LETTERS FROM A TROOPSHIP 1945-1946

This is a time when the world was in utter disarray. Germany had capitulated and victory over the Japanese lay just around the corner. Military personnel found themselves far from home and it was the job of the S.S. Strathaird and countless ships like her to repatriate their human cargo (both allied and enemy) to the far outreaches of the globe. Seymour’s letters home take us from his initial billeting as a Bevin Boy to a life of complete contrast sailing the world courtesy of P&O. He successfully captures a flavour of the time and gives immediacy to this oft overlooked piece of history as he bears witness to a changing world. Through the eyes of this bright, opinionated and articulate young man, we are given a window into life on board a working troopship. At times, his words are wise beyond his years and strike a chord. His thoughts are often in line with the ’Moral Re-Armament’ movement which was prevalent during this era. However, he can often be incredibly naïve, in part because of his tender years and upbringing. Reading this book, we have the wisdom of hindsight which allows us to smile knowingly at his ’faux pas’. Although the earlier letters are limited by censorship, as his adventures continue Seymour accurately documents the sights, sounds and smells he encounters and contrasts the immediate post-war welfare of one country with another as he travels from port to port. His sadness at the plight of the Italians is contrasted with his fury at the Greeks for openly and flagrantly selling U.N and Red Cross supplies, whilst at home his ailing parents struggled to cope on meagre rations. He is not shy in registering his dislike for the former P.O.Ws and his disgust at the behaviour of certain troops. This is a world seeking to find a new order after six years of conflict - British territories crying out for independence, the Antipodeans desperate to welcome their ’boys’ home and return to normality, Greece facing the monumental threat of Communism and the Italians wondering how on earth they start again. At times, Seymour’s language is, what we would now consider, ’politically incorrect’ and often quite ’colonial’. However, these are the words of a young man ’of his time’ and to change the language of his letters would be a disservice to Seymour, to history and to you, the reader.