1948 Shaking with Eddie by Eddie Clarke

Over the

Cocktail

shoulder -

Some Reminiscences by "Eddie"...

Our father is an old sea Captain—one of the good old sailing ship types—and his three sons followed in the family tradition. A t the age of 15 (1923) I went to sea as a Deck Boy and studied Navigation. During the Seamen's Strike (1926) I found myself out of work, and I took, on a shore job, at the same time signing amateur forms for a very good senior soccer team. Indirectly, it was through football that I changed my occupation at sea, and instead of a prospective Ship's Officer, I became a Ship's Bartender in 1926. On the C . P . R . liner Empress of Scotland in the winter of 1927 I did my first cruise around the world, playing my favourite sport of soccer in all the various ports, as well as shaking cocktails. It was on the Empress of Scotland in 1927 that I first made drinks for Royalty—the Prince of Wa l e s and Duke of Kent returning from Canada—•" Bronx " being their favourite cocktail during the voyage. I left the Empress of Scotland after doing a Mediterranean Cruise in the winter of 1928, and was posted to the latest cruising ship of the C . P . R . , the Empress of Australia On this ship I went round the world again and completed also three We s t Indian cruises and another Mediterranean cruise, also three Norwegian cruises. During my voyages on this ship to Canada on the Mail Run , I made drinks for the Duke of Gloucester.

In 1932 I was transferred to the new luxury liner Empress of Britain, in which I completed two more Wo r l d Cruises, and met a host of famous person­ alities. During one Mail Run to Canada we had as passengers all the Ottawa

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