This is the fifth in the ongoing series on the life of 17-year-old George James Dixon Jr, a Dockyard apprentice who arrived in Bermuda during 1937.

With Easter now behind us, we settled right into our new lifestyle, a free and easy one to say the least. Even the three-mile ride to work was a leisurely affair, with a few brief stops on Watford Bridge and Gray’s Bridge for a chat with early morning fishermen. Our work start time was 7.30am and the system of checking in was rather unique.

All employees entering the “yard” had to pass through the “muster station” under the watchful eye of the timekeeper. The station was a small brick building with two walk-through passageways — in one side and out the other. Large flat trays were fitted either side of each aisle, and each one was divided into small square-shaped recesses approx 35mm square and 5mm in depth.

Every workman had a small brass-plate “ticket” with his work number engraved on it and made to fit into one of the recesses carrying a similar number. On leaving work the previous day, the workshop Charge man would open the workshop ticket box, each employee picked up his number ticket and making his way to the main yard muster station mentioned previously and deposited his ticket in his numbered ‘pigeon hole’.

This cycle would be reversed the next morning, except if the employee arrived late when he would find the main muster station temporarily closed whilst the timekeeper inside made a note of any tickets not collected.

An allowance of thirty minutes was made for latecomers, after which the station would be clocked until the next out-muster at lunch time. Latecomers were subjected to a minor pay deduction, and were allowed a maximum of four late arrivals per month — any more than this would earn them a severe reprimand from their respective Head of Department and a fair one too, as concessions were made when necessary, especially for the employees who had to rely on the ferry service to get to work from Hamilton.

The journey across the Great Sound could get very rough at times during the winter months, and if deemed necessary for safety reasons, the service would be temporarily suspended.

As the summer advanced, so the temperatures elevated, and come mid June it would be very warm indeed — and also very humid. The latter made it feel even warmer, and the prevailing wind being mainly from the South didn’t help matters at all. It was a case of adjusting oneself and keeping one’s exertions to a minimum and wearing apparel as light as possible.

After my initiation to severe sunburn I seldom wore shorts of short sleeved shirts as it was apparent that I was very sensitive to the sun’s rays — or more correctly, the ultra violet rays. Just ten minutes of exposure to uncovered skin areas was sufficient to cause inflammation and ‘burning’, and without sunglasses, also affected the eyes.

Rainfall was minimal during the long summer period, but it was always very welcome, both for its temporary cooling effects and of course for the island’s water supplies. When it did occur, rainfall was nearly always torrential and of tropical intensity but of short duration. A rare thunderstorm could produce several inches of rain in a very short time and transform the unmade roads into a condition akin to liquid cement.

August and September were the hottest months and they were also forerunners of the hurricane season. These severe storms originate in the West Indian Islands further to the south, curving northwards to follow the warm waters of the Gulf Stream.

Bermuda became a hive of activity if a hurricane advisory was issued, and the Dockyard was no exception. Ships alongside the jetties which, for various reasons were unable to put to sea, had all their mooring lines trebled, which incorporated storm hawsers fitted with large rope “springs” to act as shock absorbers. (A storm hawser is a heavy duty, extra thick mooring line.)

A primary concern was the floating dock with its high vertical sides, giving large “windage” areas, and if possible the dock would be “flooded down” to maximum working depth to reduce this factor to a minimum, with a ship in the dock, it was a different matter however, and teams of shipwrights would have the top priority job ensuring that all their mooring breast shores were “snugged up”and securely wedged.

These shores were lengths of 12 square baulks of timber reaching from the ship’s side of the dock, and in effect, they kept the ship upright on the dock keel blocks. A 10,000 ton cruiser would have perhaps 20 of these, (ten on each side), and constant watch was kept to ensure their tightness, which may decrease due to shrinkage effects and the heat of the atmosphere.

Hurricane precautions of various sorts were taken by all the island’s inhabitants, securing and making sure that all loose objects were safely stowed away in a safe place, as a fully developed storm could develop wind gusts exceeding 120mph should the storm pass directly over the island.

