Ships and the Sea

Well, Captain Kong... First I want to say.. I thoroughly enjoy reading your Sea Adventures.. I think you should publish a book.. I really do.. a few books of your sea ventures... Very well documented.. and I can picture the seas fury and calmness and the youth and knowledge of all ranks on board.. Hats off to your stories... ta..

This terrible tradgic occurance of Life on the Pool Fisher is well written, and accounts of memories that one ,(as myself), can be thankful , that I was not on that ship, or a family member ..Glad two survived. Strong and brave and stories to ever be documented and told to their offspring..

Very sad they stopped the wages for the families..as these Hardy and brave men (with small pitence ) would send home to their loved ones... and this taking place in 1980..seems shameful..

Any more news of Mark and the other lad that survived? Did you ever hear about his scuba discovery? Or, do you stay in touch???

Yours truly.. naked lilac..Sailing on with your stories mate.. cheers:PDT_Aliboronz_24:

Thank you for your comments, Lilac, very encouraging.

Mark is now married with four children and is a scuba diver, He had to dive on the POOL FISHER as a mark of respect to his dead shipmates and I suppose to lay the ghosts in his own mind.
A very couragous act, I could not have done it.

Don Crane never went to sea again, he emmigrated to Canada, and is married there.
I recieved an email off him while I was on QE2 between Japan and Hawaii last March, the first contact in 28 years, I repiled but got no answer, I sent another one in the summer again no answer.

A sad and tragic tale Brian. I was unaware that wages were stopped when a ship sank in this day and age. I know that it happened in World War 2 but not these days.
I remember the Pool Fisher well as she used to run into Whitehaven from Casablanca with phosphate when I was on the Emerald (Robertsons of Glasgow) on the same run. We were on a Marchon Products charter, this was in 1960.
She was a good looking coaster, the only drawback were the hatch boards which, from your tale, were the death of her but also saved the lives of the two survivors.

Alec.

Hi Alex,
from what I can figure out from all those years ago, was the Shipowner was waiting for a result from the Inquest and Court of Inquiry before committing themselves into paying. I have had no contact with any of the dependents since the Court was finished. So if they got back pay or compensation or not I dont know.

10

EMPRESS OF FRANCE, EX DUCHESS OF BEDFORD.

She was launched as DUCHESS OF BEDFORD on 24th January1928 at John Browns on the Clyde and was 20,123 tons, one of four sisters, Athol Richmond and York of Canadian Pacific making her maiden voyage to Quebec on 1st June 1928.
She had an exciting life, she hit an iceberg on 13 July 1933 off Newfoundland without sustaining damage, In June 1939 she rescued 12 French seamen from a barquentine that had sunk from hitting an iceberg off the Newfoundland coast.
When war broke out in 1939 she was taken over and converted to a troopship, again she was lucky, she was known as `the most bombed ship still afloat`. During her wartime service she carried 179,000servicemen and civilians all over the world. And covered over 400,000 miles.
She survived when a stick of bombs exploded around her when she was anchored in the Mersey during the May Blitz in 1941
In Singapore in January 1942 she escaped as the Japs were inside the streets of the City with 850 women and children, She was damaged but made it to Java to land the passengers and escaped more serious damage from another air attack.
In August 1942 she sank a German U-Boat with her thirty year old six inch gun in the North Atlantic and was reported to have damaged another. Several awards were given for this action.
She was at the invasion of North Africa, Anzio and SalernoShe was the Headquarters ship at Salerno and survived heavy bombing and credited with shooting down a torpedo bomber.
She was presented with a plaque by the Russian Navy for repatriating thousands of Russian prisoners in Odessa in 1945
In 1947 she was returned to her owners and sent to John Browns Yard to be given a refit and to rejoin the Duchess of Richmond which became the Empress of Canada on the Liverpool Quebec service. The other two sisters did not survive the war. She was renamed Empress of India, but at that time India got its independence and so she was renamed again and called EMPRESS OF FRANCE. On 1st September 1948.
She did well to last 32 years of service until she was sent to the scrap yard in Newport South Wales after she returned from her last trip to Montreal on 7th December 1960. She was a popular ship with the Seamen,


