At this point I was called into the ships office and told my time was up as I had spent nearly two years abroad and was now entitled to go back to England, the officer told me there was no pressure on me to go home and I could sign on for another trip if I wanted to, anyway I could think about it for a couple of days.
I did think seriously about going back home as I had lost all homesickness ages ago. I knew the Belfast was to stay out east at least another year and there were plenty of places I would still love to see. However news from home wasn't so good, my mother had written to me to say brother Tom had contracted TB and was very ill (in 1946 TB was still the biggest scourge of the country). I felt I had a duty to go home and do anything I could for my family. Also my brother Joe had married a nice girl and I had missed their wedding. I wanted to meet Joe and Daisy as Joe and I hadn't seen much of each other since he joined up in 1942. Anyway, after thinking it over I went back to the ships office and told the officer there that I would like to go back home on the next draft.
By early August 1946 I was told that I would be going home and had to join the Portland Bill in two days time. The Belfast was also going to sail at the same time and everything pointed to a big night out with the lads before I headed home. I was genuinely sorry to leave the Belfast, it was the happiest ship I had been on and the last night out was really something with plenty of Tiger beer supplied. The last day on board for me was also the last day for our captain, Captain Royer Dick was leaving the Belfast and his popularity was shown when an army of volunteers from the ship pulled his car off the jetty by two ropes to the cheers of the rest of the crew on board.
So, it was with mixed feelings that I joined SS Portland Bill tied alongside in Singapore harbour. I was realising now that I had reached the outward point in my navy career and it was all now backwards to civvy life, however it was in my mind to see all my relations at home and then come back to Australia or New Zealand to settle down. They were crying out for immigrants at that time and I still felt more at home there than in England.
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