger. This was a great moment for me because it was my first time on a passenger liner mending some of my earlier hurt. My aim was to work on a farm because farming was the only job I knew. On arriving in Auckland, I got a temporary job in a geriatric hospital while sorting myself out. Unbeknown to me at the time, this was the start of a medial career. Having heard that P&O had Hospital Attendants, I returned home in the summer of 1971 on the Iberia finding out all I could about the job while on board. On arriving home, I wrote to P&O who replied straight away. I was told to meet the Medical Superintendent, Dr Tom Poole on Chusan in Southampton docks on Friday 13th August 1971. After the meeting I was sent to head office in London for a medical. From there, I joined the merchant navy, the seaman’s union and then P&O officially. Friday the 13th was certainly lucky for me because on 17th August 1971, I was sent to my first ship with view to sailing because Colin the resident Hospital Attendant was sick. To my absolute joy, it was Canberra. Having been told Colin would not be returning, I sailed on Canberra to Australia as her new Hospital Attendant on 22nd August 1971. I was in charge of the Crew & Isolation Hospital on C Deck Aft which had it’s own deck. My cabin was also within the hospital. Standing on my hospital deck as we sailed down Southampton Water, the Red Funnel ferry was behind us as it was 10 years earlier. Tears were running down my face again. This time they were tears of joy, but they were also tears of sadness because my father didn’t live to witness the greatest day of my life. I left Canberra in January 1973 after her Christmas cruise and final line voyage to get married. In June of that year, I joined Arcadia. But having been in the seaman’s hospital at Greenwich after a crew change from Arcadia in May 1974 to have my wisdom teeth out, I did trips on Oriana and Canberra to sort their medical records out before returning to Arcadia in Sydney in October 1974. While on Canberra having completed my steering ticket on Arcadia, I asked if I could steer her at least some of the way down Southampton Water having explained what happened in 1961. My wish was granted. After all, I was qualified to steer the ship. Therefore, 13 years on my daydream was complete. It also meant that 13 had become my lucky number. I left the merchant navy in 1975 on the request of my wife. But although my time at sea was short, it was the happiest years of my life. I served on the line voyages at first. Indeed, after our final line voyage arriving at Southampton in December 1972, her master, captain Wally Vickers told us that Canberra had ceased to be a liner, and would become a full time cruise ship. Luckily, in those days at least, cruising on the former liners was the same regarding life below decks. That special life along with our own language was exactly the same. Not many people shore side would known what a Peak Boy was(crew cabin steward), Dhobi Wallah(laundry steward), Og Whalla(Pakistani greaser), and Subs(pay advance)plus loads of other words. A few years ago I saw a programme on the BBC about life aboard a cruise ship. Language had changed completely. It was more like holiday camp lingo than seafaring talk. And the ship itself suffered calling bulkheads walls and deck heads ceilings etc. These were not the same type of crew of my era. They were entertainers more at home on the stage shore side complete with language than aboard a ship. As Hospital Attendant, I looked after crew in the crew section of my hospital, passengers in the isolation section, and various other medical matters around the ship. One of my many jobs was in charge of the stretcher party made up of the U Gang. This included taking bodies of passengers or crew who died to my hospital where the surgeon and I performed an autopsy on my hospital deck. A Safety Leading Hand would then sew the body into canvass before being buried at sea. I had to arrange the funeral. The captain took the service attended by senior officers and any relatives. I then dressed in full uniform. Medical crew came under the deck department, so I was a petty officer. One of the Coxswains (Bosun when I first joined Canberra) helped me cast the body to the deep on the captain’s instructions. This always took place at 2200 with the ship slowing down. Although at sea for only a short time I achieved a lot having passed my boat and steering ticket, and having my own lifeboat on Arcadia which I was in charge of at boat drill, and coxswain of in ports where we had to anchor. I hope that my experience brings back memories to those who have been to sea especially during the line voyage era. Modern cruise ships may be more luxurious, but these floating holiday camps will never have the soul and character of the ships we sailed on or the same type of crew. Ships like Canberra may have gone, but their memory will never die as long as crew of my era are alive. David Cole.

CANBERRA off Athens-1972 CANBERRA at Yokohama, Japan. 1971 CANBERRA- Postcard of her Final Year, 1997   CANBERRA -Anchored off Portoferraio, Elba CANBERRA - off Cowes, Isle of Wight. CANBERRA-Christmas menu 1972.   Canberra- her Christmas menu of 1972. This cruise was a disaster. My boss the surgeon died, salt water was pumped into the drinking water, and we had to divert to Port Everglades for water. This meant we had to bury the surgeon at sea against his wishes because the American's would not let us in with his body on board. He wanted to be buried on the island of Madeira which ironically was our next port of call on our way home. The Labour politician Lord George Brown was on board causing mayhem with drunken behaviour on the captains table etc. I also caught him pinning a notice to the hospital door asking passengers to complain. I personally asked him to remove it. My claim to fame!!!.