When we were still some distance from the anchorage we were signalled by a small Japanese transport with the request to go slowly, as she was full up with a cargo of bombs and desired no friction to be set up by the passage of our ship When we anchored among so many transports for the night, we had visions of some of them being bumped and the rest of us going up in smoke, Fortunately nothing untoward happened and we were able to leave the anchorage at 630 a.m, HMS. Capetown had remained anchored further up stream.
We had left Kiukiang for Hankow provisioned for eighteen hours, but as things turned out we spent five days on the ship. Our greatest lack "was green vegetables, as nothing could be bought on the way down. The Chinese kitchen staff went ashore at Anking to buy anything they could. but it was too early in the morning so they were unsuccessful The supply of tinned fish and ma-carone lasted well, and every one kept very cheerful in spite of a number of set backs! When we arrived opposite the Bund, the Italian navy gave us a rousing welcome, so much so that our navigator missed the yerthing space and we held a double review of the naval vessels in the river before tying up at our berthing place.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.