VOYAGES ON THE EMPRESS OF FRANCE

I sailed on EMPRESS of FRANCE a few times. The first was on 15 February 1956 as Quartermaster.
We sailed from Liverpool for St Johns, New Brunswick, up the Bay of Fundy. The St Lawrence was still frozen over so we were unable to go to Montreal. What a depressing place St. Johns was, No bars, it had prohibition, there was one State controlled Liquor Store, but to buy a bottle you had to go to the Police Office and apply for a Liquor permit, where you were investigated and if your history was good then at the Chief of Police?s discretion you would be given a permit. This took a few days so it did not affect us. We had the Pig and Whistle onboard. There was nowhere to go to in St Johns but to `Gars Diner` which was just like a trading store, full of Tartan Lumber Jack shirts, hanging up and thick winter coats and furs and so on, a large coal bogey was in the middle and you could buy a coffee and sit around the bogey. That was the high light of St Johns. It was freezing there the temperature down to around twenty below zero, the roads ashore covered in thick ice.
St Johns has one of the highest rise and fall of tide around forty feet. So it was an uneventful voyage, we arrived in Liverpool and paid off on the 14th of March.
Next time I joined the Empress of France was on 10th of October 1958, then we were on the Quebec to Montreal run.
I liked Montreal, just cross the road was the Liverpool House, known as the House of Scouse, next door was the Seaman?s Mission where on a Sunday night they had the Bulova Watch Radio Show, We had a few bevies and then sing on the mike and they listeners would phone in with their comments and vote, the winner got a new Bulova Watch. Some like Joe Finnegan were very good and he would win every time, but others which I would be one would sing like tortured turkeys, quite funny sometimes.
Around the corner just off St Lawrence Boulevard was the Cafe Volquelin, or known as the Vokeland Club, It was full of women and dancing all through the night, some of the regular CPR lads got married to some of the girls there. Other good bars around there, all within a few minutes walk from the gangway was the Rodeo Bar, a Country and Western band was always on, Joe Beefs opposite the Cunard berth, and Ma the Greeks.
While we were there the temperature fell to over thirty below zero and the annual freeze up came a month early, the St Lawrence froze solid, Ice breakers tried hard to get at us and eventually did so and got us out into the River, which was solid ice for nearly 800 miles. About a dozen ships were trapped in Montreal for the duration, until the end of March.
We got off Quebec and could not go anywhere near the berth, we stayed in the middle of the River so the passengers were transported over the ice to us. While we were there a blizzard started and in an hour nearly four feet of snow was dumped on us, it was incredible to see, We were out on deck all the time. In those days we had no cold or heavy weather gear, I had a towel as a scarf and a blanket over my head with one of those old kapok life jackets that came down to your goolies over the top then lashed down. with hands and feet freezing we had to try to shift the snow and ice off the decks with shovels, a terrible job, the ice breakers continued to crack ice and tow us down River. It took us three days to get to the Gulf of St Lawrence. then we cracked our own ice then as it was a lot thinner until we passed Cape Race. That was a terrible winter. We arrived in Liverpool and three days later we loaded our passengers again at the Landing Stage and set off in December for St Johns, New Brunswick.
The weather across was diabolical, the worst of the Atlantic Hurricanes, The seas were enormous, the ship was doing somersaults, then the ports in the Sailors accommodation, right up forard, were smashed, lucky no one was killed as the thick glass was like shrapnel, flying around the cabin and penetrating right through the metal lockers. Seas began to pour through and the accommodation was flooded with more and more water cascading in. All hands were up and trying to jam mattresses and timber in the holes there was several feet of water in the focsle, we were soaking in freezing water. The Captain had the ship hove to until we could seal them off. Mean while Paddy, who was nice fella, but had terrible bad nerves was a screaming wreck, he had his life jacket on and went on the bridge and was walking up and down with the Captain talking for a while, He thinking Paddy was a passenger. Then Paddy started talking about the bad conditions in the focsle and the Captain realised that Paddy was a sailor. `Get Below` he screamed at Paddy.
We eventually sealed all the smashed Ports, the cabins were flooded and all our bunks and gear were wet, there wasn?t a lot anyone could do about it, Our wet gear was taken down to the Landry and the Steam queens dried it in their dryers,
A day later, the ship still doing somersaults, I was in the crows nest, up mast was like being on the end of a whip. being flung around the nest like a pea in a rattle, the ship healing over to 45 degrees, the there was a tremendous crash over my head, I thought the nest was going to fall to the deck, The yard above had come adrift and crashed on top of the nest before falling to the deck below with wires and halyards flashing past me. I was down the mast before it hit the deck.
I went through the accommodation and up the spiral stairs to the Bridge, `Kennel Captain ` I said, `did you see that? I was nearly killed then. ` So he said stay here until the end of your watch and we?ll get the Chippy and Bosun to check the nest to see if it?s OK. The nest was found to be OK, nest lookouts continued, The Yard which was made of steel and about a foot in diameter and about twenty five feet in length was lashed on deck where it had landed, it weighed a couple of tons.
It was moved by the derricks in St John to the rails and lashed there until we got back to Liverpool where it was repaired and hoisted back in position.
We arrived in St Johns much to our relief, we had no sleep for a few days. It was still freezing there temperature down to around thirty below zero. In the Cabins, the outside bulkhead had frozen, all the moisture from breath and around us was freezing on it and the ice was a couple of inches thick. It was like living in a Fridge. The toilets were always freezing up that was another big problem,
While we were in St John it was almost Christmas, we were due to sail for Liverpool on the 23rd of December, We had a big Christmas Dinner, we were invited to use the passengers dining room and all the Officers waited on us, I still have the Special Menu, there was also free wine with the dinner and free ale. and a good show was put on later by all the `Queens` dressed up in their fine dresses. So we had a good Christmas before sailing back across the wild Western Ocean.
We heard on the Canadian Radio, that the crews of the 12 ships that were stranded in Montreal had been invited by the Mayor of Montreal to a big Christmas Dinner in a Hotel in the City. the dinner ended up in a riot as different nationalities fought each other after consuming too much free ale. The Police and Fire Department had to be called and there was a siege with a big battle to get them out. So I guess we were lucky not to have been there.
We arrived in Liverpool and paid off on the 30th of December 1958.

I was on the Seamen?s Strike in July 1960, and when the strike finished in August I had to go in front of a Committee at the Pool and I was suspended, no jobs. I was broke, not a penny to my name, sleeping in the Church doorway on Park Lane, and begging for `sixpence for a cup of tea mate.` `eff off.`
I walked it home to Bolton once , it took me nearly 20 hours to do the thirty five miles all through the night, I stopped at a building site, with a night watchman?s hut with the old coke brazier outside, he gave me a butty and a mug of tea, then I carried on. I stayed home for a couple of weeks and Dad gave me a few bob for the train fare to Liverpool again. and enough to stay at the Sailors Home for a few nights. There was no Benefit System in those days. If you had been on strike there was nothing.
Then I was getting desperate, Charlie Rep and Mr Griffiths in the Pool didn?t want to know. I went down to the landing Stage one day, 1st of October 1960, I saw the Empress of France alongside the Stage getting ready for a voyage to Montreal.
I went to have a look to see if there was anyone I knew. I knew my younger brother, John was on it, he was 16 and a Deck Boy. I thought maybe he has got a sub so he could give me a few pounds. but I never saw him, must have been working.
I saw a fella stood on the Stage and he had the coloured signing on papers from the Pool in his hand.
I went to him, `Are you the stand by man` he answered `Yes`. Have you been on it before? ` I asked, `No` said he.
`I have been on it a few times and she is no good, bad news, the Bosun is a a maniac, goes round battering everyone every day, Martin Quinn, have you heard of him?` the lad said `Yes`. So I said `If I was you I would go and tell the Pool tomorrow they didnt want anyone, you will still get your days pay for it. ` `Good idea, ` he said, `didnt want to sail tonight anyway`. So the lad cleared off. Ten minutes later, Martin?s head appeared at the top of the Gangway, `Any stand By men there`?, he shouted. `Yes me ` `Come aboard, ` he recognised me. `Get down to the Pursers Office and sign on`, I went down there gave the Purser my Discharge Book, `Where are your Pool Papers`, I felt around my pockets, `Dunno ` I grunted. Must have lost them, ` `Never mind just sign the Articles and get ready for sailing`. I signed on and went forard. found a cabin with a spare bunk, six men to a cabin on that one. I had no gear at all just what I stood up in. not even a change of Skiddies or a tooth brush, I had some bits of gear at the Sailors Home but couldn?t go back for them as Big Martin was shouting , `Fore and Aft. Stations. At last I had got a job.
We let go and swung the ship around and sailed down the Mersey bound for Quebec and Montreal.
I was 8 to 12 watch Look out man, two hours on Lookout and two hours below. In the evening watch 8 to 12 I was lookout from 8pm to 10 pm, all hands were in the Pig at this having a pint so the good thing about having a little brother Deck Boy on board is, "Come `ere lad, to be a good Sailor you have to go aloft and also learn how to do a good look out." So he did my lookout. At 10 pm my Relief was in the Pig saying, "Who?s on Lookout"? ``Ar Kid, `" Oh he?ll be OK then." and the lad was up there until midnight every night. He was not amused, only the other day in the Eldonian Club, 48 years later, he was still complaining about it.