Initial violent winds would temporarily decrease to a light air as the storm passes over i.e. the “eye” as it was known. The lull would only be brief in duration however, and with even greater ferocity, commence to blow again from the opposite direction. A fully developed storm could produce an abundance of rain, but depending on one’s proximity to the shoreline, this could well get contaminated with airborne spray from the sea.

Whenever possible, small boats would be hauled out and beached well above the normal high tide level and the larger ones taken into one of the semi-landlocked lagoons, such as Ely’s Harbour at Somerset Bridge, or Fairylands in Pembroke Parish. We experienced several storm warnings during our first year, but they safely passed by well to the West, giving a lot of welcome rain but nothing more than moderate gale-force winds. Later years were a different story.

The month of August heralded a major event for the local population — the annual cricket match between Somerset and St George’s. The tempo of the match was equal to that of an international contest, and the whole island experienced a two day holiday for its coverage, the match being played either on the Somerset field or that of St George’s.

Palmetto Grove, where we lived, was within two minutes walk from the Royal Naval Field where the game was played. We had a grandstand view of the considerable amount of activity which went on unabashed well into each evening. Beer flowed in unlimited amounts as did the national beverage, Black Rum and it was a proper carnival atmosphere throughout the two days.

A lot of gambling went on, but it was all good natured and there was seldom any violence — but there was a lot of noise as the beer and rum made themselves known. The latter was very cheap to buy and by so being it was consumes almost on a par with the more expensive beer and our shopkeeper Mr Roberts did a roaring trade, as his store was located on the field’s boundary. Apart from Christmas, the Cup Match was the island’’s biggest “booze up” of the year and everyone made the most of it.

After the hot airless days of September, the arrival of October and the cooling effects it brought along with were most welcome by all. Even so, it would still be quite warm, but with less humidity which made it feel somewhat fresher, especially at night-time, which made it easier to sleep. There were no air-conditioners in those days, and the cooling evening breeze were very welcome after the months of high temperatures, twenty four hours a day.

Our next major activity was the preparation for the fast approaching Christmas period. This saw us making a considerable number of shopping excursions into Hamilton. There were some excellent shops there, all loaded with good, high quality merchandise, a lot of which came from Britain and especially Scotland.

Visiting tourists were enthusiastic buyers for goods from the “Old Country” and although quite expensive, they willingly paid the prices with their free-flowing dollars which they seemed to have a lot of. We soon discovered the shops suited to our modest means and unless we wanted something really special, we left the more exclusive stores to the tourists.

Our first Christmas was a lavish one with plenty of everything, including more than enough “liquid refreshments” to cater for seasonal house visitors, all of them being new-found friends, or “yard” workmates of my father. Although it was late December, it was quite comfortable to sit outside and we did, in fact have a table loaded with seasonal “goodies” on our outside veranda. “Callers In” certainly were not lacking either and to put it mildly, a good time was had by all including some folk we didn’t even know at the time.

This particular Christmas was for us rather unique. Firstly, it was our first ever outside of England. Secondly, it was the warmest one we had ever experienced. Thirdly, we had the traditional Bermuda foodstuff: large locally grown oranges grown by a neighbour, mangoes from the West Indies and most importantly the Bermuda Cassava Pie with its many ingredients, including several varieties of meats. Christmas plum pudding was not a big favourite in Bermuda, but we had one, just for old times sake. It was a very good Christmas to say the least.

New Year’s Eve was another excuse for more indulgence and here again, Bermuda did itself proud with its celebrations — bright lights and a general air of gaiety and festival atmosphere. The Hamilton waterfront was a blaze of multicoloured lighting.

The cruise ships alongside the dock were outlined with hundred of light bulb around the hulls, and strung between their masts. In Somerset it was very much quieter but even so, the trees around Mangrove Bay had festoons of lights strung between them, amplified by their reflection in the water.

For such a small island Bermuda did itself proud.

• Cecille Snaith-Simmons from the writing of George J Dixon Jr, with thanks to Barry Dixon for sharing the memoirs of his father