ABC Wednesday, N for Nieuw Amsterdam

My sincere apologies for the  bad quality of the photos.

After our time as  p.o.w.'s in Japanese concentrationcamps, we were liberated by the British. Two months after the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki we could escape a new danger. The Indonesian freedom fighters wanted to put us back in the camps, and kill us if possible. Fortunately we could sail to Singapore on British ships. There we waited for a ship to take us homeward, to the Netherlands.

On the fifth of December 1945 we went on board of the S.S.Nieuw Amsterdam , which was one of the five biggest ships of the world at that time. Four thousand Dutch men, women and children came on board. We also had a lot of British soldiers of the 14th regiment, who were longing to be reunited with their loved ones after their captivity in concentrationcamps.  On 8th December we left the harbour of Singapore.

The ship was overcrowded, but we were used to that. There was, however an unexpected epidemic, of the measles, of which many children died, something my mum, sisters and I nor any of our fellow cabin passengers knew until now. It was so tragic because our mothers had done everything they could to keep their children alive in the camps, and here almost back home, some of them died.

I was twelve in December 1945, my sisters were 8 and 6.

I enjoyed this voyage immensely. I could walk wherever I wanted. I watched the sea. Sometines I saw dolphins or "Flying" fish. Once I saw beautifully coloured jellyfish, also known as the Portuguese man-of-war.

During this voyage we had a stop in Adabaya, where we got on a train that took us to Ataka, where we got our winter outfit. We were treated to coffee, tea, limonade and all kind of cakes. For the children there was a play ground and each child got a present. It was for us a great happening.

When we returned it was dark. We saw in the distance the enormous, illuminated Nieuw Amsterdam, lying in all her majesty, our ship!

The train that took us in the desert, where we got our winter clothes.

Bon voyage, pleasant journey!

Slowly we steamed through  the Suez Canal. I watched a camel rider on the shore, who kept pace with us!

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the 1938-built Nieuw Amsterdam. For other ships with the same name, see New Amsterdam .

S.S. Nieuw Amsterdam
Career (Netherlands)
Name:	Nieuw Amsterdam
Namesake:	New Amsterdam (New York)
Operator:	Holland America Line
Builder:	N.V. Rotterdam Drydock Company, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Laid down:	January 5, 1936
Launched:	April 10, 1937
Christened:	April 10, 1937
Maiden voyage:	May 10, 1938
Fate:	Scrapped in 1974
General characteristics
Tonnage:	36,287 gross tons (36,667 tons after 1947 refit)
Length:	758 feet (231.5 m)
Beam:	88 feet (26.9 m)
Installed power:	Single reduction geared turbines; 34,000 shp
Propulsion:	Twin screws
Speed:	20.5 knots (38.0 km/h)
Capacity:	1,220: 556 First Class, 455 Second Class, 209 Third Class

The Nieuw Amsterdam was a Dutch ocean liner built in Rotterdam for the Holland America Line. This Nieuw Amsterdam, the second of four Holland America ships with that name, is considered by many to have been Holland America's finest ship

S.S. Nieuw Amsterdam

Name:

Nieuw Amsterdam

Namesake:

New Amsterdam (New York)

Operator:

Holland America Line

Builder:

N.V. Rotterdam Drydock Company, Rotterdam, Netherlands

Laid down:

January 5, 1936

Launched:

April 10, 1937

Christened:

April 10, 1937

Maiden voyage:

May 10, 1938

Fate:

Scrapped in 1974

Tonnage:

36,287 gross tons (36,667 tons after 1947 refit)

Length:

758 feet (231.5 m)

Beam:

88 feet (26.9 m)

Installed power:

Single reduction geared turbines; 34,000 shp

Propulsion:

Twin screws

Speed:

20.5 knots (38.0 km/h)

Capacity:

1,220: 556 First Class, 455 Second Class, 209 Third Class

When we arrived in Southampton we had to leave our ship, which had been our home for 23 days. It was NewYear's day 1946. We had to board a British boat : the Almanzora. An old vessel and extremely cold! On 3rd January we arrived in Amsterdam, where Princess Juliana welcomed us. She was shocked by the silent group of women, who bowed for her like we had to do for the Japanese soldiers.

My mum , sisters and I went by train to Rotterdam, where my father was reunited with us after four years. He had been at sea during the war.

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt,  who created ABC, and Roger, who took over from her. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar. This week we are looking for words beginning with N.

Welcome to Our World Tuesday! This meme continues in memory of the work of Klaus Peter, whose "that's My World" brought people together from around the world every Monday to share the wonders therein--big and small.Please click on our  logo for "Our World Tuesday" in the sidebar. Thank you Team of O. W. T.!