Surrey Dock Station

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Trip Start Jan 01, 1970 Trip End May 27, 2009 Next
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  Surrey Quays, England, United Kingdom
Thursday, January 1, 1970

On instruction from my grandfather I took the tube from Paddington, changed several times and eventually wound up at Surrey Dock Tube Station. It was miles from anywhere, especially the Greenland Wharf where I had been told I would find the ship! No mobile phones in those days. No public phone working! Asked a passer-by who didn't have a clue where I might find any ships!  Eventually, having trudged a great distant in the icy bitternes of the January day I found a break in the dockyard fence with a policeman sat in a little hut just like the nightwatchman in W.W.Jacobs books I had grown so fond of ! "Can you tell how to get to Greenland Wharf please Officer?" " Yes, sonny, but its a long way to carry those suitecases!" Anyhow, he set me on course and after about another half hours walk I saw her! A massive hulk of steel interupting the dockland skyline! Massive, because she was light ship (void of any cargo, almost!) Massive because the gangway had two added sections up which to man-handle my two now very heavy burdens!
    From somewhere a face appeared at the head of the gangway. An asian face, quite alien to me in my pre-sea days. " Salaam Chotra Sahib" he said, " Are you wanting help,please?"  Wow, was I wanting help! I had met my first Indian seaman. A seacunny (quartermaster in English), and a very willing hand he was! In the months to come Sammalatoolla, phonetic spelling of his long name, became a friend , a language teacher and a fellow watchkeeper on the rare occasions when I was allowed to take a position on the bridge of my first ship.

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