The day after our arrival the three of us who were to be stationed at the lighthouse packed our tin cases and disembarked, taking with us a portable range-finder, a dumaresque, and some cooking utensils. Having piled all the luggage on a taxi which had been hired for us, we started for the lighthouse, which was on the other side of the island.
At first the road, bounded on one side by a high embankment and on the other by the harbour, was slightly uphill, but presently we passed into a grove of trees and then under the Uganda railway bridge, and so along a straight and level road bordered by palm and various other tropical trees. Then came a native village composed of mud huts set back in a clearing to the left. Here a foolish ostrich, which I imagine belonged to the natives, fled across the road in front of the car and narrowly escaped being run over. A little later we reached the outskirts of the town, and after passing through it for a short distance turned to the right, and leaving the native barracks and the prison on our left, proceeded along a level track raised above the surrounding scrub, and flanked by trees wherein hundreds of birds’-nests hung, until we came to the hospital. Here we again turned to the right, and shortly afterwards we arrived at the lighthouse, where we unloaded our luggage and dismissed the taxi.
Finding that the tent in which we were to live was still in possession of the soldiers who had lived in it hitherto, we left a message with the native look-out boy, requesting them to remove themselves before nightfall, and we went off to the town for some tea. After tea the Lieutenant and Browne went to buy a stove and a kettle and one or two other things we required, while I walked back to the camp to look after our gear. I found the soldiers had gone and the tent was ready for us, so I set about moving in our things. Presently the Gunnery Lieutenant came up to see the camping place and to arrange with us where we should set up the range-finder, etc. I told him the others were shopping in the town, and we sat down and talked until they turned up. Then it was decided to set up our instruments on top of the look-out house, and to carry the flexible voice-pipe from there through the window below to the plotting-table where the chart was. This done “Guns” departed, and we set to and arranged our beds and made the tent ship-shape and habitable.
When in town Browne and the Lieutenant had bought some shorts and some navy-blue putties, which they thought would be much cooler and more serviceable than duck suits; so during our time in camp our uniform consisted of shorts, putties, and shirts, and of course sun helmets, which are indispensable in that climate. At half-past seven we cooked some eggs we had brought with us and got our supper ready. Browne caused us much amusement, as his only idea of cooking eggs was to put them all into a saucepan full of cold water and stir them vigorously until they boiled! However, I must admit that none of us knew much about cooking, and we conducted some fearful and wonderful experiments in that line while we were in camp! After supper we were quite ready for bed, so we turned in.
Next morning there was much to be done, so we were up by 6 o’clock; and before breakfast we fixed up our range-finder and dumaresque on the roof of the observation hut and rigged up the flexible voice-pipe. After breakfast we repitched the tent a little further round, where the prevailing breeze would blow through it and keep it a bit cooler. Apparently the “Tommies” who preceded us were a stuffy lot with no undue craving for fresh air!
Then we contrived a pantry in the back of the tent on a wooden table, and here we installed the filter we had brought from the ship, as well as all our plates and dishes and the stove. Further, we engaged a native boy as general factotum to help with our ménage and do such cooking as we could not manage on the stove.
We also hired a bike from the ordnance officer at the port.
When all this was accomplished a trial run of ranges and deflections with the ship occupied us until lunch-time.
During the day a native kept the look-out from the watch-hut, reporting to us as soon as anything was sighted at sea.
Next morning I was sent to the pier on the bicycle to catch the 11.30 boat and to go to our ship and obtain from the bo’sun a broom and one or two other things we needed. I caught the boat all right, lunched on the “——” after putting in a “chit” for the broom, etc., and returned to the shore in the 1.30 boat.