On the Newfoundland Banks one night the was a jolt and the ship healed over for a minute and then back on an even keel again. No one saw anything, nothing on Radar, the lookout and Officers of the watch saw nothing in the darkness.
When we got into the St Lawrence River to shallower water the ship started to pull over to starboard, so at Father Point, where we put the mail ashore in a tender, we anchored and they got a boat with divers to go down and have a look. They came up and said 40 feet of starboard bilge keel was hanging down and scraping on the river bed. The Derricks at number two hatch were rigged and topped, we sent the runners with slings down and the Divers with cutting gear burned off the bilge keel. We heaved away and landed 40 feet of bilge keel on the foredeck. Amazing. They thought that when we heeled over that night we had hit a small iceberg that was almost level with the sea and it sliced off the keel.
The bilge keel was about two feet wide and 2 inches thick. Another couple of inches it could have been another TITANIC job.
We made Montreal after a short stop at Quebec, I got a big sub and went ashore up St Lawrence Boulevard to the shops and bought some gear, a change of skids and tee shirts, thick warm Canadian lumber jack shirts. and shaving gear and tooth brushes and paste. I felt almost human after a shave and a good brush of the teeth and a change of clothes.
We were in the House of Scouse one night having a bevy, Martin Quinn was sat at another table with the Chippy and a Bosuns Mate. The French Canadian Dockers hated Martin, he had given them a hard time over the years he had been going there, Then Martin went to the Gents, and four Dockers with their hand hooks over their shoulders followed him in. Then there were all kinds of banging, screams and shouts, more banging then silence. Kinnell, Martins been killed, a minute later Martin opened the door and walked out and sat at his table with his mates. and had a beer, the dockers never came out. Hard man, Martin.
Home ward bound a bedroom steward staggered into the Pig for a bevy, he was plainly knackered, He said he had a cabin with four female Canadian School Teachers in. Every day he had to service each one. If he didn?t they would report him for sexual harassment, He had to spread it out during the day so he could have a breather between each one and get his strength up again. He had loads of volunteers to help out but he said it was only him they wanted. They were on a sex marathon trip. I guess some guys get all the luck. I don?t know if he got a good tip at the end of the voyage when they got off at Liverpool.
We arrived back in Liverpool and paid off on the 25th of October, Six weeks later Empress of France was finished after 32 years good service. They don?t make ships like that anymore. Sayonara, Adious, and good bye.
After my leave I went back to the Pool and saw Charlie Rep, `How did you get on the France`? he said. So I said , "You gave me a job last time I came in, don?t you remember?, ` OK then here is the MEMPHIS, a Medi boat, six weeks down the Med and back, I couldn?t believe it, I thought he would get me a two year job on a Baron boat So I was back on the Pool again




Here is a view from the crows nest on the EMPRESS of FRANCE while doing her somersaults.
taken with my old 1930s Box Camera





[

I well remember Gar's Diner. what a weird place St. John's was, it reminded me of the sets of the Keystone cops. The police wore long coats and helmets and carried nightsticks. The whole population seemed to be interbred, and probably were.
It was so bloody cold I remember going ashore and the haircream I had froze on my hair!

Happy days Brian.

Yes it was the most dismal and depressing place on the planet, A big night out, sat around the coal bogie in Gars drinking coffee. Temperature 30 below freezing.
The second most dismal place was Halifax, NS. At least they had a couple of bars, but what dismal bars they were.
Six of us went ashore there. In a bar, giant Bartenders, No Standing, No more than four to a table, No talking in a loud voice, No talking to the next table. Just sit and drink in silence.The Bar tenders stood over you, they served you so you didnt stand up.
Four of us sat on one table the other two sat on the next, No talking.
I have never been back since 1961. No intention of going back there.
So, So depressing.
maybe it was the inter breading.

I joined the Esso Yorkshire, a 90,000 ton tanker, in San Francisco, in January 1975, with my brother, John, who is now the brewer from Knowlsley. The lad who was paying off was just leaving the cabin as I moved in .
He said you won`t get much sleep in here it`s Effing haunted. I just laughed thinking that he was joking.
It started on the first night at sea as we sailed across the Pacific for the Gulf , a 42 day trip.
I was 4 to 8 watch and at midnight the cabin lights came on and there was a guy wearing a white boiler suit, Esso logo, but face was just like a mist. He grabbed my leg and heaved me out of my bunk and I crashed onto the deck, I shouted and got to my feet and he was gone,
I legged it up to the mess room and the only guy around was the 12 -4 standby man, smoking a ciggy and drinking coffee, "Some ba*t*rd has pulled me from my bunk" I said " Have you seen any one?" He replied no, he had been there all alone.
On watch at 4am I told the Mate all about it, he had known about it but there were no spare cabins on board as we had 12 NIKO workers on board doing maintenance .so I would have to stay there.
This went on for several nights and my brother who had the cabin next door woke up one night and saw a man in a white boiler suit walk through his cabin door and then he heard the shouting and banging coming from my cabin, the coward legged it up to the mess room and stayed there for night , he did not come in to see what was happening to me.
The ghost could pick me up as if I was completely weightless and throw me across the cabin at the formica bulkhead and bounce me off it, The bulkheads were all badly cracked.. Then one night he got my ankle and twisted it round and heaved me out including the mattress and crashed me onto the deck and broke my ankle, the cabin was completely wrecked and I was lying there in screaming agony, My brother legged it up and got the Mate and the Captain and they were horrified at the destruction of the cabin and what they saw. Though they had known about it they didn`t realise how bad it was, .
The Captain said he could not log it as no one in the Office would believe it so he said he would log it as if I had fallen down a ladder. My ankle was strapped up with elastic bandages. I was off watch and laid up. I stayed up all night until about 2am to give the ghost time to sort himself out. I wasn?t in the bunk at midnight.
The Captain went through the old Log Books and discovered that a man, who was on the 8 to 12 watch had received a dear John letter from his wife and so he hung himself. in the cabin. So every night at just after midnight this man`s ghost was going to turn in and I was in his bunk.
At Ras Tannurah 3 weeks later I went to the hospital; and had it x rayed and it seemed that it had healed OK and I was kept on light duties on day work for another two weeks just to make sure it had healed. We sailed for Guam in the Mariannas. When I got to Guam, I got a telegram to say my dear old Dad had died. The haunting stopped after that. So maybe Dad had a word with this guy.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by captain kong

