1 00:00:12,012 --> 00:00:16,058 Once upon a time, in the Eastern Mediterranean, 2 00:00:16,183 --> 00:00:19,186 a Greek sailor got lost on his way home 3 00:00:19,311 --> 00:00:22,272 and sailed out of the Aegean Sea westwards, 4 00:00:22,397 --> 00:00:24,942 past Malta and Gibraltar. 5 00:00:25,067 --> 00:00:29,154 Then he turned north and sailed until he came to the lands 6 00:00:29,279 --> 00:00:32,866 where it's day and night at one and the same time. 7 00:00:32,991 --> 00:00:37,538 The Greek was Ulysses and his voyage, the Odyssey. 8 00:00:41,166 --> 00:00:44,836 Today, we've turned the tables on mythology. 9 00:00:44,962 --> 00:00:49,424 Now, it's the northerners who are running their vessels south-by-east. 10 00:00:51,176 --> 00:00:53,220 Gibraltar. 11 00:00:53,345 --> 00:00:56,139 In the bay of Gibraltar lies a British steamship, 12 00:00:56,265 --> 00:00:59,059 unloading stores for the naval base. 13 00:00:59,184 --> 00:01:02,729 She has a Greek name. She is the Ionian. 14 00:01:02,854 --> 00:01:07,693 Registered Liverpool, 4,000 tons, Captain William Smith, 15 00:01:07,818 --> 00:01:12,489 new, clean, fast, average 13.5 knots. 16 00:01:13,282 --> 00:01:17,077 Out from London with a cargo of steel, explosives, 17 00:01:17,202 --> 00:01:20,581 cement, beer, telegraph poles, 18 00:01:20,706 --> 00:01:23,792 corrugated iron and aeroplane spares, 19 00:01:23,917 --> 00:01:29,840 for Gibraltar, Malta, Alexandria and Haifa in Palestine. 20 00:01:29,965 --> 00:01:33,594 Always running eastwards against the sun. 21 00:01:46,815 --> 00:01:50,110 At noon, Captain Smith is shooting the sun 22 00:01:50,235 --> 00:01:52,946 and measuring its altitude with a sextant. 23 00:01:53,071 --> 00:01:55,907 The sun strikes full on the sea. 24 00:02:00,954 --> 00:02:05,375 Dressed for the heat, the 2nd Engineer takes the engine room temperature. 25 00:02:05,500 --> 00:02:08,462 The engine must be kept from overheating. 26 00:02:16,970 --> 00:02:21,558 The Ionian is coal-fired, and coal-firing is hot in any waters. 27 00:02:22,392 --> 00:02:26,146 Here, it's sometimes 120 degrees in the bunkers 28 00:02:26,271 --> 00:02:28,815 and 130 degrees in the engine room. 29 00:02:36,740 --> 00:02:40,369 Going east, the temperature of the sea itself goes up and up, 30 00:02:40,494 --> 00:02:42,871 from 70 to 90 degrees. 31 00:02:49,670 --> 00:02:54,049 The first day out from Gib, the bosun sets the men to rig up awnings 32 00:02:54,174 --> 00:02:57,052 as a protection against the sun. 33 00:02:58,261 --> 00:03:00,889 Here's Joe, one of the apprentices, "dobying", 34 00:03:01,014 --> 00:03:03,975 it's a sailor word for washing. 35 00:03:15,195 --> 00:03:18,490 From Gibraltar to Malta is two and a half days. 36 00:03:21,451 --> 00:03:27,249 A day off Malta, Sparks the wireless operator morses Malta Radio. 37 00:03:28,667 --> 00:03:33,088 The Ionian runs towards Malta past the island of Gozo 38 00:03:33,213 --> 00:03:37,759 and will come into the grand harbour of Valletta 6:00 Sunday evening. 39 00:04:03,618 --> 00:04:05,912 Between daylight and lamplight, 40 00:04:06,037 --> 00:04:10,417 the Ionian passes the naval dockyard and the floating dock. 41 00:04:10,542 --> 00:04:13,670 In the floating dock is a battleship, the Barham. 42 00:04:41,198 --> 00:04:45,702 Next morning, the Ionian unloads steel parts and angle iron 43 00:04:45,827 --> 00:04:48,914 for the repair shops in the dockyard. 