Passenger ships do not exist today but if you’ve seen the movie “Titanic”, you would have an idea of how life was like, in these voyages. Read on and find out what the author experienced in her journey across the seas, aboard three passenger ships of the late 1950s namely Caledonia, Queen Elizabeth and Corfu.
In the year 1957 my mother, my elder sister and I made a trip to the U.S.A. to join my father in Seattle, Washington State. A year later my father completed his doctorate in Meteorology. Subsequently, all of us returned to India.
These two journeys were the most unique journeys I have ever made in my life. They were unique because they involved voyages on passenger ships.
Passenger ships no longer exist though cruise ships do. A ship named R.M.S. Caledonia took us from Bombay to Liverpool. Then we travelled by air to Seattle.
On the way back a ship called R.M.S. Queen Elizabeth brought us to Southampton. From Southampton, we boarded S.S. Corfu to get back to Bombay, India.
With the advent of air travel, passenger ships began to dwindle. We chose to go by ship because air travel was much too expensive in those days. Thus we were drawn into wonderful, novel experiences not available today.
Recollection brings nostalgia. I long to share these experiences. So here I am penning them down for my benefit and for the benefit of my children, nieces, nephews, grandchildren and all others who may be interested.
I was a child of four and five when I made these voyages. Hence some memories should be vague and some completely wiped off. However recountings by my parents and by my sister have made some memories strong. Besides I have the internet to aid me with facts.
A day before boarding Caledonia we took a train to Bombay from Secunderabad. After a hazily-remembered whirl of events, we were at Bombay port in time. Two maternal uncles and their wives were there to see us off.
I was not excited. I was only aware of an ache in my heart and of the crowd and noise at the port. I had a feeling of having been wrenched away from my cocoon. The dear joint family I had been part of had been my cocoon.
At the port, we were introduced to one Mr Mathews who was a cousin of one of the aunts present. He was a bachelor and a doctor. My mother was relieved to know that at least someone from our community would be on the ship.
Finally, we climbed up the movable stairs that led up to the ship. We waved our goodbyes and proceeded towards the cabin allotted to us. Thankfully our luggage had already been delivered there.
R.M.S Caledonia
We were now aboard R.M.S. Caledonia an ocean liner belonging to a shipping company called Anchor Line Ltd. She was the third of the Anchor Line trio. The other two ships were called R.M.S .Circassia and R.M.S. Cilicia.
She was named after the Caledonian Islands off the coast of Australia. Like her sister ships, she was built for the Liverpool-Bombay route and was launched in 1948.
Since she was a post-war ship she did not serve in the army or navy. She was a full-time passenger ship and could carry 324 adults, 22 children and a crew of 150.
In 1965 she was sold to Moorlin Ltd. and was taken to Amsterdam where she was converted to a floating hostel for Amsterdam University students. In 1970 she was sold to Germans and finally ended up as scrap.
Caledonia wasn’t a huge ship and it was designed like a Scottish country house – very comfortable and relatively quiet at sea. My mother said it was very well run and very informal.
Life inside the ship
When the ship left Bombay the Arabian Sea was quite calm. However later, when we were nearing Karachi, it became very rough.
We had two bunks in our cabin. My mother slept on one bunk while my sister and I shared the other. When the sea became very rough my sister who was on the outer edge fell out of her bunk and slid across the floor. My mother, therefore, put us both also on her bunk while she slept at the open edge. We all held tightly to the supports.
Early next morning when the stewardess came to our cabin door with a tray of tea the ship rolled violently. She fell and the porcelain clattered to the ground. Poor lady! She had to clean up everything and bring a fresh tray.
The next two days my sister and I were on our bunks because we were terribly seasick. We vomited many times. For two days my mother ordered plain rice at meal times. She would mix grandmother’s tangy mango pickle with the rice and feed us. The smell and taste of the mango pickle helped to ease the nausea.
Once the seasickness subsided we were out of the cabin.
We met other Indian children and played together. Some of the Indian children were from rich business families but were not properly instructed.
They would urinate on the floor of the common toilets rather than sitting on the English style closets. This worried the captain and the ship officers and they were constantly on rounds getting the toilets cleaned up. However, gentility and courtesy governed their behaviour. So my mother said.
I always retreated when I saw the captain because I was afraid of bearded men. The captain sensed this. One day he stealthily came up from behind and caught me. Fear gripped me and I could feel the beating of my heart. However, the next time I saw the captain I was less afraid.
One morning I got up with pain in my right heel. I could not put my heel down because of the pain. My mother took me to Mr. Mathews, the doctor. He examined my heel and said that I needed to wear socks to keep it warm. As the ship proceeded westwards the mornings were becoming chilly.
All cabins were above the water level. The cabins were small but had a wash basin and bathroom-cum-toilet. Since the water was salty mother did not let us wash our hair. Fresh water was a problem. Drinking water was available in flasks in each cabin.
Adults and children had different meal times. Adults could choose to go for informal dinner or formal dinner. Informal dinner was earlier while everyone was expected to be dressed appropriately for formal dinner.
Uncle Mathews shared a cabin with a fellow Indian friend. Two of his other friends were in the next cabin. It became a habit with a few of us children to run to their cabins in the morning and wake them up for breakfast.
I realize now that we needn’t have done that. They were not obligated to open the door to us but they did. They got on well with us in spite of our domineering ways.
How time passed in The Caledonia
Most of us children moved around in groups. Within a few days we got used to all the passages in the ship and could find our way through.
One day we discovered a shop in the ship. It sold cameras, watches, cloth, perfumes and even chocolates. I could not take my eyes off the attractively displayed things.
Photographs on the internet remind me that Caledonia had grand state rooms, smoking rooms, reading rooms, a bar, restaurant, a sick bay, decks and so on.
None of these grandiose registered on my mind. We were not so interested in the food also. It was the decks that interested us.
Decks are akin to verandahs in Indian houses. One deck was roofless and exposed to the weather. The other deck had an open railing from where we could enjoy the beauty of the oceanic vista. It became a fantastic playground for us. The adults also enjoyed sitting in the sun on the deck chairs while they conversed, played cards or just breathed in the salty sea air.
It took the ship 18 days to reach Liverpool. By this time my mother got acquainted with a Jewish family and a Finnish lady who had been a missionary to Singapore. Before parting, the Finnish lady gave my mother a signed photograph of herself. Her name was Mirjam Pakku.
The daughter of the Jewish family was called Rosamund. She was older than us and she knew swimming. By the way, there was an open-air swimming pool in the ship. We would stand around it and watch the swimmers. Rosamund would invite us in and help us float in the swim tubes. It was a delight.
The ship stopped at some Arab ports to restock with fresh food and water and to refuel. It stopped at Aden and Port Said and also went through the Suez Canal but we were busy with other things and didn’t take much notice. We wondered why Rosamund and family did not come out of their cabin that day. Later we were remembered that they were Jews and many Jews and Arabs avoided each other because of conflicts between their nations.
Finally, the ship reached Liverpool. All were excited but at the same time sad, to bid adieu to the life on the ship. It was a life detached from the rest of the world.
Click here to read Mrs Abraham’s recollection of her journey from New York to Southampton, aboard the grandest passenger ships of her time”RMS Queen Elizabeth” – the second voyage in this series
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I am Rubitah, a former social worker turned content writer and blogger. Over the years through my profession and personal life, I have realized that love and prayers can do wonders to family life, once you come to terms with your own self and surrender to God. Do you relate to me? Then I’m sure you would like what I post here. Read more
