At the Swimming Club, 1953

This photograph was taken at the Mombasa Swimming Club in 1953. It shows, from left to right, my friend John Solly; me partly obscured behind the yacht; Mark Solly, John's older brother; and my brother Richard. Behind us, across the waters of the Old Port, in the Old Town, which is on the island of Mombasa, while the Club was on the mainland to the north of the town.

The reason I'm behind the yacht is that I'm holding it; it's my yacht and I'm intensely proud of it, for it was made for me by an engineer on one of my father's Harrison Line ships. It had a dark blue hull and a small metal plaque on its deck with it's name - Defender - engraved on it, so called because that was the name of my grandfather, Ernest Haylett's last command.

What is so remarkable about the photo is that, over seventy years later, I'm still in touch with John, Mark and my brother. John I last saw at a Mombasa European Primary School reunion in, I think, 2013, Mark and I still 'see' each other in occasional FaceTime sessions, and my brother and I exchange emails.

Sadly, the Swimming Club didn't last as long: its site was developed as a housing complex.