The
long sea voyage to Australia allowed a period of transition between the ‘long
and arduous’ road from captivity ‘strewn with pain, both physical and mental’
to home. It offered an opportunity to readjust. Some former Stalag Luft III kriegies
sailed to Australia in July 1945; they were among the earliest repatriations
from Europe. Almost 700 RAAF ex-prisoners of war travelled home in
August–September on the SS Orion. Some
followed later. New friendships were forged, old ones were rekindled, and
existing bonds strengthened during the weeks of relatively leisurely travel.
The
following is taken from the ‘Repatter’,
a gossipy newsletter (dubbed ‘journal’) printed and published on board the Orion by a group of former prisoners,
including Denis Adams, a pre-war cadet journalist at Sydney’s The Sun newspaper and one of the editors
of The Daily Recco in stalags Luft
III and VI. ‘Repatter’ focussed on
active participation in group events and highlighted how the former kriegies
continued to care about their fellows.
Ron
Mackenzie’s friends, formed a protective gambling school: not to make money
but, recognising how much healthy bank balances could be depleted by bad falls
of dice or cards as they whiled away the hours, weeks, and days, they mutually
agreed to strictly enforce daily stake limits.
The
shipboard welfare sub-committees also had the best interests of their fellow
repatriates in mind. To stave off boredom during a two-month voyage with only
one stopover, they organised entertainments, amenities, and time-fillers, and
the padres held church services, community hymn singing, and bible readings.
Gordon Given, for example, played saxophone in the ship-board band, Justin
O’Byrne took charge of the library, Hugh Lambie received contributions to a
proposed voyage souvenir, James McCleery and Louis Koch paired up for the
bridge competition, Bill Brew was voted ‘No. 1 Pin-Up-Boy by Brighton Belles.
Emphasising
that captivity was not an entirely empty phase of their lives, ‘Repatter’ also honoured the ‘Things
We’ve Done’. One man, for instance, was lauded for his formidable knitting
talent developed in camp, Ron Mackenzie’s classes in commercial subjects were
highlighted, and Rob Damman’s escape attempts were outlined. There was also a
subtle shift in emphasis to future careers: Mackenzie’s camp-attained
qualifications were revealed, as were Damman’s hopes of re-entering the family
tobacco business. It was an active yet peaceful time for the airmen as they
continued to recover from the stresses and strains of captivity. Other than sea
sicknesses and other minor ailments, there were few hospital admissions with
the ‘Repatter’ announcing that ‘Sick
Bay Reports Business Slack’.
While
shipboard life provided a pleasant, relaxing interlude before home and a return
to ‘real’ life, concerns about psychological disturbance was perhaps never far
from their minds. For example, less than three weeks into the Orion’s voyage, ‘Repatter’ reported that ‘Ship Happy’ had replaced ‘Stalag Happy’
as nerves frayed in an environment of restricted space and limited society. As
in camp, however, they tried to manage it with humour and action: ‘Some do P.T.
Others grow beards. Same [sic] even went to see a George Formby film’.
