Hogan plus Vowles

Early one Monday morning, it was October 18th, 1954, I sailed into Rio de Janeiro on board the Reardon Smith tramp ship "Eastern City."

The "Eastern City" arrived in Novorossiysk, a major naval port in the USSR, the Soviet Union, on 13th September 1954. In 1942, the town was occupied by the Wehrmacht but a small unit of Soviet sailors defended one part of the town for 225 days, until it was liberated on September 16, 1943 by the Russian Red Army. The heroic defence of the port by the sailors allowed the Soviets to retain possession of the city's bay, which prevented the Germans from using the port for supply shipments. Novorossiysk was awarded the title of a "Hero City" in 1973. So we arrived there eleven years after its liberation from the Nazis but the evidence of the war was still evident. The first impression of the place was dilapidation and lack of money. There was no humour in the place, the officials were grim and solid. No cameras were allowed. Passes had to shown. The military were everywhere. The ship was inspected and passed to load wheat for Brazil. The Mate thanked me for my hel...