Click here for diary entry for Saturday April 26th (cont.) – Monday April 28th 1941

Saw old women squatting on the side of street making them.

Singalese (Sinhalese) Ceylon.  Sent Parcel.

Tuesday April 29th

24th Day

Leave 9.30 until 5.45.  Had lovely ride through Colombo in private car.  Racecourse.  Townhall.  Queens Building.  Gardens.  Some wonderful homes.  Snake charmer on road side.  Went to pictures saw Convoy – Clive Brook.  Half price – 1 rupee.

Pineapples cheap.  Hundreds of black crews ashore.  Many bullock carts.  Sacred cows.

Wednesday April 30th

25th Day

Went for routine march through Colombo.  Hundreds of natives followed us through streets, seemed amazed at bagpipes.

Leander came into harbour in morning.  Got paid another 7 rupees.

Thursday May 1st

26th Day

Finished job of mess orderly.  Had leave 9.30AM – 5.30PM.  Got shown through tobacco factory (Bears) was amazed at speed girls picked up fifties of cigarettes.  Factory turned out 2000 cigarettes a minute.   Saw whole process from tobacco leaf to finished cigarette.

Went to zoo and nursed lion cub and leopard cub.  Lovely woolly little things, three weeks old.  Many animals I had never seen.

Aquitania pulled in this morning New Zealand troops from the Nieuw Amsterdam aboard.  Nieuw Amsterdam – Singapore – Hospital Ship.

Friday May 2nd

27th Day

No leave, ordinary routine.  Ships still coming into port.

Saturday May 3rd

28th Day

Leave 10.30AM – 3.15PM

Just looked around city.  Still very hot.  Sent letter and postcard to Mima & Marg.  This finished our leave in Colombo.  No night leave while there.

Click here for diary entry for Sunday May 4th – Thursday May 8th 1941