# Share Christmas Stories



## phdad (Sep 5, 2019)

I know that Christmas has passed and we have probably all eaten and drank to excess and are looking to New Years eve. 

However, as I sat in my favorite chair Christmas evening I began to reminisce about Christmases long ago. Many spent while deployed to foreign lands and either standing watch on board ship or at a duty station. 

I began to wonder how you other Radio Officers (Merchant Marine) and Radiomen (USCG/USN) spent some of your Christmases away from home and family. 

I hope that you will share your stories with us all.

Thanks and Happy Holidays, USCG RM1 - Kennedy


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## Harry Nicholson (Oct 11, 2005)

25 Dec 1958 Brocklebank's ss Mawana arrives Visakhapatnam, India, to load manganese ore. Anchored off for Xmas day. Watches maintained. Closest structure to us is the breakwater constructed from scuttled Jap warships. Visakh is under its usual brown smog. We are close enough to smell the dung fires.
My boss, 1st r/o Don Butterworth, and Capt Eggleston take their usual afternoon constitutional together on the boat deck. Not such a thumping pace today -- the gin does slow a chap.
Don't recall the dinner -- but it would have been splendid.


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## IAN M (Jan 17, 2009)

EXTRACTED FROM MY BOOK, VIA SUEZ

CHRISTMAS 1949

It was a somewhat wild night when we arrived off Colombo at midnight on Christmas Eve and I leaned on the boat deck rail, enjoying the spectacle of the lighted town, as we were tossed about while waiting for the pilot to board. It was 1.30am before he had us tied up to buoys in the harbour and I remained up in case port officials appeared. None did, but, as Dr Moloney was ill, I was dug out of my bunk at 7am to receive the port doctor. When the Agent arrived shortly before breakfast, I received Christmas Cards and letters. And, welcome news for all of us, was that the self-insured Company was paying the annual Christmas bonus of one month's basic salary after a year of successful trading without mishap. 

No loading was done that day, but it was a busy one for the Catering Department and the ship was in festive mood. We dressed in our No. 10's (white patrol jackets and long trousers) while the lady passengers wore evening dress and the men sported ***merbunds. Our passengers were Mr and Mrs Killick and their baby daughter (from Yokohama), Captain Donaldson, RN and his wife, four female German missionaries and one female Danish missionary (from Hong Kong), Mr and Mrs Clark and their children and Commander Wroughton, RN (from Singapore).

The evening's festivities began at 6pm with a punch party in the passengers' lounge thrown by Captain and Mrs Donaldson and Mr and Mrs Killick. The punch, made with milk, eggs and brandy, tasted excellent and the silver bowl was emptied before we descended to the saloon, hung with decorations, for dinner. 

The menu card was a specially printed, folded, one and inside read as follows:

MENU

Grape Fruit Maraschino
Cocktail Hors d'oeuvre, Varies
Clear Turtle Potage Marquise
Steamed Halibut, Mayonnaise
Calf's Sweetbreads with Champignon
Sirloin & Ribs of Beef, Hossoise, Yorkshire Fritters
Fresh Peas Brussels Sprouts Boiled Rice
Creamed, Straw & Boiled Potatoes
Braised Turkey, Cranberry Sauce
Baked Smoked Ham & Spinach
Salads in Season
Plum Pudding, Brandy Sauce Yule Log
Strawberry Ices
Christmas Cake Mince Pies
Devilled Chicken Livers
Dessert Coffee
Cold Buffet
Roast Lamb Ox Tongue

We were all provided with paper hats, smiling stewards carried in flaming plum puddings, wine flowed and there was a big cigar for anyone who wanted one. I smoked mine and Dick found this amusing as, like him, I was a non-smoker. 

