My Father: The Officer, The Man

By Igor Labzin

Back in Shanghai, during the ensuing years, as Boris’s reputation for good seamanship and reliability grew, he managed to improve his employment position and conditions by becoming captain of larger and newer ships that were usually owned by the bigger shipping companies that, in general, were better to work for.

One such company at that time was the Moller Steamship Company, which was owned by Eric Moller, son of the original founder of the shipping company Nils Moller. The company left Shanghai after the Communist victory in 1949 and continued to operate from Hong Kong until 1981, when it withdrew from the shipping business. Being flamboyant and influential with a “larger than life” personality, typical of many a shipowner in Shanghai at the time, Eric Moller built a magnificent villa for his family in the French Concession area of Shanghai in 1936. This partly Gothic and partly Tudor-style villa, known as the Moller Villa, still stands today and is now a hotel.

Other shipowners were just as flamboyant and outrageously extravagant. Boris told me about the gambling habits of the Chinese in general and the shipowners in particular. The game was Mah-Jong, the traditional Chinese game that probably comes closest to a European game of cards. These Mah-Jong games would start in the early evening and the participants, well-oiled with whisky and cigarettes, would continue to play all night. The richer the participants, the higher the stakes! On one occasion, the shipowner for whom Boris worked was on a losing streak and having run out of money at the table, gambled one of his ships. He lost that hand too! Boris was informed the next day that his ship had been lost in a Mah-Jong game and he was now in the employ of another company owned by one of the luckier players that night.

The Chinese-owned shipping companies had what can be described as tough employment conditions. As in all other walks of life in China at the time, there were no unions or professional associations to protect or advance the employment conditions of their members. Conditions such as annual leave, sick leave or pension schemes were non-existent. Shore leave was taken whilst the ship was docked in the homeport, whilst having its cargo unloaded and new cargo loaded for the next voyage. Very occasionally, extra time on shore could be enjoyed, if the ship was in dry-dock for maintenance or repairs. It was for those reasons, that the best type of ship for Boris to be on was one whose home port was Shanghai and which made relatively short round trips, so that he could be home for four to five days every month or so.

Despite the severe employment conditions, the Chinese shipowners were generally generous employers, who paid well and gave large annual bonuses. They also often gave presents of rolls of fine silk, solid gold jewellery, not to mention alcohol and tobacco.

During the next few years, as Boris’s employment position improved, they were able to enjoy a relatively privileged lifestyle in Shanghai.

Dogs were always a large part of Boris and Vera’s life and, many years later, it would be their pets that determined the course of their lives. Boris already had a dog at the time that he met Vera. This dog always accompanied him on board ship and was fiercely loyal to him. With Vera at home during most of Boris’s trips, the dog had the luxury of a choice of either going aboard ship or staying at home. He considered himself as Boris’s dog and did not take well to any commands from Vera, which annoyed her greatly.

They developed a particular fondness for purebred English bulldogs. The more ugly the better! Sometime around 1936, a female bulldog called Topsja came on the scene.

Topsja too, used to join Boris and Vera on the sea trips. On board ship, she roamed at will, often joining the Chinese crew for lunch or dinner. She was practically bilingual, understanding both Chinese and Russian.

Vera used to prefer to join Boris on his trips in summer in order to escape Shanghai’s stifling heat and humidity. Needless to say, Topsja would join them aboard ship. However in winter, when the weather was cold and the seas rougher, both Vera and Topsja preferred to stay in their apartment.

From time to time, Topsja would sail with Boris, whilst Vera remained in Shanghai. She enjoyed life aboard ship but did have some anxious moments. On one trip, when the ship was caught in a severe typhoon with the rough seas breaking over the ship, the rolling and pitching threw the dog from side to side on the ship’s bridge, causing her to slide across the floor. The ship’s situation, although not perilous, was certainly serious. In these treacherous conditions, all the Captain’s skills were needed to keep the ship pointed head-on into the mountainous waves in order to avoid the risk of capsizing and sinking the ship. Later when they arrived back in Shanghai, Topsja stumbled down the gangplank glad to be back on solid ground.

Before each new voyage, Boris would come home and tell Vera the details of the upcoming trip: how long it would last, what the ports of call would be, and when the voyage would start. As soon as Boris would start to describe these details to Vera, Topsja would be there, head cocked to one side, listening! On the day of the departure, as Boris completed his packing, Topsja would be there with her ears standing up, right next to the suitcase, ready to go, making herself noticeable. That was her usual form. The exception was for the voyage following the one with the storm, she was not to be seen anywhere near the suitcases. When eventually she was found, hiding in a faraway corner of the apartment, she pretended to be very tired, hardly able to stay awake long enough to decline Boris’s invitation to join him on the trip.

In Shanghai, they lived in an apartment at 159 Avenue Haig (now called Huashan Lu), close to the western boundary of the French Concession. Sometime in 1936, they bought and moved to an apartment on the fourth floor (top floor) in the King Albert Apartment complex at 373 Avenue du Roi Albert (now Shanxi Nan Lu), located in a more interesting up-market part of the French Concession. This apartment was close to everything: the main shopping street of Avenue Joffre (now Huaihai Lu); the French Club, where there was always entertainment at night and where balls were often held; the Canidrome, a fifty thousand seat stadium hosting dog races and a large entertainment centre for Westerners; more theatres and cafes.