In 1963 my family decided to emigrate to Australia. My father had an offer
of a job so he, my mother and little sister sailed to Sydney in May. My
twin brother and I stayed with our grandparents until June, after we had
taken important school exams.
So on 14th of June our grandparents took us down to Tilbury docks to
embark on the P & O liner "Orsova". We were allocated a two berth cabin,
and nobody felt it strange that two 16 year old boys were travelling on
their own.
The first three days were spent mainly in our cabin, the weather was
rainy, the sea was rough, and we were seasick. When we woke on the fourth
day the sea was as calm as a millpond, and the sun was shining down on the
ship. We quicklystripped down to our little swimming shorts and made our
way to the ship's swimming pool, where we stayed all day.
After a few days I became a bit worried because my brother, Peter,
started to go off with members of the ship's crew. Sometimes, he was away
for a couple of hours at a time. When I asked him about it, he was a bit
cagey, saying that they were showing him the parts of the ship that
passengers normally didn't see. I decided to follow him, the next time he
went missing. Next day I saw him talking to the Ship's Bosun and then walk
off with him , so I carefully followed them. After going through various
passages they entered a door marked "Petty Officer's Mess" and closed the
door behind them. I waited for about twenty minutes and as they didn't come
out. I decided to follow them inside and see what was happening.
As I entered the room I saw six men including my brother sat round a
large table playing cards, they were all in various stages of undress.
Peter was only wearing his underpants, and look shocked to see me. I
demanded to know what was going on a the Bosun said " We are playing strip
poker and your brother is losing, why not take over his hand and see if you
can win his clothes back, overwise he will have to buy them back with sex."
I was appalled, but could not see any other way out of the situation that
my twin had got himself into.
I started playing but very quickly started to lose my clothes as
well. Soon I was down to my little white briefs, and lost the very next
hand. Peter and I were helped onto the table and the randy seamen's hands
touched us everywhere.