The trip from Holyhead to Dover by train was uneventful except for my realizing, for the first time, how inferior the food in England actually was during this post war time.

I left Dover aboard the S.S.Victoria on 17/01/1947 for what was a very easy crossing of the English Channel. It is somewhat corny, however, as I watched the cliffs fade away in the distance the song ''The White Cliffs of Dover'' became very real.

The first distinguishable objects I saw in France were two large chimney stacks in Calais. This was my first sight of France and I did not think too much of it. The harbor was so small and full of war garbage that our ship had to reverse going in, as they could not turn inside.

It was nearly dark when we disembarked, so we could not see much. The little I did see seemed dirty and in ruins. Also there were many war relics strewn about.

We went by truck to a transit camp in Calais. On the way there we passed large hills of rubbish, on which were gangs of small dirty children searching for whatever they could find. When we arrived at the camp we were told that from now until we reached Port Said, Egypt, we would be under military control, little did we realize what we were in for.

We had a meal consisting of a stew of sorts, a mug of tea and two slices of bread. Bad as this was I enjoyed it as my previous meal was at 06.30 hours that morning. We were issued 50 cigarettes at no charge, army rations.

I got my case and was marched off to a very dirty, run down station. We boarded a train, which was to take us across Calais to Toulon. At first sight of this train I was doubtful if it could make it, ever since, I have wondered how it did, as they had to change the engine every 50 miles or so. This was a very old train, which was used as a troop carrier during the last war and consequently had the damage to prove it. It had hard wooden seats, which got harder as the night went on.

We were in this so-called train for an hour before it started to rattle and shake on its way. We soon got the news from an army N.C.O. that we would be onboard for 28 hours but to cheer up! As a "cup o' tea'' was on the way which, incidentally never arrived.

We were soon to learn that there was no running water on the train either. We were sitting feeling sorry for ourselves thinking of the comforts of home when they crowned everything by turning off the lights. I am sure you never tried to hold a conversation with people you just met, in the dark, on a noisy train, but you can well imagine how impossible it was. The carriage was too crowded to sleep so I tried the luggage rack, which was only I0 inches wide, this also proved impossible. I learned later someone else had tried the same and had fallen off and was badly hurt.

I had no choice but to stay awake and think what the hell I was doing here. I could not come up with a logical answer.

The only break we got to stretch our legs and have a meal was at Boerne. This was a very poor excuse for a meal, however it was welcome at the time.

Dawn broke at Dijon. Never before was I so glad to see daylight as I was that morning. Since we did not go through Dijon Station I cannot describe it. Dijon was like many of the cities we had passed in England except that most of the windows had shutters hung to the frames. This practice, I discovered later, is common in all of France, Egypt and Palestine. The scenery around there had little to offer. The soil seemed very hard. I saw a farmer using five horses to pull one plough and it took them all their time to turn the heavy yellow soil. The vegetation also appeared yellow, which seemed strange in contrast to the green of old Ireland. The roads, rivers and rail seemed to run parallel across France, which was only to be expected. I assumed the roads followed the rivers and the rail followed the road.

The first stop in daylight was at Lyon. Unfortunately, we only stopped for ten minutes and were not allowed to disembark. Lyon has a lovely modern station and a subway called "Autorail". The autorail had trains similar to Ireland's Drumbattery Train System. There were plenty of welldressed people and most of the men wore berets, it was dreadful to see them beg for cigarettes from the lads on the train. I asked a man to get me a postcard and a stamp; which he did, and he was delighted when I gave him a few cigarettes in return.

As we crossed the River Rhone it was interesting to see the very large barges I had heard so much about. The terrain got very hilly after Lyon, on some of these hills were women herding goats, which was the only type of livestock we saw in France.

When we passed Valence we could see the Hantis Alps with snow on the higher peaks. All along the sides of the roads were derelict army tanks and cars, no doubt relics of war. It was dark again before we reached Marseille and again we were ushered to a transit camp, in Toulon.