44 00:04:50,957 --> 00:04:54,044 Mr Martin and Mr Humphries, the 1st and 2nd Mates, 45 00:04:54,169 --> 00:04:56,630 are checking the work. 46 00:05:06,890 --> 00:05:10,268 Out of the holds and onto the lighters come the general stores 47 00:05:10,393 --> 00:05:11,895 for Malta's development. 48 00:05:12,020 --> 00:05:15,148 Cement for roads and buildings, telegraph poles. 49 00:05:15,273 --> 00:05:19,444 There aren't trees suitable for telegraph poles in the Mediterranean. 50 00:05:26,576 --> 00:05:29,788 Now the tugs come and pull the lighters away. 51 00:05:37,838 --> 00:05:40,215 Now the ship is cleared. 52 00:05:55,605 --> 00:05:59,276 All over the world, there are big and little ships, 53 00:05:59,401 --> 00:06:02,237 some luxurious and some dirty. 54 00:06:02,362 --> 00:06:05,198 But tramp and liner belong to the same family, 55 00:06:05,323 --> 00:06:07,576 the family of merchant steamers. 56 00:06:09,077 --> 00:06:10,912 When a British merchant steamer passes 57 00:06:11,037 --> 00:06:12,998 one of His Majesty's fighting ships, 58 00:06:13,123 --> 00:06:14,958 they dip their ensigns 59 00:06:15,083 --> 00:06:19,004 to recognise the relationship between the two services. 60 00:06:19,129 --> 00:06:22,299 It's the job of the merchant ships to keep our larders full, 61 00:06:22,424 --> 00:06:27,637 to increase foreign trade, to take out stores to naval bases and navy ships, 62 00:06:27,762 --> 00:06:31,308 and to furnish men for the Naval Reserve. 63 00:06:35,854 --> 00:06:39,941 And in its turn, the Navy protects the merchant ships, 64 00:06:40,066 --> 00:06:43,361 their cargoes, their passengers and their men. 65 00:06:46,031 --> 00:06:49,159 Now, a more westerly wind comes down from the Adriatic, 66 00:06:49,284 --> 00:06:50,785 and the sea's choppy. 67 00:06:50,911 --> 00:06:53,496 Off watch, the trimmer from Newfoundland is yarning 68 00:06:53,622 --> 00:06:55,874 with the 2nd Cook. 69 00:06:56,958 --> 00:07:00,462 The bosun and deckhands set to measuring, cutting and sewing canvas 70 00:07:00,587 --> 00:07:02,255 as stiff as a board. 71 00:07:02,380 --> 00:07:04,883 They're making boat covers. 72 00:07:17,354 --> 00:07:19,314 Nobody waits on the seamen. 73 00:07:19,439 --> 00:07:22,442 As they knock off, the sailors and firemen get their own food 74 00:07:22,567 --> 00:07:25,403 from the galley and take it down aft. 75 00:07:30,283 --> 00:07:34,079 Heavy cargo means hard wear on the winches. 76 00:07:34,204 --> 00:07:37,582 Extra strong steel runners have to be oiled and fitted. 77 00:07:42,545 --> 00:07:46,174 New blocks have to be rigged to take the strain of the heavy gear 78 00:07:46,299 --> 00:07:49,594 which the Ionian is to unload in Alexandria. 79 00:07:54,432 --> 00:07:57,560 From Malta to Alex is three and a half days. 80 00:07:59,938 --> 00:08:03,817 A day off Alex, Sparks radios the Ionian's agent, 81 00:08:03,942 --> 00:08:08,571 "SS Ionian. We expect to berth 8:30 Friday." 82 00:08:19,916 --> 00:08:21,710 Early Friday morning, 83 00:08:21,835 --> 00:08:25,672 the Alexandria lighthouse suddenly shows up out of the sea. 84 00:08:37,225 --> 00:08:40,645 In the harbour, the Imperial Airways planes come down 85 00:08:40,770 --> 00:08:42,564 like enormous flying fish. 86 00:08:42,689 --> 00:08:45,150 And away on the Ionian starboard bow 87 00:08:45,275 --> 00:08:49,904 lies one of the battleships of the Mediterranean fleet, the Malaya. 