Cornel, very interesting, the memories. I remember the single trip my cousins made in the early 60s and stayed with us for about 3 months in Bombay. It was the family of my father's brother and it was an exciting time for me, because they brought perspectives from another world. They too sailed from Mombasa to Bombay, though their trip must have been much less anxiety-ridden than yours made during war-time. They brought Cadbury's white milk chocolate for me, loads of it. It was a novelty as white chocolate was not available in the Bombay of that time.
One question for you. Why would the Brits take a foolhardy decision in allowing passenger shipping to take such a dangerous, long and mid-ocean trip as from Mombasa to Bombay with enemy war boats testing their supremacy in their most vulnerable sea lanes of the Indian Ocean? > CROSSING THE INDIAN OCEAN BY SHIP DURING WORLD WAR II > by Cornel DaCosta > > Many Goans in East Africa worked hard for five years and then took their > long leave, of about six months, to visit their loved ones in Goa. > > When young, I did the trip by passenger ship six times. The voyage each way > took about nine days and in later times, was most pleasurable. However, in > 1942, although very young, I can recall much detail of a voyage on the > Tilawa, travelling fom Goa to Mombasa, Kenya. > > I am now amazed that so many people did make such a trip when enemy > submarines were known to be attacking shipping in the Indian Ocean. Indeed, > my trip on the Tilawa was the last one she made before being torpeoded by a > Japanese submarine on 24th November 1942. Many Goan lives were lost and > survivors had horrific accounts to tell for many years. _______________________________________________ Goanet mailing list Goanet@lists.goanet.org http://lists.goanet.org/listinfo.cgi/goanet-goanet.org