and was continually doing sketches with our meagre paper and coloured pencils. When we had an opportunity to be alone in our room, she would cuddle up to me for warmth from the cold spring air under my quilt and was soon encouraging me to play with her breasts and other naughty places, and she did likewise. This went on unnoticed for a couple of weeks or so, and my head would swim with excitement during our playful pettings and romps, until one day we were caught at it, and there was a great furore between the two Mothers. Mine was rather unperturbed as she was broad minded and looked upon it as part of normal growing up, but Mrs Claire Yates who was a rather tall gaunt lady was adamant that I was now far too old for the women’s section, and demanded to see Captain Stratford about having me transferred to the men’s area. He in turn saw the Commandant and eventually they all agreed that Graham and I would both have to go over to the men’s side, where we would share a room with the Master of the Greek ship Capt. Iannis. As a special dispensation, on account of our young age, we would both be allowed back daily to visit our Mothers, a privilege denied to all the other married men.
Our new quarters were in a similar sized small room on the front of the upper floor over the Guards quarters, and upon entering it for the first time I was immediately struck by footprints that were plastered all over the ceiling, which gave the impression that someone had been dancing upside down, but. I was told that they were made by one of the previous occupants swatting mosquitoes with his slipper whilst in a frenzy! The Banksian roses were all in flower outside the room with bunches of double yellow blossom hanging over the window sills and sides, which added a nice touch.
The Greek Captain whom Graham and I shared a room with, had been rejected by all the other crew who were all fanatical Communists, and who daily prayed for the revolution to sweep into Greece with the advancing Red Army. The Captain in contrast was a right wing royalist who threatened to have his whole crew prosecuted for mutiny after the war, and spent his time cursing them at every available moment. They mostly came from the Islands of Samos and Lesbos and a couple of years later, when we heard that the British had landed in Samos, they were utterly dejected that we had beaten the Russians in saving Greece from the Germans for the free world.
Life on the men’s side was in complete contrast to the women’s. There was a general quietness and a peaceful harmony everywhere. The men spoke in soft tones rarely if ever raising voices apart from the Greeks who would shout and gesticulate at each other across their large room. There were all sorts of activities going on to help pass the time. There were classes by experts in such fields as Spanish, Malay, History etc. I was immediately enrolled to commence some daily studies in various subjects, although apart from History and Geography I cannot say I can ever remember learning that much from them. The Geordie seamen in their large room took us both under their wing, and we would play cards, chess dominoes etc. Over the following months I came to learn by heart all the Tyneside songs such as Bladen Races, and Phil the Fluters Ball as well as a lot of Irish Republican ones such “The Wearing o’the Green” plus a lot of rude pub ditties.
There was a multitude of different races and nationalities, about 20 Greeks, a Somali, four Cape Coloureds, two Arabs, about six Chinese, Australians and British. There was even a Spaniard there, and when I asked him why he a neutral allowed himself to be in the camp, he replied that being a Communist if he were to declare himself , he would be shot by the Germans. So it was better to keep quiet, put up with the conditions, and being an experienced prisoner who knew the ropes and how to lie