Christmas 1962

Merry Chrimbo - the Stoker

Fiskerton and Chawton were relieved by Houghton and Dartington and we sailed for Singapore. As we passed Changi at night we could observe that a Christmas Eve party was taking place - which to most of us put things in perspective with regards to what we had been going through during the past month. My own thoughts were that of “Didn’t they know there was a war going on? ….”  that Marines were being killed while they danced didn’t seem to make a great deal of sense.

We entered the Naval base with J.J’s favourite, “Speedy Gonzales” at full volume on the tannoy. We berthed on our depot ship HMS Mull of Kintyre, a great slab-sided mother hen and I prepared to take on freshwater as was my duty. The only way from the depot ship’s deck to our foc’sle was down a rickety ladder. Waiting for us was Lieutenant Water’s wife Coline, 8½ months pregnant, but she came on board and wished us all “Merry Christmas”.

JJ gave the word that mess deck rounds would take place on Christmas Day so Jack turned to decorating the mess decks The youngest rating on board would become Captain for the Day and the best decorated mess would be awarded a cake which had been made by the Chinese cook during our passage to Singapore. It was a fantastic cake, more like a wedding cake than a Christmas cake. I do not know how the cook made it because he was normally sea-sick just after the moorings had been slipped.

Christmas day was a bit of an anti-climax after what we had just experienced, but non the less a laugh. JJ accompanied the “Captain for the Day”. The Junior Seaman was wearing JJ’s cap which fell down over his ears. The cake was shared between all the ship’s company as JJ judged that all of the messes had tied for the best decorated mess. Only the stokers’ mess had balloons - condoms with “Merry Chrimbo” painted on them !

Lieutenant Norman King relieved JJ as commanding officer of  Fiskerton and early in 1963 we sailed to Sarawak. There we took part in a different aspect of the Confrontation, still working with the army and Royal Marines.

Christmas Day in Brunei -  the Tiff 

There was a Christmas tree on the messdeck and an expatriate (Captain Moutrie ? - Ed) brought his wife down to the ship to distribute presents from the tree - but where did someone find a fir tree in tropical Borneo?

About noon things became busy. The army and marines had to be despatched upriver in what seemed to be an endless flotilla of canoes and locally requisitioned craft. Even the Sultan’s speed boat was pressed into service. It got dented but no doubt he could afford a new one. I got my Christmas dinner at about 18.00.

Floods - the Tiff

The monsoon rain caused serious flooding up country so the State of Brunei not only had a rebellion but also a natural disaster to contend with. The shore-side water supply failed which presented us with problems. TON Class sweepers cannot distill their own freshwater. I recall one particular forenoon we collected 1.3 tons of rainwater for the drinking water tanks from sloped awnings.

We eventually returned to Singapore for refit and Commander Staveley rejoined the ship from sick bay. 

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