SS Strathnaver Troop Ship ~ National Service
Why are we writing about ships you may wonder - well this one in particular is important in many ways. One of which is because it symbolizes to me the difference in generations.
The SS Strathnaver brought my father home in 1948 from the other side of the world after risking his life and to seeing friends and comrades lose theirs.
That was a time when men were men !
Finding himself in 1946, at only 19 years of age, on the RMS Andes troop ship leaving Southampton bound for Port Said in Egypt to face the horrors of the Arab Revolt and Jewish Insurgency is beyond the comprehension of most people today.
Remember also, news and information was not remotely what it is today. Nobody on that outbound troop ship fully understood, or indeed remotely understood, why, other than to fight for their country, they were going there to risk life and limb.
The Troop Ship that Returned My Father
It would serve a modern generation well to remember, or appraise themselves, of the sacrifices of those who have gone before them. The reason they have the freedom to shuffle about in hoodies is because of the sacrifices of those before.
Did my father ask for counselling when he came back ?
No, he lived with his experiences and used the nightmare to make himself stronger !
Did he get compensation because of the terrible army boots ?
No, that is the preserve of the modern professional soldier !
Subsequently, did he sue one of his employers for something pathetic ?
No of course not, he worked hard and did everything he could to raise his station in life !
Does he try and get compensation from the council for tripping on a paving stone ?
No he tells himself to watch where he’s bloody going !
Is there any chance that the teenage round-shouldered, fat, foot dragging moron who is barely literate after 12 years of education could ever fill the shoes of a previous generation of men ?
NO CHANCE !
I take my hat off and very humbly thank all those who have gone before me, especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice, and thank them for giving me and the next generation the chance to live in a country where …
We have never had it so good and have never wasted so many of those opportunities afforded to us by the sacrifice and efforts of others.
We should look back with pride, look around us with shame and look ahead with trepidation !
Witches of Eastwick said,
June 30, 2008 @ 11:38 am
Rod,
The kids at primary school level do study WW2 and have to produce a project at the end…. who can say whether the message hits home. It occurs to us that we wouldn’t want any other generation to suffer like our parents and grandparents did and that we should remember well what happened and why we must avoid it for the future of this planet. Trouble is the political problems that existed then, still exist.
The great tale of the heroes of Telemark should still register with the young people today… it has a Bond like quality and shows the skill and absolute single mindedness of those involved. We recommend everyone sees the documentary made about it.
WoE
Rod said,
June 30, 2008 @ 12:09 pm
WoE
for school projects read: downloading pages from Wikipedia !
best
Rod
Little Brother said,
June 30, 2008 @ 8:49 pm
Rod,
Fine work fella, “You used to get your sweet plonked on top of your bully beef in a mess tin and everything was covered in sand-but you were bloody grateful for it”
None of them ever had ‘issues’ with their employer. God help us if we have to rely on this lot in the future.
LB