THE PERSIAN GULF 165 



in the Gulf and there would be good material for psycho-analysis 

 later when he settled down. It was not long before the Sick 

 Berth Petty Officer, who was also in the game, reported to Mike 

 Harvey, the Paymaster, dressed as the Medical Officer, that a 

 stoker had broken his arm, Harvey rounded on the petty officer 

 and gave him a thunderous blast for disturbing him: 'You know 

 my hours. Tell him to report at 9 o'clock in the morning,' he 

 concluded. The new surgeon's eyes goggled and he made mental 

 resolutions to change this amazing procedure as soon as he took 

 over. 



Meanwhile the Sub-Lieutenant, who was dressed in the Pay- 

 master's uniform, was twiddling with the safe combination in the 

 Paymaster's cabin and to his surprise and delight it came open. 

 Taking a wad of notes from the safe, he walked into the wardroom 

 brandishing the money and asked who required a 'casual' pay- 

 ment. The real Paymaster was horrified at this and shot out to 

 change the combination under the guise of drawing his casual. 



Ashton was all the while telling tales — in the broadest American 

 accent — of life in the oil fields of Texas, and Preston wondered 

 how far it was to Doha and how long it would be until this 

 insufferable bore was landed. 



When the officers put on their own uniforms for dinner, 

 Preston was even more baffled.* 



Doha would grow in importance as the oil fields in Qatar 

 developed, and so Bill Ashton was landed with a camp party on 

 Jazirat Safliya, an island on the north side of Doha harbour, to make 

 a chart of this area. As well as the usual stores of food, survey 

 marks and tents, water was a serious problem when planning any 

 camp in the Gulf, and many drums of water had to be landed with 

 the party. Everything went well, the stores were landed and 

 stowed, the moorings for the sounding boat were laid and the 

 tents were rigged. All was hustle and bustle; in fact, in Bill 

 Ashton's phrase, 'everyone was as busy as bird dogs'. By nightfall 

 the camp was a blaze of light powered by the portable generator, 

 but this was short lived, for in expectation of heavy dews a 



* The removal of coloured distinction cloth from officers' uniforms by order 

 of Their Lordships on ist January, 19^7, has robbed high-spirited officers of 

 the joy of inflicting this hoax on newcomers. 



