Unable to ply their nets at their life's occupation as fishermen the sturdy shoresmen of Brittany's coast gave of their time and their smacks to the perilous task of combing adjacent water for mines and explosive obstacles.
It was these the Morvada passed out in the darkness of night, on the eve before landing and setting foot on foreign soil. The Morvada crept on, the contrasting stillness of the waves showing that channel waters had been reached. But few on board knew, or could rightly guess what shore was to greet their eyes on the dawn of the morrow.
CHAPTER XII.
A ROYAL WELSH RECEPTION.
A surprise reception was in store for the soldiers aboard the S. S. Morvada when it came to debarking on foreign soil. As the ship plied the channel waters on the night of July 30th, 1918, but few on board knew what port was its destination; but not so with the people of the British Isles. They knew the plans for the arrival of the American army transports. On July 31st, the people of Barry and Cardiff, in common with Newport, in the province of South Wales, did honor to the American troops.
Barry, the urban district and seaport of Glamorganshire, Wales, on the Bristol channel, was the foreign shore that greeted the troops on the Morvada early in the morning of July 31st.
It was perfect weather for such a visit, the first ever paid to Barry by a large body of American troops, and Barry's reception was whole-hearted. The citizens turned out in great force. Enthusiasm was manifest on every side, and this, despite the fact that, owing to the unavoidable delay in the ship's arrival, the people had to wait several hours while the Morvada rested at anchor in the harbor until docking could be accomplished at 9 a. m.
While preparations to dock were in progress crowds lingered on the piers. The soldiers amused themselves by tossing one-cent pieces to the Welsh children. Immediately a demand for American cigarettes and chewing gum arose among the older Welshmen.
The crowds and the town itself were in holiday attire. The vessels in dock were gay with bunting. Flags were displayed from shop-windows, the municipal offices and the fire-brigade station, while from the summit of the Barry Railway Company's offices "Old Glory" was flying to the breeze.