Stevenson (DD 645) - Naval Cruise Book

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Ceylon eanlumecf It seems that the Chiefs were doing their part in cementing lntemational Relationships as well as anyone else, and had invited a party of about ten Wrens aboard for lunch and a picnic supper on the beach later. Well, a crowd of Wrens did arrive on board all right, and were duly fed as advertised. But, to the great consternation of all, the gals turned out to 'be an entirely different bunch from the ones who had been invited, knew nothing about any picnic, and furthermore had to report back early. Later in the day as they were being escorted ashore by our gallant Chiefs, the Wrens who had really been invited suddenly turned up, and not one Chief anywhere in sight to pipe them aboard. This time, the Wardroom took over to feed the lovely creatures, and in a few minutes the Steve was literally crawling with females and only three offi- cers to keep them happy. They ate everything in sight, including the first ice cream they had seen in three years. In due course the boys returned from taking home Consignment No. l, only to find Consignment No. 2 had arrived and taken things in hand. They were all over the ship, on the focastle, in the pilot house, the signal bridge and up on the director. The director seemed to be a favorite spot, and never in our entire career have we seen a more wide-awake Signal Watch-and we really mean Watch. The poor old STEVE shivered from paint locker to after steering. War was never like this. All in all, we will never forget Colombo: the crowded little harbor with na- tives paddling queer looking boats out to even stranger loolcing craft that might have drifted right out of an oil painting: the big Passenger Ietty, with its Custom Officers suspiciously eyeing everyone in sight: the crowd of boys outside on the street screaming Ricksha, Bickshau. Then there was the Grand Oriental Hotel, the Clock Tower in the middle of town, and the Galle Face Hotel out on the sea shore. Brass hats too were flashing in the air, and scrambled eggs could be seen everywhere. To lend tone and cement higher relationships, cocktail parties were held on H.M.S. Collossus, and Commander-in-Chief East Indies Station and Flag Officers of the Royal Navy had a party at Admirals House. At Kandy, the Supreme Allied Commander Southeast Asia, Lord Louis Montbatten, had a big lunch. It was like everything we had ever heard of the Far East come to life, with ourselves right in the middle of it all. On November 2, tired but happily worn to a frazzle by British hospitality, the Steve headed the procession out to sea once more, to Cape Town and home.

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