Todd war diary, 3 August 1914-29 February 1916 / Arthur Todd - Page 274
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[Page 274]
CHAPTER 6.
To the West Indies
We left Gibraltar and slid from out the shadow of the Rock into the Straits. As the ship swung her head west and made for the Atlantic, we waited to see whether she would swing north or keep straight on after clearing the straits, and we soon knew that it was not England yet. Our orders were to proceed to the Azores, Portuguese islands in mid-Atlantic, where it was known several German ships were sheltering. It was freely rumoured that Portugal was coming into the war and that it was to be our job to seize the German ships and bring them into Gib as prizes. A few hours out of Gibraltar the sea got up and we had real Atlantic weather which upset some of those who were given to that sort of thing. It is curious how people go to sea all their lives and still become seasick when the weather is bad or after a spell in harbour. Seasickness, contrary to belief, is by no means unknown to the Navy.
Next day was Christmas day. And what a Christmas! The seas were tempestuous, everything was battened down, and many were seedy. Still the usual Christmas customs were ob-