Dr. Kingsley Heendeniya, a good friend and classmate of mine at Ananda College had written about his first visit to England by steamer 50 years ago, in the Sunday Times of October 21. This brought back memories of my own first visit to England in 1955. All such travel was in ocean liners at that [...]

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A voyage of memories aboard the P&O Liner Strathmore

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Dr. Kingsley Heendeniya, a good friend and classmate of mine at Ananda College had written about his first visit to England by steamer 50 years ago, in the Sunday Times of October 21.

This brought back memories of my own first visit to England in 1955. All such travel was in ocean liners at that time, most of which had five star comforts and at a fraction of the costs of today. My own voyage was aboard the P&O Liner Strathmore. The cost of the trip was less than Rs. 1000.

There was much expectancy about going abroad, but it was sad to leave kith and kin behind – a feeling I had not experienced before. It was the saddest of sights when the lights of Ceylon disappeared behind the horizon and it was with mixed feelings that we went into our cabins that night.

The ship was tidy and the food was excellent.Within a few days most of us were looking forward to meal times as we were served a range of foods of five star level.

There was a noticeboard on deck on which extensive notes of the places we would be passing on the voyage was posted and these were avidly read by the passengers.

On the first morning out of Colombo, we saw fishermen from India and Pakistan in canoes very much like those of our own fishermen. These fishermen were very far out at sea and the canoes appeared so fragile. It made me realise the perils they faced to earn a hand-to-mouth existence. They however, waved to us from the distance and appeared to be taking their difficult work in the stride.

We passed places we had never heard of before in far-off distant lands. One evening we saw the the lone lights of the lighthouse at Cape Guardifui on the tip of the Horn of Africa and it appeared to be a very lonely place indeed.

The only stretch on which we were uncomfortable was when we entered the Red Sea where the temperature was in the high 30s. Most of the passengers remained on deck as long as they could, because the cabins were not airconditioned. We passed the Sinai desert and later sailed through the Suez Canal where Egyptians waved to those who were brownskinned. I later came to know that this gesture was in appreciation of Mr. SWRD Bandaranaike who stood by Egypt during the Suez crisis.

The ship anchored for between 12 to 24 hours at each port and this gave passengers the opportunity to go ashore and see much of these port cities as if on ‘holiday’and come back to the ship for 5 star meals.

In Karachi we travelled in the city for more than ten hours in a three-wheeler taxi. We had no Pakistani money and pounds were of little interest to the poor taxi driver. We had to pay him with a bottle of whiskey which he very gladly accepted.
In Bombay we had rides in carts drawn by horses and were entertained to dancing shows by beautifully dressed girls.

In Aden, we began to feel the heat of the Middle East but enjoyed the duty free prices of many goods which were very much out of our reach in Colombo. I remember buying a Rolleiflex for just 20 pounds. I remember this particular purchase because there was a sudden alarm that went around the shop that a camera was missing. We returned to the ship but one of the Ceylonese passengers who went out shopping with us was missing during the return trip. After dinner we inquired why he was missing and told him of the missing camera episode.

To our surprise he confessed that it was he who had taken the camera.We wanted to see the camera but he told us that he had washed it to get rid of the Aden dust and had stored it to be taken out only in England! We all had a good laugh that day. Years later the person in question was a senior Consultant in Ceylon!

Marseilles and Naples were our first European cities and we noticed the orderliness and the smell of perfume in the air. We spent a long time admiring the sculptures that adorned both these cities but were in for a rude shock when we ordered some snacks in a city restaurant and were charged a fortune. We learnt later that we had ordered one of the most expensive items on the menu without knowing what it was.

We went through the Straits of Messina and saw the volcano Stromboli which was active at that time. In Gibraltar, I was struck by its close resemblance to the Trincomalee Dockyard.

We reached England in about 21 days and what I remember most of the England of 1955 was the attitude of the people. Prices were quite cheap and affordable. A room was about 2s 6d per week and a week’s provisions for one or two persons would cost less than 4 pounds. It is difficult to imagine that such prices prevailed at any time within our memory.

It was also noticeable that there were very few new cars on the streets because I think, new cars were all exported to settle Britain’s war debt.

I was attached to Metropolitan Vickers Electrical Co. Ltd in Manchester, one of the largest firms in England manufacturing electrical gear for all voltages. The work force was about 92,000. Everything was subsidised for the staff. A three-course lunch was one pound fifty pence (One Pound= Rs 13.33).

The food was of a high standard and it was at this cafeteria that I first came to know of dishes such as Lancashire Hotpot, Irish Stew etc. Although I have tasted these dishes many times subsequently, these have never tasted like at Metro Vickers! There is no doubt that the cooks at MV were experts at their game.

Regulations inside the workshops were strict. It was forbidden to read newspapers in the workshops or to sit while at work. Some enterprising lads would read them in the toilets. The best English newspapers including the ‘Manchester Guardian’ were available in the toilets. The walls of the toilets were covered with the most exquisite graffiti drawn by splendid artists who were masters at drawing the human form in all its variety and detail. They could have earned much more than at MV had they branched off to a field more connected with their abilities. Although the drawings were pornographic by definition, there was always a humourous side to them which made them different. One such rhyme I remember ran as follows:

“ If you want a cool surprise, pull the chain before you rise”.

Then there were two lines which had to be answered.

“ How long will it take an elephant to kick a disprin around an ice rink?”

Within two days someone replied

‘As long as it would take you to pick your nose with a boxing glove on”

A week before Christmas the walls were all clean and bare with only one bold line.

“We wish all our readers the best for Christmas and the New Year”.

-Octagenarian –ex CEB




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