I joined the Esso Yorkshire, a 90,000 ton tanker

---

That looks a pretty old ship in design. It was built in 1963 in Sweden. At that time few new tankers had mid-ship accommodation - all being aft.

http://www.allatsea.cx/images/ships/...0Yorkshire.jpg

Hi, Thanks for the photo, I have saved it to my ships file, I didnt have one of her.
The Esso Yorkshire was scrapped a few months after I was on her. It was sold to some Greeks and renamed Petrola 17 or something like that then scrapped in Taiwan.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by captain kong

I have just finished writing about the POOL FISHER, that sank with the loss of 13 people.

---

The skipper was a fool. he should have ensured he cargo was properly and evenly loaded and when in clear trouble put into the nearest port.

The heavies from Esso (Exxon). You were sworn to tell the truth on oath in court. So what the hell could they do to stop you talking? What were Esso afraid of? It wasn't their ship. It wasn't their mistake or loss. An Esso ship assisted and plotted their correct course too. Very odd.

Where they from Liverpool? If not they would be very silly to threaten a Liverpudlian. Scousers have long memories and can act years later and few people are not traceable. Esso sound like what they are, a scumbag of multi-national company thinking they are law unto themselves.

Did the wives get the husbands pay? Did you mention that in court? I would have. BTW, my uncle's pay was stopped the hour the ship sunk in WW2. The same with Royal Navy crew who died at sea.

One kid sunk and missed the Derbyshire too. Wow! Third time may not be so lucky.

They sent min-subs down to the Derbyshire to see why she sunk.

Hi Waterways,
Yes I agree that the Mate and Master should have made sure that the cargo was trmmed level before sailing and that the hatches were battened down with the required number of locking bars in position. If there was a problem with the ship`s trim then he should have gone to shelter, he could have gone to an anchorage in the Downs, in the lee from the westerly gales or into the anchorage at Bembridge in St Helens Roads, in the lee of the Isle of Wight.
Many Ship Masters are under terrible pressure to maintain schedules regardless, by the owners, and do not stand up to the Man in the safety of his office hundreds of miles away. I have had the same pressures but never took any notice, my safety and the safety of the men on my ship were always paramount. I was not very popular in the office, but we are all still here.
The ESSO "Security" men, were like someone from the CIA. At the time they didnt want anyone to speak to the press, TV, Radio, and newspapers. I was told I shouild not have got involved.
When I went to Court, then I was not interfered with. So all my answers were the truth as I was under oath.
In Court, I answered over three hundred questions. 304 to be precise. over a period of three days.
As regards the payments of the wages that had been stopped, I believe at the time, the Ship owner was waiting until there was a verdict both from the Inquest and the Court of Inquiry before settling any monies owed.
Since then, 29 years ago, I have not met or heard from any of the dependants involved, I only know what they told me at the time of the Court hearings. I should imagine that the wages owed were paid out eventually, tho` they should not have had to wait. and the expenses should have been paid to them when they were summoned to the Inquest, instead of having to beg from the friends and neighbours.
I do not know if there was any compensation paid for the loss of life.
Don Crane never went back to sea, he emmigrated to Canada and is now married over there. Mark Fooks didnt go back to sea again after the Derbyshire incident. another close call. He took up scuba diving and dived on the wreck of the Pool Fisher, which took a lot of courage.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by captain kong

The ESSO "Security" men, were like someone from the CIA. At the time they didnt want anyone to speak to the press, TV, Radio, and newspapers. I was told I shouild not have got involved.

---

Not get involved when people's lives are in danger at sea? It is your duty to get involved. You saved the lives of two men. Did you tell them to eff off and walk out? I would have. At that point they would not dare lay a finger on you. Sacking you would have brought in he TV and press.

Quote:

---

When I went to Court, then I was not interfered with. So all my answers were the truth as I was under oath.

In Court, I answered over three hundred questions. 304 to be precise. over a period of three days.

---

Did you mention the Esso men?

Quote:

---

As regards the payments of the wages that had been stopped, I believe at the time, the Ship owner was waiting until there was a verdict both from the Inquest and the Court of Inquiry before settling any monies owed.

---

Did the union get involved about this? They should have paid up to that point. They had no need to withhold payment, as the work had been done by the men.

Hi Waterways,
By gum you are giving me a hard time over this.
It was Twenty Nine Years ago, and I cannot remember every single detail.
A lot of water has passed under the keel since then.

I think the National Union of Seamen delegate was there at the Inquest. I dont recall seeing him at the Court Of Inquiry. What he did to help the dependants or the two lads who survived, I do not know. I wasnt a member of the NUS
The NSU was not the best of Unions, it was certainly a little corrupt at times.
I have never ever had any joy with complaints in previous years when I was a member. The NUS does not excist anymore.

Most of the people involved with this case have probably died, retired or moved to different parts of the world by now living new lives.
Esso does not have any ships anymore, they ceased to be ship owners about 15 years ago. so all the Office staff and seafaring staff will have been dead, retired or shuffled around in other means of employment.

When you stand in the dock at a Court of Inquiry with three Judges and questioned by them and several Queens Councils, they control everything. You just do as they order you to do.
They had all my statements and diagrams that I had done on board so maybe there was a mention of the Esso Security Men. Maybe it had no relevence to as to WHY the ship sank. That was the whole point of the Inquiry, to find the cause. Also it is very difficult to "walk out" when your on a ship in mid voyage. Not like "walking out" of a factory. Different ball game.