88 00:08:50,030 --> 00:08:53,867 The Malaya's a very different vessel from the Ionian. 89 00:08:53,992 --> 00:08:57,287 She's in the same class of battleship as the Barham at Malta. 90 00:08:57,412 --> 00:09:00,373 Oil-burning, 31,000 tons, 91 00:09:00,498 --> 00:09:02,375 a speed of 25 knots, 92 00:09:02,500 --> 00:09:05,336 crack, fast battleships armed to the teeth, 93 00:09:05,462 --> 00:09:07,380 1150 men. 94 00:09:09,340 --> 00:09:11,926 That dark flag's red, the powder flag. 95 00:09:12,052 --> 00:09:15,263 It means explosives onboard. 96 00:09:17,182 --> 00:09:20,935 This dangerous cargo is the first to be cleared. 97 00:09:21,061 --> 00:09:24,981 Great care is taken. Signs are made. 98 00:09:25,106 --> 00:09:28,318 The winchmen handle the boxes delicately. 99 00:09:35,492 --> 00:09:39,370 These boxes contain stores for the Navy and the Naval Air Arm. 100 00:09:45,168 --> 00:09:48,213 Carefully stowed inside these crates are aeroplane parts 101 00:09:48,338 --> 00:09:50,590 for the RAF depot at Abu Qir Bay, 102 00:09:50,715 --> 00:09:54,844 where Nelson smashed Napoleon's navy over 100 years ago. 103 00:09:56,554 --> 00:09:59,557 Now comes the heaviest part of the whole cargo, 104 00:09:59,682 --> 00:10:02,560 the chains and anchors for the new naval floating dock 105 00:10:02,685 --> 00:10:04,854 on the far side of the harbour. 106 00:10:04,979 --> 00:10:07,482 The strain on derricks and winches is terrific. 107 00:10:08,608 --> 00:10:11,903 Mr Humphries is worried about the new blocks. 108 00:10:23,540 --> 00:10:26,459 Now comes material for Egypt itself. 109 00:10:26,584 --> 00:10:31,214 Cement for new motor roads running through Upper Egypt towards Sudan. 110 00:10:31,339 --> 00:10:35,718 All the time, destroyers and cruisers are passing in and out of the harbour. 111 00:10:37,512 --> 00:10:42,142 Finally, Nile boats carry the cement toward the Mahmudiyah Canal 112 00:10:42,267 --> 00:10:44,310 and down to the Nile. 113 00:10:53,486 --> 00:10:56,656 From Alex to Haifa is a day's run. 114 00:10:56,781 --> 00:10:58,616 At 4:00am, the coast of Palestine 115 00:10:58,741 --> 00:11:00,618 shows on the horizon across the water. 116 00:11:02,120 --> 00:11:06,416 Haifa is unlike any of the harbours the Ionian has tied up in on this trip. 117 00:11:06,541 --> 00:11:08,918 More compact, newer. 118 00:11:10,712 --> 00:11:13,173 That's Jim, the other apprentice. 119 00:11:33,526 --> 00:11:37,155 Across the water lie four G-class destroyers. 120 00:11:37,280 --> 00:11:41,910 Garland, Grafton, Griffin and Greyhound. 121 00:11:42,035 --> 00:11:44,996 Built in 1936, fast as whippets, 122 00:11:45,121 --> 00:11:49,626 four 4.7-inch guns, eight torpedo tubes and 145 men. 123 00:11:51,628 --> 00:11:53,922 As they clean the torpedo tubes, 124 00:11:54,047 --> 00:11:57,634 they can hear the Barcarolle across the water. 125 00:12:14,234 --> 00:12:16,778 Not a whistle nor a siren. 126 00:12:16,903 --> 00:12:21,074 Only one winch on the Ionian unloading corrugated iron. 127 00:12:25,036 --> 00:12:29,666 Shattering heat falls from the sky and comes up from the decks. 128 00:12:29,791 --> 00:12:33,711 In the foreground, the oil dumps of the famous pipeline from Iraq. 129 00:12:33,836 --> 00:12:37,215 In the background, Mount Carmel. 