I Sank The Bismarck Read Online Free PDF Page B

wound the line round a bush near the river and
raced home to fetch my father, who helped me gaff it. I told
them this story, and the chairman brought out his fly box and
we talked about the best flies to use in different parts of the
river. He knew far more than me, but I was content to listen
and make the odd comment. Then the interview was over. It
was very strange, and I did not know what to think as I
journeyed back home to Kelso.
    Back I went to the office again, with nothing but winter rugby
to look forward to. I heard nothing from the navy and was
once more beginning to sink into despair, when one day I read
yet another advert – as you can imagine, I was scouring the
newspapers in desperation. This time it was for recruits to
theSouthern Rhodesian Mounted Police. I knew little about
Southern Rhodesia, or Zimbabwe as it is now called, but
clearly this offered enormous possibilities: travel to a far-off
land, a marvellous climate and, most important, the opportunity
to work with horses, which, after rugby, was one of my
greatest passions. So I applied and was invited to an interview
at Rhodesia House in the Strand in London.
    I had been to London once before, in a school party that
had visited the Houses of Parliament, but this time I was more
able to appreciate how different it was from Kelso! I found it
daunting as I got off the train at Kings Cross and asked a
porter for some directions, my small case with a few clothes
in it clutched in my hand. I was staying at the YMCA, near
London University in Bloomsbury, and the porter directed me
to the nearest bus, but there seemed to be hundreds of them
outside the station, and more taxis than I had ever seen
before. I decided to walk and found that my destination was
not that far from the station, but I had never seen streets so
busy and crowded. I should have been excited by the huge
bustling city, the hub of the Empire, but to be honest it was
dirty, and for a young lad with not a great deal of money it
was not very inviting.
    The staff at the YMCA were a great help and I managed to
find my way to the interview. It seemed to go well – they
appeared impressed with my knowledge of horses – and on
leaving I was confident that my life was about to change for
the better.
    Back in Kelso, I did what I had been longing to do for the
past two years: I resigned from my job at thebus company.
This caused some problems with my parents, principally my
father. The economic situation had not improved greatly and
there were still a lot of unemployed people looking for work.
He thought I was being reckless in throwing away a secure job
without any firm prospects, and neither of them wanted to see
me join the navy, or go thousands of miles away to central
Africa. I suppose deep down they felt that my ambitions were
too great for my talents and that I would end up disappointed.
They knew how hard life could be, and they valued the settled
life they had established in Kelso. But I could not be persuaded:
I gave up my job. That year I travelled as a reserve with the
Scottishrugby team to Ireland, but, unfortunately, we lost.
    This was the winter of 1938/39 and, now without a job, I
decided that I would move down toLondon. Not that I liked the
place, but I thought it would be only a matter of time before I
was offered a passage to Rhodesia. Also, staying with my
parents in Kelso, unemployed and just kicking my heels while I
waited for a letter, was not very attractive. My father had been
good to me, but relations between us had soured somewhat. He
told me that I would be back within six months, but I thought,
'Will I hell.' So back I went to the YMCA and managed to find
a low-paid job in the parcels department of Harrods.
    Weeks passed and I heard nothing further from the
Rhodesian High Commission or the Southern Rhodesian
Mounted Police. I was very depressed, and beginning to
wonder how long I could stick it out before going back home
with my tail between my legs, when out of the blue I