Spanish cooks, dockyard mateys and a lack of water
In due course I moved from the sailing ship into the dockyard to a one-storey building at the west end of the tunnel so I could be nearer Catalan. It was rather dilapidated but a few of us offered to work and paint it up. It had accommodation for about 40 to 50 people that were soon taken over mostly by forces who had jobs in accordance with their branches or pre-war civilian jobs. Sleeping accommodation was three double steel bunks per room that was quite adequate.
Behind this building the Spanish workmen, dockyard mateys from La Linea in Spain who worked on repairing ships etc. used to play tombola during their lunch break and the monotonous voice from the caller could drive you up the wall. These men appeared very docile and it took a while to communicate with them but once broken in they were fine. They were very jealous and worried about their jobs and some rose at 0430 to keep their job. I reckon there must have been nearly 800 working there. They had more religious holidays than the British and there must have been numerous fights with knives because the condition of some of the slashes was dreadful, but they still came to work regardless. I think their mates covered for them until they recovered. They also suffered terribly with influenza and their skin took on a dreadful grey colouration when it was raging but they still never missed work.
These Spaniards from over the border had a very long travel to the dockyard and I often got the feeling of deep resentment from their sullen attitude, as I would consider the Spanish to be a happy and joyful nation but looking into the dark or black eyes of the dockyard mateys one got the distinct impression that they wanted to state their case but could not risk it for the sake of losing their jobs. A very difficult position if one is a bit of a rebel as I experienced in the navy when trying to get my point over.
In the navy they state ‘Obey the order regardless. If you disagree, complain later after it was carried out’. Obviously this misses the point somewhat. Their argument was that whilst in action it was imperative to comply with orders - which I would agree with, but as one spends possibly less than 10% of your time in action, lots of silly buggers get away with murder. For most of the time – and dead men tell no tales… So I did have some sympathy towards the Spaniards and their situation.
We encouraged two of them to be our cooks and they proved to be a whiz with the likes of powdered egg, potato and dried milk that the navy cooks hated. These came in 28lb square tins and there were hellish squabbles for the empty tins that were very useful in Spain. These cooks were unofficial, as the authorities required them to return home every night that caused a few problems at times, but regulations that interrupted business were usually ignored.
Behind this building the Spanish workmen, dockyard mateys from La Linea in Spain who worked on repairing ships etc. used to play tombola during their lunch break and the monotonous voice from the caller could drive you up the wall. These men appeared very docile and it took a while to communicate with them but once broken in they were fine. They were very jealous and worried about their jobs and some rose at 0430 to keep their job. I reckon there must have been nearly 800 working there. They had more religious holidays than the British and there must have been numerous fights with knives because the condition of some of the slashes was dreadful, but they still came to work regardless. I think their mates covered for them until they recovered. They also suffered terribly with influenza and their skin took on a dreadful grey colouration when it was raging but they still never missed work.
These Spaniards from over the border had a very long travel to the dockyard and I often got the feeling of deep resentment from their sullen attitude, as I would consider the Spanish to be a happy and joyful nation but looking into the dark or black eyes of the dockyard mateys one got the distinct impression that they wanted to state their case but could not risk it for the sake of losing their jobs. A very difficult position if one is a bit of a rebel as I experienced in the navy when trying to get my point over.
In the navy they state ‘Obey the order regardless. If you disagree, complain later after it was carried out’. Obviously this misses the point somewhat. Their argument was that whilst in action it was imperative to comply with orders - which I would agree with, but as one spends possibly less than 10% of your time in action, lots of silly buggers get away with murder. For most of the time – and dead men tell no tales… So I did have some sympathy towards the Spaniards and their situation.
We encouraged two of them to be our cooks and they proved to be a whiz with the likes of powdered egg, potato and dried milk that the navy cooks hated. These came in 28lb square tins and there were hellish squabbles for the empty tins that were very useful in Spain. These cooks were unofficial, as the authorities required them to return home every night that caused a few problems at times, but regulations that interrupted business were usually ignored.
The biggest problem at Gib was a shortage of water and it was rationed to two buckets a week per person and how there was no skin diseases I’ll never know when you find three fellows washing in the same water after removing the scum. The influx of forces due to the Churchill misconception caused the Gibraltarians a lot of trouble. Never mind those people, pass the ruddy cigars!
Great concrete catchments were constructed by the Royal Engineers on the east elevations above Catalan Bay to collect surface water that helped to a great extent.
Another handicap was the lack of language efficiency amongst the Brits. At this point of time there were classes in every conceivable subject except Spanish. But men in the dockyard had a fair smattering of English, so the Brits showed little interest in learning their lingo - myself included I’m sad to report.
Great concrete catchments were constructed by the Royal Engineers on the east elevations above Catalan Bay to collect surface water that helped to a great extent.
Another handicap was the lack of language efficiency amongst the Brits. At this point of time there were classes in every conceivable subject except Spanish. But men in the dockyard had a fair smattering of English, so the Brits showed little interest in learning their lingo - myself included I’m sad to report.