"I left hell and entered Paradise!!"

Mr Haniotis Anastasios did his military service right after the end of World War II. According to him, living inside Averoff was easier than in the world outside. It was a time of great poverty and starvation.

He told us about his counter-espionage against the Germans (without knowing about it!) and about life on board, as well as about the incidents that are inscribed into his memory.

When did you join the Hellenic Navy?

In 1944.Life in that period was really tough. Luckily, I had a job and I could get by. I chopped woods right opposite the German facilities. A gentleman named Prosalentis would ask me time and again what I had seen and I answered.

Once, he asked me if there was anything he could do for me. I asked him to make me a sailor. He replied: �OK, meet me tomorrow morning at 08.00 in the Grand Bretagne Hotel�. I went there at 06.00 and waited. In fact, the doorman wouldn�t let me in but when I told him that Mr. Prosalentis was expecting me, he let me in. Mr Prosalentis came along with a gentleman dressed in uniform whom I later found out that his name was Toumpas and that he was the fleet�s leading Officer. He made sure I joined the Navy. The fact that Mr Toumpas had sent me to the ship resulted in me being well treated by the other sailors. I realized that later on.

What did they give you when you entered the ship?

They gave us a bag full of clothes.

Did you get any money?

We were given quite a lot of money, I don�t exactly remember how much. We were paid in English pounds. This stopped when the Americans were granted the military command of Greece.

Do you remember faces from that era, who you were on board with?

The Admiral�s name was Voulgaris. The chief cook�s name was Zouganelis, from Mykonos, who used to chase us in every galley we tried to get into. He wouldn�t let us in. I remember several other people too. Hrysospathis, an Ensign Officer, was a wonderful person who used to tell me to get a transfer because I would become a hunchback. He was telling me that because I was very tall.

Where were you sleeping?

I was sleeping on a hammock. It was really nice back then. We were young and were constantly teasing each other. I was sleeping on the 1^st sub-deck, on the right front side of the ship. Most of the day, we were playing games. Our favourite one was �Beez�.

How did they preserve food?

Inside the provisions stores, we had refrigerators with ice to preserve food. We also had dry food. What I remember the most was that we were given a can of beans with sugar.

Were the crew and officers� galley separated?

No, they were on the same area but they had different boilers. The front galley wasn�t used, it was a reserve.

At this point, we showed Mr Haniotis a can of potatoes and he seemed moved.

Were the galleys clean?

Everything was very clean.

Was there a doctor on board?

There was a well organized sick-bay but there was lack of medicine.

I will tell you about an incident I had. Once, my cup fell overboard, and I jumped to retrieve it. It had gone very deep though and after I found it and while resurfacing, I realized that the ship was right above me. I ended up crawling under the ship�s hull and when I got back on board, my back was full of shells glued on it. All this resulted in me suffering from pleuritis. I went to the doctor and he gave me a puncture to get the fluid out. They strapped on the bed and four sailors were there to hold me. The needle was extremely thick. I heard them say: �He is lucky, his organism has not kept any fluid�. I got a three day leave and everything was great. Unfortunately, I got a ten day sentence for swimming without permission.

After ten days, they sent me along with two sailors at the Naval Hospital to get an X-ray to see if I had recovered.

Was it hot in the winter on board?

We had radiators, so it was really nice. The whole ship had central heating installed. The middle boiler was constantly working. There were machinists doing regular shifts on board. The ship was as hot as an oven.

How did they call you when they needed you?

Through the voice pipes.

How did �Averoff� communicate with other ships?

Through signals made with flags and through reflections coming from the bridge�s headlight. They used the flags in the daytime and the headlight at nighttime.

Most of us did not know they were sending signals this way. We could not understand any of the signals that were sent but the sailors in charge were highly trained for this job and everything worked just fine.

What can you tell us about the coaling procedure?

The sailors used shovels to get the coal on board from another ship sailing right beside Averoff.

The machinists� work was very tough. It was extremely hot where they worked.

Did sailors do shifts at the bow�s observation mast?

When the ship was sailing outside the Mediterranean Sea, there was one sailor (a deck-boy) doing the shift up there. This way he could observe the position of the other ships.

There were some daredevils who were diving from this mast.

Do you remember the �calculator�?

It was used by the artillery Officer. He kept telling us not to go near it as it was really important.

Can you tell us about an incident that impressed you?

In Rhodes, we gave food to people. People were starving back then. Their hunger was so great that when they got on board, they were tearing apart the flour bags and ate it with their bare hands.