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Albert Edward Gee - Autobiography Part 5 |
I have said the I only had the galley job once, it was in the summer of 1917. I had learnt to swim by then and the Galley boys were allowed to swim during the afternoon after cleaning up the galley. We went down to the pier and found Mr. Childs at the end of the pier fishing. He said we were not allowed to swim, so we were on the way back to the galley when we met Mr. Ward, he took us back personally and we swam with Mr. Child glowering at us from the pier, but that evening when all of us had swam, and the other boys had all turned in he had us on the upper deck "fluffing". The deck had been scrubbed that often that if you got on your hand and knees and wet the outside of your other palm with your tongue then make a sweeping motion over the deck you would have a lot of wood fiber's in the form of fluff. After about an hour of this one could accumulate a large ball of this. This operation did not improve the deck either in appearance or any other way, but to whoever was doing it it was agony kneeling on a wooden deck with only pyjamas on, and sometimes very cold. I think maybe Mr. Child had forgotten us for we were there until 10 o'clock. Mr. Ward came aboard and his cabin was on the upper deck and although by this time it was quite dark he saw us and sent us to turn in. Mr. Child caught us on the way down the ladder and sent us back, Then Mr. Ward again personally took us to our hammocks and saw that we turned in.
I have mentioned that each Mess had a boy told off each week as 'cook'. He used to go to the Dining Hall about 15 minutes before the other boys to fetch the food from the galley and serve it out. He was also responsible for cleaning the Mess and on Saturday morning he scrubbed and cleaned ready for Mrs. Fry's inspection. She awarded points for each Mess and the mess she considered the best had a Union Jack put in the middle of the table. I joined the School on the 6th Sept 1916 and the weather turned bad almost immediately so that I had no swimming lessons that year, but early in 1917 I had my turn of cook - my Mess had been prize Mess for several weeks but when I took over we lost it. When we got on board that evening the swimmers had the usual swim and we were all ready to turn in. Mr. Childs said "Now we will have the boy who sold his Mess for a whack of Duff fall in Amid ships" I knew that he was referring to me but I did not move until he called me out by my number - 537. He repeated the charge but, in spite of my denial he ordered me down on the stage at the bottom of the gangway. He came down armed with a pole about 8 ft long, told me to take my pyjamas off then pointed to the water and said "Cast thy foul body into the brino - away bold youth". I jumped in and when I came to the surface I grabbed the pole which he held in front of me, he then pumped me up and down in the water till eventually I climbed hand over hand up the pole. He then let go of the pole and it drifted under the stage and he made me go under the stage and retrieve it. I then got out of the water and he pointed to the water for me to go in again but, I had had enough and refused whereupon he called two big boys to help him throw me in, but I did not wait, I jumped in and somehow, for I could not swim, I managed to reach a cutter that was made fast to the boom. He shouted to me to come back but I was holding on to the rudder and was scared to let go. He came in after me and when he reached me he put his hands on my shoulders and his feet each side of me on the cutters side and wrenched me off, then he put his feet on my shoulders and stood up on me. By this time I was half drowned and vomiting salt water. After that experience I was not afraid of him or what he could do to me and I soon learnt to swim, but we were never friends and he would keep me up for hours, edging blankets. He often turned me out early in the morning and made me swim ashore up a creek and say good morning to Mr. Beavis, the boatman.
By this time I was made a new boy's help and I looked after a little Scots boy about ten years old. One day several boys were having the cane in front of the whole School assembled in the Gym. The boys were each secured over a vaulting horse and the P.T.I. administered the cane. The Bandmaster read out the charge and the punishment then counted as the P.T.I. wielded the stick. On this occasion Mrs. Fry was present and started the proceedings with a speech about what they Mr. and Mrs. Fry had given up to run the School, that Mr. Fry could have been an M.P. but had devoted his life to the boys. Two of the boys, on this occasion, had stolen things from a shop in Netley when they were allowed out on one of the boy's birthday. They each had 24 cuts of the cane, the other boys were caned for minor offences and received ranging from 4 to 12 cuts. My new boy stood in front of me and I saw that he was distressed so I told him to shut his eyes and I put my hands over his ears. I was seen by one of the instructors and afterwards he gave me a friendly warning. I will not dwell too long on my "Mercury" experiences except to say that sometime in 1917 my eldest brother (Charles) came to see me. He was in a submarine at Portsmouth. He took me out for the afternoon and of course asked me all about the place. He offered to take me to Southampton Station and send me home, and said he would put things right with our parents, But I said that I would stick it out, I had got there of my own volition and knew that I could not face going home because I could not stick it. I also knew that I had less than a year, when I would join the Navy which was what I wanted so, I asked him not to tell our parents too much. Anyhow, I was glad that I stuck it out and although it was rough it did not do me any harm.
Came the day in March 1918 when Mr. Childs called us in the morning, he called several numbers, including mine, and we knew that we were on the way. We had to take our pyjamas ashore, had a shower, breakfast, drew a blue collar from the store our credits from the office (less 1 shilling each as subscription to the "Mercury" old boys union, then to Netley Station on the way to Devonport and the "Impregnable" boys training ship.
Part 6 |
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