Sharp diary 1918 page 353. Monday 16 December 1918 - SS Lapland
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Document date
Monday 16th of December 1918
Transcription Notes
Woke up to a lovely day, Sun shining, sea smooth and every one in as good spirits as yesterday. I intended to write letters and armed myself with a pen & a block of paper but didn’t do any work! It is almost impossible to set one’s mind seriously on anything. We are still all in the dark about our position on the ocean and shipboard is as prolific of rumour as a camp. But the general view is that we shall get in some time on Thursday but may not get up to London till Friday. We had a lecture in the evening from Mr MacKaye the Chief Engineer who had been on a transport throughout the war and gave us rather a vivid account of the landing at Suvla Bay — also of the eventual torpedoing of his ship. He spoke fairly simply & very modestly but like many Scotchmen he rather prided himself upon his literary & poetic abilities so that his discourse was rather ornate! At the beginning and in the middle of the discourse the Y.M.C.A. people sang and the head man drilled us as though we were children and did not mind or perhaps did not perceive the amused smiles with which his revivalist antics were received.
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