Todd war diary, 3 August 1914-29 February 1916 / Arthur Todd - Page 69
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[Page 69]
And finally after three or four days utter boredom of this was agreed to. One wag on shore ironically signalled to the ship that we had been made honorary members of the Club knowing full well that we would never go in.
From San Juan we sailed east for the lesser Antilles and arrived after two days at Port Castries in St Lucia. St Lucia is a tiny island - just a dot on the map - but like its bigger sisters in the Indies is surpassingly beautiful. Green and fertile with rugged slopes it is a picture from the sea, but like the rest the picture fades when one sees the squalid dwellings of the all pervading nigger.
The people apparently had not been warned of our arrival and when a four funnelled man o'war appeared out at sea a panic set in.
Shops were shut up, money and valuables buried and the military forces paraded. The fear of the Karlsruhe was in the minds of all.
Imagine the joy of the islanders when the white ensign was observed. We had a royal welcome for in addition to the feeling of safety which the presence of a man o'war engendered we meant work and money for the population many of whom depend on casual waterside labour for a living.
As one nigger expressed it "We would have to eat one Anudder" if it were not for the ships.
When we arrived there for the first time the place was undefended the guns which used to protect the town and harbour had been dismantled and removed and the Garrison withdrawn.
For some reason unknown to anyone except the authorities in England the policy of