I was going to write about the `BOWBELLE` -- `MARCHIONESS`, disaster, that I was sort of involved with, but I dont think I will now. it still has legal complications.

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I had met a man in Birminghamwho was researching the seafaring activities of his ancestors in the 19th century.
During the course of our conversation he stated that shipping losses were so great in mid nineteenth century that an average of 30 ships a month were lost around our shores. At the time I was a little sceptical, 360 ships sunk a year,made the losses of the Armada look like small fry.I was given a book on maritime disasters when I was up in Liverpool this weekend,what I read in it was quite shocking,the average loss rate around the British coast was over a 1000 ships a year and the lives lost ran into many hundreds each year too. In 1852 1,115 ships were lostand over 900 hundred lives. A single January gale ,which lasted 5 days claimed 257 ship ships and 486 lives. The worst year was 1864 -1,741 ships lost and 516 lives. A lot of ship masters used to have their families with them and their wives and children perished with them. That old hymn "For those in peril on the sea" had a much greater relevance in those long ago days.

You may find a significant, but far from the majority, were insurance scams. Setting fire to warehouses was quite common. Hence the fireproof Albert Dock.

The insurance companies pressed for ship seaworthy inspections and qualifications of masters and crews, lighthouses, and other safety measures. Very little came from the ship owners.

Until rail expanded, goods were transported around the coasts. and up rivers as far as they could sail. Rail reduced dramatically the number of coasters.

London until recently was supplied with vegetables and coal by coasters along the east coast. Liverpool was fed from mainly inland, and the port was bigger than London in import-export goods. Feeding London by ship gave the impression London was a far more important port than it actually was.

Waterways,Liverpool was noted for its' coffin ships ,insurance scams ,crimps Shanghai merchants ,in fact Liverpool was a very dangerous place for a young man to get drunk in. When time permits I will expand on the notorious dives and shanghai palaces that infested this once great port. There is a wonderful tale of brigandage ,banditry ,harlotry and bacchannalia that helped form the Scouse nation. I will endeavour to enlarge upon it in the coming period

Here is a sad story, on Saturday 13th of December, it is the 55th anniversary of Ken Hignett of Birkenhead being drowned and of me being rescued by a South African lad. Here is the story of that sad day.

I was on the NEW ZEALAND STAR, sailed from Liverpool on November 13 , 1953, bound for Cape Town, the Cape coast to Mozambique and then across to New Zealand.
we left Port Elizabeth and we sailed round to East London arriving there on the Saturday morning, 12th of December. We sailed up the Buffalo River and moored starboard side to at the bottom of the bluff to discharge.
After we had finished topping derricks ready for discharging, the Padre, Mr McCulloch, from the Seamens Mission came on board and told us there was a dance at the Mission that night and on Sunday 13th of December there would be a coach trip up the coast to Bonza Bay and a picnic on the beach with the girls from the Mission. It sounded good so we all booked for it.
It was Saturday afternoon so I showered and changed and went ashore to have a look around East London. It was a nice quiet little town with one main street, Oxford Street which ran the full length of town. I called in a few bars and had a few beers up and down Oxford Street and after a while I decided to go to the Mission to meet up with the rest of the crowd at the dance. I got on a bus as I was a long way off by this time. The bus had a door at the front to get on and a door at the back to get off. When I got on the bus it was full so I had to stand and as more and more people got on I was moved further and further towards the back door which was open due to the hot weather. As we neared the Mission at the bottom of Oxford Street near to Buffalo Street, the bus took a sharp right hand bend and I shot through the back door and bounced along the road and ended up in the gutter covered in dust.
I lay there for a few minutes trying to figure out where I was, then I climbed to my feet and dusted myself down, there was nothing broken and no blood so I staggered into the Mission to clean myself up.
None of the Sailors were in there except the Deck Boy, I asked him where they were and he told me they were in the pub just around the corner of Buffalo Street.
I met Ronnie Vickers and Ken Hignett with some of the other lads in there. After a few more drinks the three of us got up to sing, we sang `I Believe` and `Answer Me`, all new songs that year by Frankie Lane. The girls in the pub were screaming and we felt like Pop Stars, by the end of the evening Ken and I had got friendly with two girls and invited them back on board the ship for a drink.
They had never been on a ship before, but as they walked along the deck one was saying to the other , ?Mind that ring bolt and the purchase on that guy needs to be tightened, watch that cargo runner.?
We took them into my cabin on the poop. When we got in there all hands started to come in and cases of beer appeared and a party began, all we wanted was a quiet drink with the girls . After a while Paddy Penson started to mess around with the girl I was with and she slapped his face, he belted her across her face so I thumped him and a big fight started in the cabin with everyone thumping each other and the girls were screaming, It was a shambles and the cabin was wrecked.
Eventually Ken and I got the girls out and took them ashore, we got a taxi and took them home. We apologised for what had happened, they were OK and we arranged to meet them the following day, Sunday afternoon.

SUNDAY DECEMBER 13, 1953.

