MONO CHALLENGE - DAY 3

My Grandfather, Alfred, at the top right, was born on this day in 1899 and I am privileged to own a log that he wrote from December 1920 to February 1923, so this mono blip for today is in memory of him. It's amazing that this was written with a fountain pen - the ink has stood the test of time and is still very clear.

He sailed from Liverpool to Montevideo in South America - visiting many places on the way, and he also visited The Falkland Islands. On the way to Valparaiso, he has written in his log :

"We held a Memorial Service and dropped wreaths in loving memory of those who were sunk in HMS Good Hope and HMS Monmouth, which were sunk in action with the German fleet on 8th December 1914 - Gone but not Forgotten".

It would appear that HRH the Prince of Wales, who later became King Edward VIII but abdicated after he proposed marriage to Wallis Simpson, visited my Grandfather's ship on several occasions, when they were in Rangoon on Christmas Day, 1921 and again in January 1922. This page sets out the details and of his visit in January - and there is an interesting comment at the of the entry for 14th January: ".....had trouble with the Natives."

He had mentioned "trouble" before in his log, and on that occasion he said, "There was trouble with the natives and the army was out with machine guns and some were killed, but it soon became quiet again."

Although he visited many other places during his time at sea, to my knowledge my Grandfather never spoke about any of them, like many of those involved in the First World War. We tend to think that the war was from 1914-1918 and then everything was wonderful again - but reading through my Grandfather's log for the four years after the war, this is obviously not true. In March 1923, there is an entry that says, "Held a burial service in loving memory of Chief Stoker Hutchings, who jumped overboard and was eaten up by sharks." I wonder what caused him to jump?

My Grandfather was a stoker on board ship and reading through his log, it was a difficult and physical job - at very high temperatures, in an atmosphere full of coal dust, with the furnaces roaring, in a rolling and pitching vessel, knowing that you were under the water line - to me he was a hero and I will never forget him!

Happy Birthday, Grandad! xx

Apparently, I am supposed to nominate someone else to take on this 5 day Mono Challenge - how about it Yeeeeed?