Todd war diary, 3 August 1914-29 February 1916 / Arthur Todd - Page 192
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[Page 192]
had been steaming pretty constantly since July of 1914 at any rate it had been so constant that most of the men had not had two consecutive nights ashore in the interval. Most of this period had been spent in tropical waters and stoking never a pleasant form of exercise becomes just plain Hell in the moist heat of the latitudes in which a large proportion of our time had been spent.
Most of the officers and ships company were beginning to show signs of physical breakdown they looked anaemic and pasty and their general condition shrieked aloud for leave. The Sydney and Melbourne and just one or two other ships were the only unfortunates who were not getting more or less frequent home leave. To some of us amateur strategists aboard there did not seem to be much reason why the Australian ships now that the urgent need of their services in the Atlantic had passed should not relieve a couple of their R.N. sisters known to be operating in the Pacific and do their refits in Sydney.
It was most monotonous and dispiriting after a time to be kept on a foreign station taking ourselves for periodical rides around the deserted corners of the Empire and never a chance to carry out the legitimate business of a man-o-war namely to seek out the Enemy and destroy him.
Still the Admiralty knew best and it was our misfortune that our lot was cast where it was.
After nine days at Kingston we sailed on the 13th December for our Christmas cruise.
Just as the ship was under way we saw the mail steamer coming in and decided to wait for our bags.