The Working Alleyway
The main artery of any ship is its working alleyway. On the Caronia this ran almost the full length of B deck on the starboard side of the ship's centreline. At the forward end would be access up to the crew deck, or down to the crew accommodation on C deck.
Back toward the aft end you had crew accommodation on your starboard side until just before you reached the first set of watertight doors. On the right was the access passageway to the Pig & Whistle (the crew pub).
Beyond the watertight doors was the upper section of the engine room and a small lobby with shell-door access to the shore. Further along you'd then encounter the continuous blast of hot air emanating from the permanently open door at the top of the companionway down to the engine room.
Just beyond that was the forward companionway up to the galley. Further along, on the starboard side was the stewards messroom, and beyond that the warrant-officers mess. Opposite the aft companionway up to the galley was the fish preparation pantry, with the bakery inboard.
From here onward would be accesses to the various storerooms, the frozen-food store being below on C deck. Another watertight door would need to negotiated before the last of upward companionways was reached. This would bring you up aft of the lobby behind the Sandringham Restaurant, with direct access to the Cabin Class passenger accommodation.
The aft end of the working alleyway gave access to accommodation for such as the top chefs and the Head Waiters. Beyond was the passenger accommodation of B deck. On cruises, this accommodation housed the photographers, bandsmen and extra female staff.
Some parts of the alleyway were as wide as perhaps 15 feet, especially in the stores areas. Of course, in an emergency this was the main route for all of the crew to gain access to the upper decks and get to the lifeboats.
In some ports, notably places like Bombay, Hong Kong and Yokohama, the working alleyway would be transformed into an onboard market. Local traders were allowed to set up stalls and offer their wares.
Here was the opportunity to get a suit tailored, or a pair of shoes hand-made. Armed with little more than a well-thumbed pattern book, a tape-measure and little notebook, there came the promise of a bespoke suit that would last you for years, being delivered to you the very next day! All this for what was very little money…
