Lewis Hancock (DD 675) - Naval Cruise Book

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Anybody got a drink? Prince of Wales Pier. Outpost of Empire. New signalman striker? Local super market. The Crescent. jJ6 -£ 2«r X£$£P

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6TH JUNE-9TH JUNE Although the heat seemed unbearable before, we soon found that it had not been too bad up until now — the now being the port of Aden in Aden Protectorate. We were on tropical hours, and sleeping topside at night was the rule. June 6th saw the Leaky Lewie anchored out, a short distance from the British and French destroyers also anchored there. After refueling, liberty com- menced for the usual third of the crew or those few who cared to go ashore, for liberty meant wearing a full uniform. Those who made the effort found bargains galore in this Mid-East free port. The shrewdest buyers returned with wonderful purchases in cameras, binoculars and other usually high-priced items. At the local oasis, the Rock Hotel, many beach-goers spent long hours in an attempt to quench their thirst. Afternoon swimming at the R.A.F. Beach was popular, and in the evening the shops opened up again until about 10 o ' clock. Shopping was the only night- life to be found. On 9 June, we swallowed another salt tablet and welcomed putting to sea again.

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15TH JUNE- 19TH JUNE 25TH JUNE- 27TH JUNE On 15 June we anchored in the Persian Gulf at Bahrain Island, a land of sandy wastes, camels, and that magic stuff, oil. We found that oil has a nasty habit of being found where there is little else attractive to man or beast. Bahrain meant more days of terrific heat, sand, and the familiar beer and softball liberty of the Mid-East. We finally got mail. Forty-one bags of it brought letters and care packages from loved ones back home. Some men went ashore to buy very fine tailor- made clothes or exotic handicrafts from India and the Far East while others went merely for the wonderful taste of the fresh fruit juices available there. On the way into the town of Manama, an eight mile drive through the desert, we saw men washing clothes on the river bank and drying them on the ground (the original laundromat). Mr. Sackett and his tour guides played host to some of the British school children who visited the ship, and the Wardroom expanded onto the fore- castle to have a party for their parents. Several men took the Babco Oil Company tour of its re- finery and afterwards were treated to a feast of oxtail and tea. On June 19th we departed Bah- rain temporarily for the mysterious port of Umm Said — mysterious to us and to most map makers.