Evening star., 1941-06-16
Finds Many Nations
Among Soldiers Of Sea
Writer Tells How War Brings
Different Men Together
In Brotherhood Of Courage
BIZ Ernest H. Bartlett,

BIZ Ernest H. Bartlett,
Correspondent Of The Star ana MANA
AT A CANADIAN EAST COAST
PORT, June 15-Its different war this
time.
1t is a war in which soldiers go to sea
and share their quarters with merchant
seamen, naval gunners and marines.
And, as I found when I visited them
with a contraband control party work
ing. in the naval control service, they
share their quarters in perfect harmony.
In the last war, there would have been
room for trouble aplenty in such close
mixture of the services. In this war,
there has been forged companionship
which makes the jealousies of the diff
lerent services of small moment. These
seamen and soldiers and marines are all
in the same service-gunners in the de-
fensively equipped merchant ships in
the battle of the Atlantic.
Automatically they stood to attention
as the naval officer in charge of the
boarding party came into their mess for
a cursory inspection. No need for him
to check to see if their scuttles were
properly blacked-out. These were men
trained in the art of war, and trained
to take no chances.
I stayed to have a talk with them
Its not half a game" said royal
artilleryman Che must have been all Of
20 years old with grin. when they
asked for volunteers from the army to
go to sea they offered bonus for those
who decided to take trip on the briny.
Then they got so many volunteers they
had to start a waiting list-and they cut
off the bonus
And there, unconsciously, he told how
the battle of the Atlantic is being, and
will be. won.
Its not half game" the soldier re-
peated, Ito come over here and see
houses still standing and lights burning
1t seems funny like"
They had come from Liverpool and
London, Stafford and Chatham. They
had seen air raids in their own home
towns which made the bombing attack
they had beaten off on their way across
the Atlantic seem a most minor affair.
OF that attack they were not talking
much.
1T wasn't half a game" was the
Dolsier's only comment.
The leading seaman in the boarding
party broke up our talk The party was
leaving the ship, and I had to leave with
them.
I met another quartet of them as they
came ashore to draw some money.
Now you can get your trousers fixed,
chum," said one of the soldiers to a
young artilleryman, as the money was
paid him.
The trousers needed fixing, for in one
leg there were two untidy- looking tears.
Not fair wear and tear, these holes, but
jagged rips. The nose-cap of small
German shell, fired from the cannon in
a bomber which was trying to sweep
the decks of merchant ship with
deadly machine gun and cannon fire had
made the two rips. In one side and out
the other, whistling harmlessly past
the soldiers leg
He had the nose-cap as a souvenir,
and is very proud of it.
|. l met three more merchant nayv gum
ners, two soldiers and a seaman, as they
were starting their tour of inspection
of the first Canadian city they had
SEEN
Their trip had been quiet one. both
as regards weather and enemy action
but there had been long hours of ten
sion all the same.
I'VE stood watch four hours on and
four of In the danger area" the soldier
said. Had to do it, you know, can't take
any chances there. We thought that
when We got out of the bombing and
submarine zone, though. that we would
have an easy time, but the old man
wasn't having any. After we'd left the
submarines and bombers and mines be-
icebergs. What life!"
The leading seaman of the boarding
party, when next saw him, told me that
1t is common desire among the younger
men to "see the port"
The questions they ask are tricky
sometimes" he continued. There was
Rumanian, talking French, who had
NAANo poAS Al OIL cA-OdIlSH SIllD
flying the British flag He wanted to
know how to get to a Greek Orthodox
church.
Talk about league of nations. I
figured that was it,
1t is league of nations which sails
into Canadian ports these days Among
the seamen this leading seaman had
met during his duties with the contra =
band control section of the naval control
service were British and Americans.
NorWegians, Firms, Danes, Greeks,
Swedes, Netherlanders, Belgians, French.
Egyptians, Chinese. Mauritians Jamai-
cans, Rumanians, Arabs, Lascars, Lat
VANS. Spaniards, Estonians, Hungarians
and Russians.
I saw this leading seaman head a
boarding party on board a Yugoslavian
ship. Yugoslavia has been given per-
mission to set up its government in Can
ada, incidentally.
There's paragraph in the rules and
regulations of the naval control service
which governs his actions when meeting
these men from far countries:
Some merchant seamen," it reads,
feel inferior and sullen simply because
they've lost sight of the magnificent lob
they are doing KNOWLEDGE of q ioh