‘Troopship, Convoy to Egypt, 1940: The Captain’s Inspection’, August 1940 (w/c and ink)

‘Troopship, Convoy to Egypt, 1940: The Captain’s Inspection’, August 1940. Watercolour, pen and ink by Eric Dawson. Eric Dawson was called up in November 1939. He joined the 2nd Battalion, Rifle Brigade after basic training. The battalion left Liverpool for Egypt on the 1 August 1940. The SS Orranto was a former liner, converted into a troopship. To avoid German and Italian forces active in the Mediterranean the route to Egypt involved a seven week voyage around Africa and up through the Suez Canal. Dawson describes life onboard the Orranto, ‘Our daily routine was monotonous in the extreme. A very boring two-hour session took place each morning when, at our emergency stations, we remained standing in formation during what was known as the Captain’s Inspection’.