Throughout 1942, the huge cruise liner Queen Mary was used to ferry wartime travellers across the Atlantic Ocean. She sailed every seven days, taking troops from New York to Liverpool, and refugees from England to USA.
The ship was operated at maximum capacity, that meant 15,000 soldiers cramped into her 1250 cabins. To enable this, the troops were organised into 3 shifts, as one man got out of bed, another got in. The shifts were divided into 8 hours and each took a turn in the washrooms, canteens, lounges, gym, and on deck. But it was the beds that were most precious.
On the westward journey, most of the refuges were orphaned children, and evacuees whose families were either fighting overseas or too ill to look after them. Some elderly folk, wounded troops, and other non-combatants were also shipped west. The children could not be expected to adopt the troop routine of shift-sleeping, and so all kids were put to bed at night. Smaller ones were put two, or even three to a bed. The adults were then allowed to sleep in the beds during the day.
Some adults, of course, were needed to supervise, educate, and amuse the children on the week-long cruise. These were recruited from the passengers, and trained by a specially selected ships officer, known as the Commander. He also saw to the maintenance of safety and discipline. The selected adults were known as cabin-parents, and had enormous powers.
But the biggest priority for the ship was the safety of those critical beds. A committee had been formed to plan for the operation, and they had decided that the only secure solution was to issue every child with rubber pants. The committee considered that many of the children would have been traumatised, unlikely to have sailed before, unsure of where the toilets were, scared to get up in the night, and so might be likely to wet the bed. Also, they concurred, having children wandering around at night was dangerous, better to have them restricted to their cabins. So nappies would be needed.
The committee designed and ordered 15,000 pairs of terry cloth short trousers, and 10,000 pairs of rubber pants, with elasticated waist and legs. Sizes were small (age 3-7) medium (ages 8 – 11) and senior (ages 12 to 16). A few sturdy pairs were also ordered, for very fat children, or as one committee member joked any drunken sailors. The committee, mindful of the shortage of rubber – needed for truck tyres, seals on submarines, and countless other military items – agreed to accept whatever was available. The supplier could only obtain bright red rubber, which was then moulded into thick pants.
The terry short trousers - what modern parents would call pull-ups - were made of two layers of terry cloth, and had an elasticated waist. The two layers were only joined at the waist; so after washing the outer layer could be hung up by the groin, and the inner layer pulled down to facilitate drying. There was a loop sewn into the groin to enable easy hanging, and numerous rows of pegs were installed in the ships boiler room. Pegs were also fitted on the stern quarterdeck, to enable outdoor drying if the weather was suitable. Three young women were appointed to do the washing, chosen because they were known to be scrubbers.
The only problem was, compliance. The Commander was charged to ensure that all children on board wore their nappy and rubber pants throughout the night.
Martin Turney was 43 years old, and moderately wealthy. He had turned his small radio manufacturing factory over to the Ministry of Defence at the start of the war, and had worked in it as manager until it was bombed in November 1941. Now, he had been ordered to New Jersey, to assist in the development of a new factory out of range of enemy airplanes. This was his first crossing of the Atlantic, and he considered it would probably be his last. Martin wore a smart tweed suit, and a bowler hat.
When the ticket clerk had asked him to become a cabin-parent, he had had reservations. But when the clerk told him of his duties, and modest compensation, Martin had become more interested. The reward was that he got to stay in his cabin, while other adults were obliged to sleep in the beds that the boys had used during the night, and had to hang around on deck in the dark, looking out for periscopes!
But it was neither the work nor privileges which swayed the bachelor; it was the clerks final remark. You will be expected to punish the boys in your cabin, and if you need assistance the ships crew will help out.
Martin had always had a fondness for smacking little bottoms, but rarely had the opportunity. As owner of a factory, he often employed boys, from age 14, and always offered any junior miscreant a spanking rather than the sack. His young workers quickly learnt to behave, and work hard, as Martins spankings were to be avoided. However, these older boys were very reluctant to bare their buttocks, and so Martin used a heavy strap across the seat of their trousers. Oh, he hurt them. Made sure that they cried, but what he really wanted was to smack a bare bum.
So Martin agreed to become a cabin-parent. He would sleep in a bunk in a cabin with three other men, and his eight boys would be top-and-tail in the adjoining cabin. The other mens boys were either next door or across the gangway. Girls had berths on the deck above.
Martin met his boys on the pier on the evening before sailing. The ship had to re-fuel, stock-up with food, and wait for a convoy to form before embarking on the risky crossing. U-Boats were having a good time, and many ships were being lost. The boys had to be trained in evacuation procedure, and settled in to their life on board. Martin had already unpacked in his cabin, and had checked the boys cabin was clean. The nappies and rubber pants were in a trunk which was in the middle of the adults cabin, and also served as a card-table.
It was almost dark when the boys were marched from their waiting room to the quayside, and they were ready for supper. There was a chill in the spring evening air, and mist was rising from murky waters. Martin studied them as they approached, he had already read their files that had been left in his cabin, and almost knew each boy before he met them.
Welcome to the Queen Mary. I am Mr Turney, but you will call me Sir. You will obey me at all times Martin quoted the speech he had been asked to read. This ship is a dangerous place, and we are sailing into hostile waters The boys were now scared. If you misbehave, you could not only lose your own life, you might alert the enemy to our position, and get us all sunk. I have been authorised to punish you, and that will be by a spanking on your bare bottom. That is the instruction from the ships commander.
Martin surveyed the boys.
John was 12, tall, thin, pale blond hair and white skin with bright blue eyes. He was an orphan, having been the only survivor of a bomb on his Leicester home. He had been in a childrens home for 3 months, and was generally happy, made friends easy, and quite polite. John wore a grey pullover and wide grey shorts, with knee-high grey socks and well-worn black shoes. His grey shirt was open-necked, hanging out at the waist, and his white underwear was visible. His school cap was entirely red, apart from a faded badge on the front. It did not seem to match the uniform at all.
Mark was 11, from Liverpool. His dad was a docker, and worked at least 12 hours a day. When his mother died from TB, Mark had been taken into care. There were no other family to look after him, but he did have a cousin in New York who had agreed to foster the boy. Marks dad was there to see him off, and spoke to Martin. Mark was also dressed entirely in grey, except Marks uniform had a brown and yellow trim at collar, cuffs, and tops of his long socks. Mark had a school-boy cap with brown and yellow hoops.
Be sure to watch him, he can be a little scally at times (Liverpool word