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| Arriving at Freetown, Sierra Leone October 1943. |
Sunday 31st October 1943
Sighted the African coast early in the morning and at 10.10 dropped anchor in Freetown harbour.The town looks very pretty with brightly coloured houses, the outstanding objects being a church and two wireless aerials. Behind the town to the left is the coastal range of hills.
Large numbers of canoes fill the harbour, some mere dug-outs but others quite decent boats.
At 16.30 the launch arrives to take us ashore and our kit is unloaded by small boys.
We no sooner set foot ashore than scores of boys and girls mob us selling bananas. The first one tastes good.
After a long wait a lorry appears to take us to a place called Hastings where the Air Station is, its commissioned name being H.M.S. Spurwing.
.....after an hour’s travel we turn down a side track, past a cemetery and pull up against a bungalow which is the Regulatory Office of H.M.S. Spurwing.
We have arrived at the end of our journey.
There are many interesting video clips and photographs of the heritage of Sierra Leone at http://www.sierraleoneheritage.org/
Also see http://www.spurwing-ebooks.com/i-think-i-prefer-the-tinned-variety.html for the other photographs in my dad's collection.