Walter Baumann (Switzerland)

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Walter Baumann DJ3FY born 1935 and raised in Basel/Switzerland I went through secondary school and finished my apprenticeship as an electrician. After the compulsory military service for me in the field of radio communications I decided to become a professional RO and applied for training at the Seefahrtschule in Bremen. Thanks to SF Bremen I got 1956 my 2nd class RO-Licence in Bern/Switzerland and left immediately for Antwerp to take up my first job aboard Anunciada/HBDM. MS Anunciada was a real tramper and my inherent wish to see the world was in a way fullfilled. My second ship was MS Cristallina/HBDL trading between Europe and the Caribbean, but in 1959 my seafaring time came abruptly to an end as during a lengthy holiday in my country I “swallowed the hook” and decided to get work back home. There I got a very interesting job in the “Swiss overseas radiotelephon service” operating via shortwave as satellite communication did not yet exist. Then my life took another unexpected abrupt turn. The Ministry of foreign affairs needed a skilled RO for their Embassy in Cairo. I applied, got the approval, and moved with my family to Cairo where I was responsible for the radio contacts which were conducted in the good old morse code. Looking backwards I must confess that operating the embassy radio kept me happy but I had ambitions. Without going into lengthy details I must admit that in a way I was always damned lucky. My application to change from radio into the consular career was accepted. Studies and examinations followed and so did the postings. From Cairo to New Delhi, then to Beirut, Bangkok, Jakarta, back home to Berne and again abroad to Sofia, Accra, Mulhouse and finally to Dublin as consul general with the title as counsellor. It was a highly demanding life which was not always easy for me and my family. Reviewing those times gone by I must admit one thing: the most fascinating time, the most interesting time and the most enjoyable time in my life was the time I was RO aboard HBDM and HBDL.