Aboard SS VARSOVA, Short writes about daily life, his work and his shipmates on voyages between Basra and Bombay. He spends a lot of time studying for maths and engineering exams between watches, and spends his free time on correspondance, sketching and listening to music. His letter of 22nd May is addressed St Georges Hospital, Bombay. It is not clear why he is in hospital, but he makes references to his face 'clearing up', and in Ambrose's reply (see SHO/4/4) she says 'how careless that barber must have been'. By the 30th May he has been discharged, and is writing from SS ELLORA, where he is staying for 3 days. He has been appointed Fourth of the WAROONGA, a Japanese cargo ship, and has been told he will be heading to Shanghai. By the 8th June he is aboard SS WAROONGA, and he is disappointed with the ship and his night shift routine. The ship is going to Kobe instead of Shanghai, and Short hopes he can stay onshore in Japan for a while. On 23rd June he describes a trip to a Japanese denist in Singapore, which impresses him greatly. He writes about missing Breach Candy, a resort he frequented in Bombay for swimming. He has also developed 'quite a passion for soft drinks' having been served them by the nurses in hospital.