Towards the end of the meal, a steward presented me with 'the Captain's compliments' and said that Captain MacTavish wanted to speak to me. And, when I went across to his table, Captain MacTavish said that we'd be going to the passengers' lounge to hear the King's(George VI) Christmas Day Message to the Commonwealth and asked me to tune it in on the radiogram. I said I would although I had never before used the set and didn't know the appropriate short-wave frequency. When I returned to my table and voiced my ignorance of the short-wave frequency, I think it was Gerry who said, "Won't Radio Ceylon broadcast the King's speech?" I hadn't thought of this, but believed that he was likely to be right so that I tuned into the local station. All, except the engineers and Dick, who was not given to parties and went to bed, repaired to the lounge upstairs and stood listening to the radio, but nobody else was aware of the relief I experienced when the National Anthem, heralding the King's Speech, was played! When the Speech ended, Captain MacTavish proposed the toast to the King. 

The ritual over, we chatted to the passengers and Mr Rankin, Gerry and I returned their hospitality by providing them with drinks. Captain Donaldson was a tall, strong-looking, balding man, who appeared to be in his fifties. He had been the Naval Attaché to the British Embassy in Nanking during the Amethyst crisis and Lieut. Commander Kerans, who took command of the ship and brought her out of the Yangtze, had been his assistant. He was an easy man to talk to and, although Gerry and I spent a couple of hours in his company, the Amethyst was not mentioned. 

I left the passengers' lounge to join the engineers who were conducting their own riotous celebrations in the smoke room. With their patrol jackets open and bottles strewn on tables and in buckets on the floor, they were bawling their heads off. I contributed by playing my mouth organ and remained for about an hour before heading for my bunk next door. 

There were no docking facilities in Colombo. All ships lay within about half a mile of the Passenger Jetty and the return fare, by motor launch, was Rs2 (3/-/15p). Dick and I went ashore on Boxing Day and took a taxi to Mount Lavinia, seven miles to the south of the town. And as we made our way to seats on the terrace of the *Grand Hotel, which was busy due to a passenger ship being in port, we were just as surprised to see Captain MacTavish, in the company of some of our passengers, as he was to see us. It was a lovely day and very pleasant to sit on the terrace, by the beautiful beach and waving palm trees. On our way back to Colombo, we had the taxi driver take us to a Buddhist temple, but, when a horde of Buddhist monks, clad in their saffron coloured robes, approached the taxi, we hurriedly told the driver to drive on. *The 'rate per day per person inclusive' at the Grand Hotel was Rs17.50 to Rs21.00 (£1.31p to £1.57½p) and, at a later date, the Hotel and beach were used as a set in the film "The Bridge On The River Kwai".


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## Varley (Oct 1, 2006)

First trip Asialiner. Up foremast in Geenock dismounting Typhon. John Benn below shouting encouragement and things like job and knock!

Other(s) on Eurofreighter changing GG to Rab Houston encouraging the company in carol singing. In Rotterdam where the old man asked me (ie not my Junior) to 'take the weather forecast'. We stayed alongside until comfortably after the main meal due to the forecast (although I did not see anything in it to warrant that delay) Menu from '78 attached. What's the betting that for 77 was the same with too many copies taken?


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## IAN M (Jan 17, 2009)

Wot? No experiences or even comments?


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## Baulkham Hills (Jul 11, 2008)

One Christmas I remember well was on a very old Japanese built ro/ro owned by a Mexican company and will nearly all Mexican crew. The ship was anchored off Valparaiso expecting to dock on Boxing day. We had a fantastic Dinner with all the trimmings in the Mexican style on Christmas Eve which I understand is the big Christmas occasion. Then after suddenly we were ordered to go alongside. I never seen a ship crew disappear so quickly ashore, most did not get back to the ship until it was ready to sail a few days later including the officers and the stewards, for the few Europeans onboard it was self service in the galley. When the crew started to come back it was a sight to see, the Chief Stewards face was rearranged and the rest of the crew were not much better.
Apart from that,I was only relieving for a short time on that ship but I must say it was great. The run from Acapulco to Valpo with dozens of ports in between. 
In later years I sailed with mostly middle eastern and Pakistani crew sometimes being the only non muslin onboard but the stewards always decorated the saloon and the galley produced a good Christmas meal minus the ham and of course the booze and generally made a great effort which I really appreciated.


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