Bill's Memories: Chapter 5 -Monkeys and America.

We got back to the ship and was told we would be sailing first light. They filled the dry dock with water and towed us out with tugs. It was not until we were well out of port that we knew where we were going. Calcutta again, Geez! The asshole again. We arrived there after ten days at sea, still the same as far as mosquitoes, fireflies and the pong. It was different this time, as we loaded with bales of material and took on 500 passengers. Little did I know until they came aboard!! They were 500 Rhesus monkeys going to the labs for infantile paralysis research. Then two ton of sweet potatoes to feed them on. The monkeys came on in 8 cages, there was an extra big one who we later named Kong. After loading, the ship’s butcher, who was not afraid of anything, was put in charge of feeding them and looking after them. I thought better him than me. They were going to America, but we were going to Australia first, via Ceylon. We had loaded with stores and water and then we were off on our way over 2,000 miles. No mishaps then with the monkeys and each day I helped to chop up some sweet potatoes and feed them if I was off watch. In fact all the lads helped out. And they got to know feeding time. They would howl and scream.
It took us a couple of weeks to reach Freemantle, North West Australia. We were only there four days. We unloaded the bales of material and they were for making army uniforms I was told. We had leave one night only, for a beer or two. They were very rough in language terms, and they would greet their wives “What yer having yer old cow?” or us “G’day, it’s nice seeing you Poms.” The beer was ice cold and tasted good and served in schooners, a tall slim glass. It was nice sailing and the further I went the better I liked it. We left there for Panama and when we were in the Australian Bight, where currents meet, the ship was tossed and buffeted. It made some sick, but not me. One of the monkeys’ cages broke in the buffeting and some of them broke free and were all over the place. We caught what we could, about ten, the rest of them were swept over the side. One went up the mainmast and would not come down till hunger got the better of it. Me and the ships’ joiner knocked the cage back together and lashed them securely again. Then the butcher put the others back that we had caught and said, “Leave the one up the mast to me.” He started cutting up some sweet potatoes so it could see him, it came down. He had left a little bit on one side so it could see it, it grabbed the bit of spud and in a flash Butch had a net over it. It squealed blue murder but it was back in the cage again. Everything returned to normal and we were making good headway. After a week or so we were on the international date line where time stands still. As true as I am writing, we went to bed at Tuesday night and woke up Tuesday morning. It was getting colder now and ice floes were passing us as we ploughed through them for we were near Cape Horn, South America and still some way to go to reach Panama. Eventually we reached there and it was getting warm again. It was beautiful when we started going through the canal. Roughly 50 miles long and we had an American navigator on board. We got to the lock gates and went in. the lock gates then closed and then filled with water to lift us up to the next level. This happened all the way through to the Atlantic Ocean at Colon. The next stop was at Cuba and we anchored in Guantanemo Bay, just off the main coast. I fancied going to Havana but we could not get leave. So we did the next best thing. Fishing with hand lines for Spanish mackerel and jack fish. The ship’s cook and others joined in. everyone was catching fish. We soon filled two great stainless steel big buckets. The cook said its fish for supper tonight. I carried on and two more, when I was pulling a fish to the surface. A barracuda grabbed my fish, pulled so hard it trapped my finger, on the rail, that the line went through the fingernail. I had to go the sick bay and have my finger stitched. After that I wore some thick gloves and carried on fishing. I enjoyed it that much. The fish were lovely with some chips the cook had fried. Then on we went to Baltimore, Maryland where I was to part Company with everyone. The monkeys caused a great stir and we broke a record by bringing the most monkeys to survive such a journey. Out of a total of 500 monkeys, 369 reached there. Kong, we lost him and the others with pneumonia but lab people were elated that we had not lost more. Then the shore Commander came aboard. We heard that someone was to do swap with someone ashore. I never realised it was to be me.

This was June 1943 and I had been out 13 months on this trip and we were all due home leave. A message was sent down to me to go and see the skipper. I went along and was introduced to Commander Short, who shook hands and asked if I would like a shore duty for a spell. You dare not say no really. After I said goodbye to all my mates, my gear was loaded on a Jeep. Off I went wondering what sort of job it entailed and where in the hell was I going to stay? I was booked in at the Biltmore hotel in room 310 and that was to be my billet for the next six months. I got to know the desk clerk well, a guy named Charles Eck. He was a nice bloke and always asked what time would I like calling in a morning. I told him 7:30am. regular. The bar downstairs opened at 7 am. and closed at 12pm. and two blokes ran it in shifts. I was to get to know them both well too. I must say I did not like it at first but after a while I got into a routine. I was in my room the very first morning when my telephone rang. It was the desk clerk who said ”There’s a guy in the lounge who would like a few words.” I went down and was introduced to him. He was a reporter and wanted to know about the monkeys we had brought back. He was doing a programme about them. At first he said he was from the newspaper, The Baltimore Sun, a daily. I told him all about them and how a cage broke loose, off Australia and what we had lost en route and of the record number we had brought back. He was pleased and left me 20 dollars(£5) saying it would be in a column next morning. Sure enough I bought The Sun and the cartoonist had hyped it up drawing a ship with monkeys loose all over.
There was a Marine in the hotel doing a similar job to mine. The job I had, was to go aboard British, Dutch and French ships that came into port and if they were going into dry dock for repairs I would have to take all their ammunition off and place it back when they came out. It was stored on Fort Carrol in the Chesapeake Bay. I liked the job at first as it was summer and it was nice sailing round the Bay in a launch and I could get some cheap cigs off them for half the price ashore. Each morning I had to go to the office and get my report and what ship to go aboard, and some of them thought I had a cushy number. When Charles (the desk) used to give me my key at teatime, you could bet there would be an invitation from someone, in my pigeonhole where my room key was, to go to a party or tea somewhere. I could hardly go into the bar without someone asking me to join their table. I had a good time in Pimlico where they kept racehorses and showed me round the stables, then later a party. After they got me a taxi back and paid for it. I could go on and on, if I had gone to all the invites I would have been a raving alcoholic. I got one invitation to go for Thanksgiving dinner to the editor’s home of the Baltimore Sun and I took the old Marine with me. They sent a taxi for us and when we arrived we started off chatting and drinking cocktails and when dinner was served a great turkey was brought in. they asked us what sort of meat would we like. I said white, so I knew I’d get breast! The Marine said I’ll have the parson’s nose!! And they knew what it was and cut it and handed it to him. His face dropped. They had heard about it anyhow as they had had British guests before. They gave him some more meat and then drinks were served. It was a lovely meal. We left in a taxi back to the Biltmore hotel and kip.

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