Booming memories

By Ayesha R. Rafiq

It takes a brave man to leave his family and a permanent, pensionable job and join the Navy instead. But it was 1944, the time of the Second World War, and the sight of the British battleships in the harbour was enough to tug at anyone's heartstrings, especially those of a 26-year-old who had a fascination for the sea. And for T.K. Rahim, acting on an impulse turned out to be the best decision he ever made, as when he left the Navy in 1973, he had behind him a career spanning 29 years and many an achievement to be proud of.

This young man, who joined the Ceylon Royal Volunteer Naval Reserve as a seaman, was almost 30 years later to retire as one of only two Gunnery Instructors in Sri Lanka.

Fifty-six years after he joined the Navy, Rahim's memory is sometimes hazy, but what's immediately apparent is his love for the sea, his career and the sparkle in his eyes when he talks about it. The most telling hint of how profoundly the service has touched his life, is the quaint way almost three decades after retirement, that he still refers to people as 'civilians'. 

He remembers V-Day being celebrated here in Sri Lanka. "Everyone was dressed smartly and we all marched past Galle Face. All the VIPs were near the saluting base where the Hotel Taj Samudra is now, and we gave them the smartest salute of all,' he grins proudly.

I am fed interesting tid-bits every once in a while. "Did you know that Sri Lanka's first battleship, the 'Vijaya' was originally named 'Flying Fish' and the second one, the 'Parakrama' was called 'Pickle'?, he asks. I also learn that he has been less than two feet away from both Lord Mountbatten and Queen Elizabeth II when they visited Sri Lanka. Rahim was in the front row of the Guard of Honour but regrets not being able to speak to them. 

In 1951, by which time Rahim was Leading Seaman, he was among 35 sailors selected to go to England for special training. "At that time going to England was like going to heaven, and my wife and children made a big fuss but I had to grab the once-in-a-lifetime chance," he says. 

After a 22 - day journey on the troopship Wind Rush, they arrived at Charing Cross Station on August 24, 1951. Taking his first classes in Gunnery Instructing in England, Rahim says that he always topped the batch and never came second in any naval exam he sat for either in England or Sri Lanka.

It was while in England that, King George VI passed away, and Rahim was one of the six trainees selected to participate in at the funeral, as part of the street guard. 'It was the grandest ceremony I have ever seen. Nothing like that has ever taken place since," he assures me. 'There were kings and queens from all over the world and every British colony was represented in some way. We were the representatives of Sri Lanka. By the way, that was the time our first prime minister, D.S. Senanayake had fallen off his horse, so no VIPs from Sri Lanka came." 

After returning to Sri Lanka in 1952, Rahim left for India in 1956 to complete the second half of the Gunnery Instructor's course. This he remembers with a shudder as being the most brutal training he ever underwent. 

While in Sri Lanka once again, Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike died. "My commanding officer told me to take charge of security arrangements for the funeral, and to report back in the evening as to what resources I would need. He told me "there are 92 (MPs) to whom you have to provide security." I told him that I would need a coil of rope and 22 sailors, and he stared at me in puzzlement, I explained that all the dignitaries would be walking behind the coffin. So I cordoned them off with a rope and got the sailors to walk with them, thus creating a moving cordon',Rahim says.

Rahim recalls that once he cried in frustration at having joined the Navy. "We were in England in 1954 testing 'Vijaya' after it had been refitted and England was in the throes of the worst winter in 40 years. Boiling water would freeze when brought up on deck. We couldn't touch any wires as they stung with cold. We were warned that if anyone fell overboard they would live for only four minutes in the freezing water. After about a week, I sat down and cried, regretting having ever joined the Navy. Thankfully, that didn't last long," he says. 

But to Rahim all the toil seems to have been worth it, as he proudly claims again and again. At the time of his retirement he was the senior most Gunnery Instructor in Sri Lanka, a post to which he attaches utmost importance. During the '83 riots when he was 65 years old, Rahim was recalled to the Navy to serve as Gunnery Instructor. He could not accept though, due to ill-health.

Among Rahim's credits are that he was the first Naval officer to give commands in Sinhala in 1957 during S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike's Sinhala Only movement, as well as being the only Gunnery Instructor to have given commands in four languages, Sinhala, English, Tamil and Malay. Rahim's name is also on the list of the first 100 naval officers who formed the nucleus of Sri Lanka's first Navy. 

Any mention of Rahim would be incomplete without reference to his other life-long love affair. That of Rahim and G.M. Salim, or 'my-girl', as he fondly refers to his 77-year-old wife. They celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on February 4th this year. The couple have nine children, 17 grand-children and 11 great-grand children today.

"I gave the best years of my life to the Navy,' he says with a wistful look in his eyes, and in return I have some of the best experiences the Navy could offer me." And looking at this happy and contented man in the twilight of his life, one can hardly argue.

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