The coach arrived at the gangway to pick us all up and take us to Bonza Bay, about 15 miles up the coast.
Ken and I were supposed to meet the two girls in the afternoon at 2pm but we decided to go to Bonza Bay instead and then meet them in the evening, as we knew where they lived. That was a decision that was to have fatal consequences.
When we got on the coach there were about a dozen Mission girls with large picnic hampers, so it looked as though we were going to have a good day out.
When we arrived at Bonza Bay we went into a hut and changed into our swimming togs and when we came out the girls were setting out the food for the picnic
On the way down the beach to the sea the girls shouted dont be long as the food would be ready in a few minutes and also beware of the currents, there is a strong under tow there. As Ronnie Vickers, Ken Hignett and I walked towards the sea I remember saying , "There is three of us going out and only two coming back" I dont know why I said it.
We were enjoying ourselves jumping around in the surf, it felt good to be away from the ship, when Ken said he had a problem and wanted to get out. He asked me to help him up to the beach, I thought he was a bit nervous as he couldnt swim and didnt want to get out of his depth, the water was waist deep at the time.
So I held his right arm and Ronnie held his left and we walked towards the beach when I noticed we were walking backwards with the undertow and the steeply shelving sand and getting deeper all the time. Next a huge wave hit us and knocked us under and when we surfaced we could not feel the bottom with our feet, then another wave hit us and swirled us under again. When we surfaced I realised we were in trouble. Ronnie and I were swimming hard holding onto Ken`s arms urging him to swim as I had been trying to teach him last Sunday in Cape Town. He wasnt doing too badly but we started to get hammered by a succession of bigger and bigger waves and we were being carried quite fast further out to sea. We were really in trouble now. I shouted to Ronnie to swim ashore and get some help which did, it was a long hard swim for him to to get back to the beach.
I was holding onto Ken swimming as hard as I could but the waves were getting bigger and more frequent, knocking us under and swirling us over and over, like being inside a washing machine, it was a long hard struggle. I could feel cramp coming on in my arms and legs and I thought we were done for.
Then clouds covered up a clear blue sky, the wind increased in strength, the waves were getting bigger and it started to rain.
After what seemed to be an eternity I saw Dennis `Mo` Riley, one of our sailors, swimming towards us. Ronnie must have made it back to the beach and raised the alarm. `Mo` grabbed hold of Ken and then we were hit by another giant of a wave and tumbled us around, it was like being inside a washing machine, and when I surfaced I could see `Mo` and Ken about 15 yards away. I tried to swim towards them but I was getting weak and the cramps in my arms and legs were getting worse and I could not use them, I had swallowed a lot of water and was convinced I was going to die, I was scared. I heard Ken`s voice, shouting "Help, help, help," Then we all disappeared under a wave of raging foam.
After several minutes I rose up on a crest of a wave and in the distance I could see ?Mo` standing waist deep on a sand bank a few hundred yards off shore, hanging on to Ken who was lying down in the water, I saw a big wave hit them and they disappeared. I tried to swim towards them but seemed to be going further away with the current.
Later `Mo` told me that Ken was unconscious then and when he found him again he thought he was dead. He was holding on to him when they were hit by another big wave and then he lost him and couldnt find him again.
Meanwhile I was struggling to stay afloat, my arms and legs were dead and my vision was going and I was under water more and more as I was pounded by the waves, I knew then what it was like to die, I was in a no survive situation.
Then suddenly, as if by a miracle, I was grabbed by a lad in a harness and life buoy and we were being towed towards the beach. The lad`s name was David Brinton, a 15 year old South African school boy. I was carried up the beach where I collapsed and some one gave me artificial respiration. As I awoke I heard someone say that Ken had drowned. It was a terrible shock. The three of us had tried so hard to save him but the sea had beaten us. I felt really bad as if I had failed him. I had done my best but it wasnt enough and for a long time I felt a lot of guilt and it was a long time before I could come to terms with his death.
The Padre, Mr McCulloch, and one of the young ladies from the Mission, put me into his Land Rover and took me to Hospital where I was put to bed and given tablets which knocked me out for a few hours, then the Padre took me back to the New Zealand Star.
Some of the lads met me on the after deck and as I walked aft I noticed the Red Ensign flying at half mast, that was really sad.
I went to bed, taking some more tablets and told to stay there for about two days.
At 5.30 am next morning, Monday, the Bosun `Mad` McAskill crashed into the cabin,. "Get up you Liverpool *******s, turn to"??????.
I don?t remember getting up but I was on an electric chipping hammer scaling rust off the bulkheads amidships. I was in a total daze.
Rosemary Garfield Todd, the daughter of the Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia, a passenger, saw me on the chipping hammer and could see I was not at all well so she complained to Captain Rhodes. She stopped me from chipping and took me down aft to my cabin and put me to bed. `Mad` McAskill was not amused, I could hear him shouting ?Liverpool *******?.
At 2pm I was called from my bunk again , the Police were on board and they wanted statements for the Inquest. `Mo` Riley, Ronnie Vickers and I went amidships to the ships office and had to tell the Policeman everything that had happened regarding Ken`s death, which was quite a harrowing experience. After making our statements, the three of us went ashore and had a few beers in a pub on Oxford Street. On the way we bought a newspaper, The Daily Dispatch and the story they printed was completely different to what had really happened. So after a few beers we went down to the Newspaper Office and saw the Editor and put the story right.
That evening there was a Service for Ken at the Seamens Mission, which was very sad.
Tuesday 15 December, we completed discharging and battened down, dropping the derricks and cast off and sailed round to Durban arriving on Thursday morning.
On Friday, December 18, we heard that Ken`s body had been washed up on the beach and that the Seamens Mission was going to do the funeral and have him buried in the East Cemetery in East London.
Ken was 20 years old and lived at Mill Cottage, Mill Lane, Birkenhead.
I wrote a Poem of the East London Events,.

In 1953 on the New Zealand Star
In East London we did stay
but Ken Hignett and I
didn`t know he would die
on some beach called Bonza Bay.

The story began
when the Mission Man
said he would take us away for the day
so all of us went off on his bus
to a beach called Bonza Bay

When Ken jumped in
he just couldn`t swim
and the tide soon carried him away.
Though I struggled and tried
Ken drowned and then died
near a beach called Bonza Bay

Then I was seen on a wave
by a lad named Dave
who swam out to get me away
and through struggle and strife
that lad saved my life
on a beach called Bonza Bay

When Ken washed ashore
his life was no more
six days since he got swept away
and he lay all alone
on the the sand and the stone
on a beach called Bonza Bay

So they buried Ken in a Sailors grave
at a place where the palm trees sway,
on a foreign strand
in a far off land
near a beach called Bonza Bay

It`s been 50 years
since the grief and the tears
and in the time that I was away
I found Ken`s Grave
and the man named Dave
near a beach called Bonza Bay




More to come on the voyage of the New Zealand Star, but first I shall tell of the ongoing tale of Ken`s death.

