| Synopsis: |
"Shipshape and Bristol Fashion" is the story of the ship Porlock Bay in which Roger Smith served as an able seaman for one and a half years in the immediate post war period. During this commission the boat travelled to Bermuda, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, Newfoundland, Quebec and Texas, enabling the young Smith, who came from land-locked Warwickshire, to see some of the most beautiful places in the world and meet some extremely interesting people. His experiences onboard stayed with him throughout his life and led him to form an association for the ship's alumni, whose members meet every year for a get-together. Interestingly, the ship was sold to the Finnish navy in the 1960s and re-named Matti Kurki so now the two associations meet up together to discuss life on board their old ship. Smith has fond memories of his seagoing days and so has written this account as a legacy of that time.They headed first for the West Indies and docked at Bermuda, which, although a beautiful place, was not to be enjoyed by Smith and his colleagues as they soon found that their very low wages of 15 pence a day would not go far in this millionaire's playground.Their entertainments, therefore, were confined to the ship's canteen and the occasional stay ashore at Aggie's boarding house, which didn't provide a great deal more comfort than the ship's mess. Having just got used to the tropical weather, Smith was concerned to discover the ship was now cruising to Newfoundland, Canada and all the sailors on board were appreciative of the knitted hats and scarves that the ladies of Porlock, the town after which the ship was named, sent religiously to keep the crew warm. This wasn't the only act of kindness bestowed upon the young sailors - whenever the ship docked, British residents would greet the ship and offer the young matelots tea at their houses, making the sailors feel very welcome.On arriving at Newfoundland, two such 'up-homers' accosted Smith and a friend and invited them back for tea and cakes, impressing such kindness upon him that he corresponded with them for forty five years until their deaths, and remains in contact with their daughter to this day. Such was the good reputation of the British navy at the time.From Newfoundland they sailed on to Quebec, where they found that the money situation was by no means improved, in that six week's pay would not suffice for two nights' bed and breakfast at a chateau and so had to make do with the YMCA instead. The situation was very different for the American sailors who were on a much higher rate of pay, but there was generally little animosity between the two navies. The Autumnal cruise over, Porlock Bay returned to Bermuda for Christmas and Smith was in for a treat.As the most junior rating he was entitled to be captain for the day, according to Navy customs, and so was loaned the captain's second-best suit, complete with the ribbon of Distinguished Service Cross, and Jubilee and Coronation medals. This he wore to accompany the captain on his rounds, during which he was given 'sippers' of the crew's drinks, and ended the day a little the worse for wear!However, life on board ship was not all fun and games and Smith often found himself doing the most boring jobs imaginable, including night watch, polishing and scrubbing, and the almost endless task of repainting the ship's sides, on one memorable occasion whilst several sharks were swimming just feet below!Smith was eventually de-mobbed the following year on New Year's Eve, and celebrated his homecoming surrounded by his family. Although civilian life took a little while to get used to, Smith eventually settled into a career in town planning and duly got married. He never forgot his old ship however, and went to visit it in Finland in 1975 where it had recently been de-commissioned from the Finnish Navy, and was now re-named Matti Kurki. He was very sad to learn that the ship was due to be scrapped and decided to form an association for his old shipmates, which proved very popular.In time they joined up with the Matti Kurki association and the two groups meet annually to relive old memories and discuss old times.The author obviously has a marvellous memory for he recounts his time at sea in vivid detail, remembering names, places and events with unerring accuracy and in great lyrical style. Rather than being lost to history, the author has ensured that Porlock Bay will be remembered not only by those who served on her but by anyone who reads this account of his experiences, and considering there are two joint associations dedicated to her memory, this will be a fairly large number. Says the author at the end of his account, "Porlock Bay may have been just one of a bunch of wartime frigates but no other ship has served in two navies and formed an association in each country comprising the respective ship's companies. In that we feel justified in saying that we, Porlock Bay veterans and Matti Kurki veterans, are unique, shipshape and Bristol Fashion." |