Good question even more so since I was born and raised in a small village in "Sauerland" a hilly country area very far away from the sea.

As a young boy in the late 1960ies I spent part of my summer holidays at my uncle´s flat in Koblenz where the river Mosel joins the Rhein. Being from a tiny village in a remote country area it was heaven for me. We had lots of walks along the river front and I remember how fascinated I was by the barges which were going up and down the river. My uncle explained to me that the captains with their families lived on the barges and you could even see their cars being parked on the deck of the barges. So my schoolboy dream was to become one of those captains. (see photo #1 high above the "Deutsches Eck" in Koblenz at Fortress Ehrenbreitstein and photo #2 down below at the tip of the "Deutsches Eck" where the Mosel joins the Rhein.

Number one on my Wishlist for Christmas was a book about the biggest sea battles in history. When it was given to me by my uncle at Christmas it became one of my treasured possessions. I can´t remember how many times I read it. (And I found it again! Amazing. Haven´t looked it for maybe 40 years. It is a translation from the english original "Great Sea Battles" by Oliver Warner. The sleeve however is nowhere to be found unfortunately. I remember vividly it depicted the famous scene of the dying Horatio Nelson at the battle of Trafalgar).

At the age of 18 in my last year at school I decided to apply for a place at Wilhelmshaven University to study “Nautical Science” and sent off my application. I was told to have a medical at the local official doctor. When he examined me I told him that I wanted to be a captain at sea. He looked at me in horror and told me that in his career as a medical officer he was stationed at a seaport in Africa for several years. He gave me some advice which I will not repeat here in his very words (which I have not forgotten ever since). In a nutshell it was a VERY drastic warning (to an innocent country bumpkin 18 years of age) to be very careful with my “social contacts” when arriving at a port.

It did of course not dampen my spirits but the answer from Wilhelmshaven did. My application was rejected due to insufficient results in mathematics and physics. Shortly after that I had to do my medical for the upcoming conscription time in the Army. We had to fill out a questionnaire and I of course opted to do my service in the German Navy. There must have been a curse on my dreams to become a naval person because a few weeks later I received my draft note and was told to report at training barracks for my time in the German Airforce!

I had already met Rosalind during that time and after she finished her degree at Newcastle and I served my conscript time in the Army we moved to Cologne. Rosalind worked for an American computer company and I studied Business Administration. My dream of becoming a Sailor was finally over.

During the last year at university I met a girl at my institute who told me her surname was Wachtel-Emden. Curious about the double name (which in those days was really unusual) she explained to me that her grandfather served on the Emden and all crew members were given the right to have the double name honouring their service on board the Cruiser. 

Photo #4 is an extract of the crew list with Marion´s grandfather Ferdinand Wachtel listed as “Stoker” (Heizer) and reported as POW.