When my mate, Ken Hignett was drowned in South Africa, I tried to save him but he died and I lost his body. I was rescued by a South African lad.
When I arrived home three months later I went to see Ken`s sister Molly, a nice young lady, and she wanted to know what had happened, the Ship owner just tells the basic, "Your Ken is dead, drowned", as brief as that. I think she felt a little better knowing what happened and how we had struggled to save him. They had just suffered a couple of tragedies in the family as well around the same time.
I was home for a few days when I was awakened one night by my bedroom door opening and shutting, Ken was stood at my bedside, he offered me a ciggy, it was silent , he never spoke, then my mother shouted to me, "What are you doing out of bed," The door opened and shut again, He was gone. I told her what I had seen , She had heard the door. The next night I threw my little brother out of his bed room and I went into his, and he into mine. The next night I had the same performance and mother heard the door opening and shutting again. he was there at the bed side and offered me a ciggy, mother shouted and then he was gone. It felt as though he was trying to say, Thanks.
Three years later October 1956, I was in East London again in the Eastern Cape, on the Duedin Star, only had a couple of hours before we sailed again, I went to the West Cemetery to find his grave, we searched all over then we met a man who was just sitting on a bench, he said, ?Who are you looking for?? , we told him, `Ken Hignett,` he said ?You are in the wrong cemetery, he is on the other side of town in the East Cemetery". Then he said , "My son saved a lad that day", I said , "Is he David Brinton," he said "Yes". so I said , "I am the lad he saved". I was stunned, and walked away and left him, I forgot to ask for his address.
I had to get back to the ship, I was amazed that I had gone 7000 miles to the wrong cemetery and the only person I saw was the father of the lad who saved my life three years earlier.
For a few years I tried to find David Brinton to thank him for saving my life. I wrote to the South African newspapers, including East London`s Daily Dispatch. but to no avail. I phoned the Salvation Army in Johannesburg, they have a fantastic tracing people reputation , but they referred me to London. I tried them and was told they only trace family members. I told them the story and asked if they could make an exception, I also told them I was a member of the Salvation Army when I was a lad, a "Little Sunbeam". no less. They said they would see what they could do. The only information I had was, he was 15 years old in 1953 and his name, David Brinton. Africa is a big place to trace people with that amount of information .
In 2001 I decided to go to East London to try to find him myself. it was a quest I knew I had to do.
Two days before we were sailing to Cape Town on the QE2 The telephone rang, it was the Salvation Army in London, they had found him. "Where in East London?" I asked, No he is in Stranraer, Scotland, they gave me his phone number and I phoned him. It was fantastic to be able to thank him for saving my life. He had lived there for 17 years after leaving South Africa he had gone to Rhodesia [Zimbabwe ]then to Scotland.
Anne and I went to Cape Town on QE2, and then we flew to East London to find Ken`s grave.
We checked into a hotel and a South African family who had read my emails on the internet met us and took us to the grave.
The cemetery was silent, not a sound. As Anne and I approached the grave, The screams coming out of the grave were terrible, I was shocked, Anne `s face turned white and was visibly shocked. The noise of a demented soul, we walked back and it stopped, silent. As we walked forward again the noise started again. There were no words , just an out of this world noise, which had a meaning, like, .. why have I been here so long, no one has been to see me and so on. I could walk into and out of this sound like walking in and out of a large bubble over the grave, His spirit was definitely there and in anguish as if he was tied there with no escape.
I laid a Merchant Navy wreath that I had brought from England, on his grave. I got my camera but it would not work, nothing. So I got my video camera and that would not work,, I was very upset and disturbed by all these happenings, It should have been a happy day, that I had found him and laid a wreath on the grave.
We went back to the hotel , the camera worked, the video camera worked, nothing wrong with them.
The following day, the South African friends took us to Bonza Bay, even though it was 48 years later everything was still the same as it was. What scared me was, a sign on the Surfer`s hut, ?Beware of the Great White Shark?. Bonza Bay was a favourite place of the shark and it amazed me that we were never attacked when we were there all those years ago.

Two days later we were going to the Airport to fly to Cape Town, I was not happy and very disturbed, it should not be like this. I couldnt go home not knowing what was going on there. So I told the taxi driver to go back to the cemetery.
When we got back to the grave , all was silent and peaceful. I took the photos, the camera worked and also the video camera worked OK ,
He had gone, gone to Fiddlers Green, where all good Sailors go. He had been released.
I felt good again as if a load had been taken off my shoulders. The trip had been worth while.

We sailed back to England on the `Caronia`, and when we arrived home I had a phone call from Esther Rantzen, a TV Presenter from the BBC. She had heard of the story and wanted me to go to the London BBC studios and tell it on TV on the `Esther Show`. So on 14 February 2002, Anne and I went to London, expenses paid, a Limo waiting at Euston Station for us and then to the studios.
I was taken to the make up room and sat with a few TV Celebs and had a make over, lip stick, and make up over my face and my eyebrows darkened. I was then interviewed by Esther on stage with a studio audience, and told them all about the tragedy and my search for David Brinton, Esther said have you ever met him?, I said `no`, so she said , `well here he is`, and David walked onto the stage. it was another fantastic moment to be able to shake his hand and thank him. after more than 48 years. We went into the green room after the show and partook of the free bar, Later David had to go back to Scotland for his business and I stayed. That evening the BBC Staff poured me into a Limo and took us to our hotel in Kensington . I went into the bar there and ordered a couple of drinks for us both. A lot of men were smiling and winking at me, I thought, what friendly people there are in London.
Later I went to our room and shock horror, I still had my make up on. They must thought I was a wufter.
I keep in touch with David and always phone him or go to Stranraer on December 13.
We talked later and he told me his father had died in a car crash in October 1956, around the time I spoke to him. So was he a ghost that we met????
Ken was 20 years old, and lived at Mill Cottage, Mill Road, Birkenhead.

Ken, me, Mo Riley bottom. the rescue, Me at Ken`s grave, on November 13 2001.