This camp was a real nightmare. First we got two big sandwiches, the size of a loaf of bread, and then were issued two blankets full of chloride of lime. We were directed to a large tin hut and when everybody started shaking the blankets it was like a gas attack. The bunks were wooden with a bag of straw as a mattress. I was so tired it was not long before I fell asleep despite the discomfort.

Next morning, Sunday the I9th of January, We were up bright and early and after a good breakfast we were driven to the harbor. There was a market in full swing with the usual stalls and plenty of people. It was strange to see a man with a tray of three-foot long bread loaves balanced on his head. It was also strange to see the gates at railway crossings open upwards unlike the door type opening we had in Ireland. Toulon harbor was also full of war derelicts and some midget submarines.

ON BOARD THE S.S.ORDUNA

At 11.30 hours we went aboard the 'S.S.Orduna', a large 22,000 ton troop ship. We were soon shown to our quarters and issued with hammocks, which later proved to be very comfortable. We did not sail until 15.00 hours, possibly the holdup was due to waiting for the two crew members who boarded just before launch, very inebriated, much to the cheers of all on board.

That night when it got dark I spent about an hour or more at the bow watching the phosphorus glow in the wash 75ft. below, it was spectacular.

Monday the 20th of January, and it only 5 days since I left home. We went through the Straits of Bonfacio. We could see Corsica on one side and Sardinia on the other. The weather was very good and next day we sighted the Lipare Islands. Later that day we went through the Straits of Missina. We could see the houses and cars on the coast roads on either side of the ship, very clearly. We did not see land again until the 24th. when we reached Egypt. As there was no sport of any kind on board except for a picture show or bingo the last few days were very monotonous. It was a relief to see land again.

We approached Port Said through a narrow channel, which is continuously dredged. The channel is first marked by buoys and later by a wall on either side. On the right hand side as we entered there was a large statue of the man who started the Suez Canal. The first building I saw was what appeared to be a yacht club. Ehis, and about forty smaller houses, were built on pilings There were many other vessels at Port Said, some small sailing boats with odd sails, with white robed Arabs as crew. Others ranged up to huge modern ships much larger than ours. There were many modern launches racing about, some with police markings and others with hotel names on the side. There were many large signboards, all in English, advertising brands of cigarettes, radios etc. A good mixture of East and West was everywhere. People in flowing robes and Arab headgear, others in lounge suits, carts pulled by oxen and the latest 1947 model American cars. Buildings of old eastern design were side by side with modern ones. The Police Station was like a picture out of "Arabian Nights", and was built of shining marble in a garden of tropical plants.

We anchored at the mouth of the Suez Canal. Soon Egyptian Immigration Authorities came aboard. While they examined our passports we amused ourselves by bargaining with the Arabs who came alongside in small boats full of all kinds of souvenirs, mostly junk. It must be remembered we were approximately 75ft. above water level and all transactions had to be at the top of our voices. They would hold up different articles and if you expressed an interest and agreed on a price they would throw up a piece of wood with a string attached which in turn was attached to a basket, The buyer would pull up the basket and place the agreed money inside, the seller always retained a strong grip on a piece of string which was also attached to the basket. The basket was lowered with the money and the article purchased would be placed therein and pulled back up. There was absolutely no trust on either side and rightly so, on receiving the money the Arab would test the coins with his teeth and carefully scrutinize the paper money, on the other hand most of the merchandise was garbage with no similarity to what was originally displayed. Under these circumstances it is no wonder friction was not unusual, particularly when it appeared business was coming to an end. Either the Arab would try to keep the money, cut the string on the basket and take off or the buyer would feel cheated and tie the basket to the ship rail in revenge.

We were brought to the Custom House by barge, Customs was only a matter of form, although the Custom Officer took a second look at the jar of sugar I had so thoughtfully put in my case.