130 00:12:40,260 --> 00:12:43,012 'It doesn't say they're the only plants you can plant 131 00:12:43,137 --> 00:12:48,685 'in your sink garden by any means or even smaller ones than that. 132 00:12:48,810 --> 00:12:53,731 'No doubt if you get a start with them, you'll soon be looking for others...' 133 00:12:56,067 --> 00:12:59,362 The Ionian leaves the same day for Cyprus. 134 00:13:19,257 --> 00:13:24,512 At Cyprus, she has to call at each of the little ports around the coast. 135 00:13:24,637 --> 00:13:29,851 It's only at the first port, Famagusta, that the Ionian ties up right alongside. 136 00:13:31,019 --> 00:13:35,440 Behind the harbour rises a sort of English Gothic cathedral. 137 00:13:48,911 --> 00:13:52,081 The interior of the island is still quite Greek. 138 00:13:53,666 --> 00:13:58,588 At Larnaca, the next port, the Ionian has to lie about a mile out to sea. 139 00:13:58,713 --> 00:14:01,049 There is no harbour. 140 00:14:01,174 --> 00:14:03,634 She lies right alongside the Shropshire, 141 00:14:03,760 --> 00:14:05,845 a cruiser of the county class. 142 00:14:10,975 --> 00:14:14,145 That's the cook watching the Shropshire's seaplane. 143 00:14:22,195 --> 00:14:27,075 At Larnaca, the Ionian unloads the last of her cargo. 144 00:14:41,672 --> 00:14:45,259 Now she rides light. Her holds are empty. 145 00:14:53,559 --> 00:14:56,979 She goes round to the north of the island to Kyrenia. 146 00:15:07,407 --> 00:15:10,868 The Ionian came out with a cargo of steel and explosives, 147 00:15:10,993 --> 00:15:16,290 cement, beer, telegraph poles, corrugated iron and aeroplane parts. 148 00:15:17,125 --> 00:15:22,547 Now she begins loading locust beans and oil and wine. 149 00:15:45,153 --> 00:15:47,321 And this is Limassol. 150 00:15:59,917 --> 00:16:02,420 The last port is Paphos, 151 00:16:02,545 --> 00:16:07,175 where once upon a time stood the Groves and Temple of Venus. 152 00:16:33,826 --> 00:16:37,788 Back in Alexandria again, the Ionian waits just long enough 153 00:16:37,914 --> 00:16:41,876 to pick up oil cake, cotton and onions. 154 00:16:49,425 --> 00:16:51,719 The loading goes on into the night. 155 00:17:21,374 --> 00:17:26,128 Early next morning, she leaves Alexandria for home. 156 00:17:30,007 --> 00:17:32,635 Past the cruiser Amphion... 157 00:17:44,689 --> 00:17:46,774 ...past the Malaya... 158 00:18:05,001 --> 00:18:07,044 ...past the Warspite. 159 00:18:49,295 --> 00:18:51,130 Westward. 160 00:18:57,553 --> 00:18:59,263 Throughout her voyage, 161 00:18:59,388 --> 00:19:03,059 the Ionian has met with ships of the Mediterranean fleet. 162 00:19:04,018 --> 00:19:06,354 Past Gibraltar, she heads north 163 00:19:06,479 --> 00:19:10,149 in the waters where the home fleet are on the watch. 164 00:19:22,244 --> 00:19:25,539 By the Tower of London she unloads her cargo, 165 00:19:25,665 --> 00:19:29,001 cargo brought safely from Cyprus and Alexandria, 166 00:19:29,126 --> 00:19:31,671 under the protection of the British Navy, 167 00:19:31,796 --> 00:19:33,881 the greatest navy in the world. 168 00:19:35,508 --> 00:19:39,720 In only a week or two, the Ionian will turn round 169 00:19:39,845 --> 00:19:44,433 and steam along the Thames again and out on the dawn tide 170 00:19:44,558 --> 00:19:49,146 with a new cargo for Gibraltar, Malta, 171 00:19:49,271 --> 00:19:53,025 Alexandria and Haifa in Palestine.