My grandfather George Townesend's journal

• April 12, 2018 22:16:46 Thomas A. Lingner

  Journal of George Wilfred Lawrie Townesend

  April 28th - June 7th 1917

  Telling of the sailing from Plymouth the Cape Town aboard troop ship SS/Anchisis

  
  

  Truth

  When your head is soft and your heels feel queer

  And your thoughts rise up like the froth from beer

  When your knees are weak and your breath is strong

  And you laugh like hell at a damned old song

  You're drunk, you B...r, you're drunk.

  
  

  (Notes in brackets and in italics by typist Hazel Jane Gay Townesend, Granddaughter)

  
  

  May 1st

  Visited Plymouth for a few hours in the morning purchased some boots with rope soles as the deck make my feet burn in the leather soled boots also some cigarettes as not are procurable on board being under bond the Customs not having liberated the supplies on board from bond. This day wrote my last letter before sailing, to Glads Godblessher. (Wife, Gwladys Mary nee MacFarlane)

  
  

  May 2nd

  Had a letter from Glads which has bucked me up quite a lot. We had every hope of getting off today to try our luck with the submarines who are waiting for us but about 9 o'clock a port tug came round & semaphored to the various boats in the convoy their times for starting we go at 4:30 tomorrow afternoon large numbers of orders issues as regards the A.S.C. men on board this boat. There are a large No, about 1,200 here and only the 12 D.S.U. Officers. As all these men have to be exercised they have been split up between us. This means that I shall have very little chance of getting to know the men of my Depot Unit (No 327) as I had hoped to do, on the way out. Phillips and I have a draft bound for "Messpots" 300 strong to look after P. is D.C. I am the rest.

  
  

  May 3rd

  Still off Plymouth I suppose the orders have been cancelled or else yesterday evening's stunt was a well put up job in case spies were about to put them off the scent. I (and everyone else) hope we shall get away soon as we want fags & we want to know our luck. Pray God we get there but if not I pray I may behave in a manner befitting a Christian gentleman. There is a lovely yarn going around which is quite possibly true the Submarines are said to have sent a wireless as follows: "For God's sake hurry up with your convoy as we are getting sick of waiting."

  
  

  May 4th

  Set sail at 7pm or shortly afterwards and are now proceeding down the channel at a somewhat sedate pace.

  We started off one after the other but shortly after leaving Edistone Lighthouse the front vessels slowed down and we formed a sort of bunch and the three or four from TD's are, I suppose, now going to patrol all around us. Light out is to be sounded in future at 8pm after which no one is allowed to smoke on deck. The Major Paulson D.C. Troops on board has got the wind up badly he stopped a gramophone being played in the music room just now not because it was not music but because it made too much noise it might be heard by submarines. Have just discovered that they do not carry any Will's Gold Flake cigarettes on the boat so what I shall do I don't know; smoke something else I suppose.

• April 12, 2018 22:13:44 Thomas A. Lingner

  Journal of George Wilfred Lawrie Townesend

  April 28th - June 7th 1917

  Telling of the sailing from Plymouth the Cape Town aboard troop ship SS/Anchisis

  
  

  Truth

  When your head is soft and your heels feel queer

  And your thoughts rise up like the froth from beer

  When your knees are weak and your breath is strong

  And you laugh like hell at a damned old song

  You're drunk, you B...r, you're drunk.

  
  

  (Notes in brackets and in italics by typist Hazel Jane Gay Townesend, Granddaughter)

  
  

  May 1st

  Visited Plymouth for a few hours in the morning purchased some boots with rope soles as the deck make my feet burn in the leather soled boots also some cigarettes as not are procurable on board being under bond the Customs not having liberated the supplies on board from bond. This day wrote my last letter before sailing, to Glads Godblessher. (Wife, Gwladys Mary nee MacFarlane)

  
  

  May 2nd

  Had a letter from Glads which has bucked me up quite a lot. We had every hope of getting off today to try our luck with the submarines who are waiting for us but about 9 o'clock a port tug came round & semaphored to the various boats in the convoy their times for starting we go at 4:30 tomorrow afternoon large numbers of orders issues as regards the A.S.C. men on board this boat. There are a large No, about 1,200 here and only the 12 D.S.U. Officers. As all these men have to be exercised they have been split up between us. This means that I shall have very little chance of getting to know the men of my Depot Unit (No 327) as I had hoped to do, on the way out. Phillips and I have a draft bound for "Messpots" 300 strong to look after P. is D.C. I am the rest.

  
  

  May 3rd

  Still off Plymouth I suppose the orders have been cancelled or else yesterday evening's stunt was a well put up job in case spies were about to put them off the scent. I (and everyone else) hope we shall get away soon as we want fags & we want to know our luck. Pray God we get there but if not I pray I may behave in a manner befitting a Christian gentleman. There is a lovely yarn going around which is quite possibly true the Submarines are said to have sent a wireless as follows: 

  
  

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