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''Xmas day had come and gone and well we knew it. No-one was allowed off the boat and we were shut up all day.
The food was very poor, our dinners consisted of two potatoes with stew not worth calling stew as the meat we failed to find. For tea, a tin of salmon between seven of us, also two cigarettes and an orange. This was only the beginning of many troubles and privations endured whilst aboard SS Empress of Britain.
After this day we had a little more freedom and we were allowed out every other night on pass and soon found our way round the streets of Devonport. Many times we looked for the local Salvation Army but failed to find it until the last night we went ashore before we departed from England.
There was a good canteen on board the ship, well stocked with provisions and necessaries, but it was a struggle to get there as by this time there was something like five thousand and forty souls including five-hundred sailors and crew aboard. It was impossible to move without disturbing someone else.
At 3:30pm on the 5th.of January we started for India amid the cheers of the troops on board and those on land right down to Plymouth Sound. We were joined by the troopships Caronia, Walma Castle, Tyndarius and RMS Corinthie(?) carrying passengers in this convoy. As we turned down the channel we were escorted by HMS Shannon and eleven destroyers. We were sad leaving the dear old country and wondered when we would return to it again. We watched the shores of England vanishing into the distance as it was getting dusk. The Eddystone Lighthouse threw it's rays across the water as we prepared our hammocks for the night.
(from the diary of Pte. Harry Meredith (then 18) South Wales Borderers. He survived the war and lived to a good age. He was appalled by the language and behaviour of the 'ungodly' troops and did his best to stay close to the Salvationist troops (many from Llanelli), non-conformists and even C.of E. - and their prayer meetings).
The food was very poor, our dinners consisted of two potatoes with stew not worth calling stew as the meat we failed to find. For tea, a tin of salmon between seven of us, also two cigarettes and an orange. This was only the beginning of many troubles and privations endured whilst aboard SS Empress of Britain.
After this day we had a little more freedom and we were allowed out every other night on pass and soon found our way round the streets of Devonport. Many times we looked for the local Salvation Army but failed to find it until the last night we went ashore before we departed from England.
There was a good canteen on board the ship, well stocked with provisions and necessaries, but it was a struggle to get there as by this time there was something like five thousand and forty souls including five-hundred sailors and crew aboard. It was impossible to move without disturbing someone else.
At 3:30pm on the 5th.of January we started for India amid the cheers of the troops on board and those on land right down to Plymouth Sound. We were joined by the troopships Caronia, Walma Castle, Tyndarius and RMS Corinthie(?) carrying passengers in this convoy. As we turned down the channel we were escorted by HMS Shannon and eleven destroyers. We were sad leaving the dear old country and wondered when we would return to it again. We watched the shores of England vanishing into the distance as it was getting dusk. The Eddystone Lighthouse threw it's rays across the water as we prepared our hammocks for the night.
(from the diary of Pte. Harry Meredith (then 18) South Wales Borderers. He survived the war and lived to a good age. He was appalled by the language and behaviour of the 'ungodly' troops and did his best to stay close to the Salvationist troops (many from Llanelli), non-conformists and even C.of E. - and their prayer meetings).
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