Fascinating story, thanks so much for sharing.

http://beyondships.com/QM2-refit-1.html
HIT THE LINK

1911: Aviator lands on ship
Aviator Eugene B. Ely landed his aircraft on the deck of the USS Pennsylvania today, becoming the first to make a shipboard landing."When Ely touched the deck he was going about 35 miles an hour, but so gradually was the speed checked by the dragging of weighted ropes, as they were caught in succession, that he came to a standstill without disarranging any part of the machine," reported the Warren Evening Mirror on January 19, 1911. NOTE: Just two months earlier, Ely had also become the first to take off from a ship's platform. Both flights were done to explore possible uses of aviation within the Navy.
Acknowledgement newspaper Archives
Reg

For those readers who do not know what the Training ship Vindicatrix is or was, here is a short history of the ship. We now have a `TS VINDICATRIX ASSOCIATIOON` and we meet up in Sharpness Gloucestershire every August for the Re-union. On average there is usually around 800 men turn up from around the world and spend the weekend swinging the lamp, getting bevied, and generally enjoying ourselves. It was formed in 1993 100 years after she was built as the Arranmore, She was a full rigged three masted ship.As the Vindicatrix these masts were cut down in size, she was moored in the Sharpness - Gloucester Canal.
Vindi is short for Vindicatrix, or more precisely, the TS Vindicatrix and its Associations. The members of the Association are mostly British ex merchant seaman who, between September 1939 and December 1966, undertook training at the National Sea Training School in Sharpness, Gloucestershire on the TS Vindicatrix. It is widely believed that there were approximately 70,000 boys aged 15 and 16 who passed through this training school. Those who survived World War II and those who came after have now formed a number of Associations around the world, the purpose of which is to rekindle memories and re-establish friendships forged by those who attended the TS Vindicatrix and who are affectionately known world-wide as the "Vindi Boys".




Vindi, is the abbreviated name of the Training Ship Vindicatrix, the hulk of a once proud sailing ship called Arranmore. Built of steel, with iron rivets, and with a displacement of 1946 tons, Arranmore sailed on her maiden voyage on October 30, 1893, a voyage that would eventually take eighteen months, round the Horn to Frisco Bay. On one voyage she was dismasted off the Horn and had to make her way back to the Falkland Islands for repair. In 1903 she was anchored in Algoa Bay, near Port Elizabeth, South Afric a, and during a great storm a Steam ship dragged anchor and collided with Arranmore ripping off her bow sprit and figure head, known as Mrs Drysdale, the owners wife, the Figurehead landed on the deck of the steamer, then the Arranmore sank. She was later refloated and patched up and then began the longest tow in history at that time. She was towed over 7000 miles to Scotland where she was built and rerigged and put to sea again. On August 11 1909 Arranmore sailed from Mejillones Chile, to Falmouth in the UK, rounding the Horn for the last time under the Red Ensign.

Purchased by German owners in late December 1909, she was renamed Waltraute.
Sustaining heavy damage during a storm on July 20, 1913 Waltraute was eventually towed into Montevideo Harbour by an Argentine fishing boat known simply as No. 10. That was the last time that Waltraute would ever carry sail, and she completed her voyage to Germany under the tow of the Dutch tug Thames in 1913.

During WWI Waltraute was commandeered by the Imperial German Navy and after initial use as a store-room she was refitted with an overdeck from forecastle to poop, and a boiler for heating purposes. Waltraute was now ready for her next role as depot ship for the Submarine Training Service. At the end of hostilities Waltraube was initially returned to her former German owners but it wasn't very long before she was commandeered once more to become accommodation for German Seamen in Leith Scotland, after having delivered their ships to England in reparation for wartime losses. On 15, November 1920 while at anchor in Leith, Waltraute was again hit by a severe storm causing her to drag her anchors. At 1.30pm after repeated requests for tugs to assist, Waltraute came into contact with Inchkeith Rocks, and by 10.00pm the ship lay aground, with waves rolling over her decks. Waltraute was eventually pulled off the rocks on November 29, 1920. On June 2 1921 Waltraute entered West India Docks.
It is known that in 1926 Waltraute, now renamed Vindicatrix, accommodated students and staff of the Gravesend Sea School. With another war looking more and more likely, Vindicatrix, under

tow of the tug Kenia, left London, bound for a safer berth at Sharpness, Gloucestershire, and on September 2, 1939, the day before war was declared on Germany, Captain Superintendent Duguid of the Gravesend Sea Training School, transferred his trainees and staff from Gravesend to the new location in the canal at Sharpness.
Junior seamen continued to be trained at the Vindicatrix throughout the war and when the school at Gravesend was reopened after cessation of hostilities, both schools were required to remain in operation as so many new seamen were required.
One of the greatest moments of her being a Training Ship at Sharpness was when Captain Kong was sent there to train as a Seaman, He ended up as Bosun of the Vindicatrix. from March 17 to June 6 1952.

In January 1967, the Vindicatrix was towed to Cashmore's Yard, Newport, Gwent in Wales to be broken up for scrap. She was sold for a mere ?2,500
An American ex Vindi boy flew over to try to save her but the demolishion had already started

With thanks to `ALL AT SEA` site, hope you don?t mind, I have also added some of my comments in with it..

Great introduction to the vindicatrix there Brian, I am sure that some of the good people out there know what a Vindi Boy is now. A lot of us had our lives changed once we had passed through those gates at Sharpness; boys from every walk of life were taken in and moulded into something better than they were. The weak fell by the wayside and those who were imbued with the spirit to succeed went on to see the world. As you can see from the photo,I have always had a place in my heart for Mrs Drysdale,may she live for ever.

Ay, as a New Boy we had to hang upside down over the bow of the ship and stroke Mrs Drysdale`s bosoms, nine out of ten Boys slid overboard and fell into the Canal. Happy Days

56 Years ago today, the ferry Princess Victoria sailed from Stranrare for Larne in N.I. In a short time the wind and sea got up and eventually it was hurricane force blowing down throuigh the North Channel, the same storm that flooded south east England killing over 500 people and thousands in Holland., The sea stove in the stern doors and she took water on the cardecks, the free surface effect gave her a ever increasing list The Maydays went out, the Sparky died at his Post and was awarded a posthumous GEORGE MEDAL, Unknown to the rescue services she was blown over 30 miles south of her reported position No one was able to find her. 133 passengers and crew died, all women and children died.
The wind was reported to have gusted up to 120 mph,
I was on an Everard tanker, Amity, we had sailed from Heysham for Belfast early that Saturday morning.
I was on the wheel just before noon when I heard the Skipper talking to Portpatrick Radio,they wanted all ships to proceed to the area. We were being smashed around in some of the most horrendous seas I have ever seen in 50 years of seafaring.we were like a submarine.we could not make much head way against those seas and wind. I remember us being in touch with the Pass of Drumochter, another small tanker and Donoghadee. By the time we got off the Copelands it was dark and no sign of anything except a screaming gale and heavy seas. We searched around not knowing where to look , until Sunday morning we then crept into Befast Lough, the saddest thing I saw was HMS Consort and the minesweeper, HMS Woodbridge Haven . They were overtaking us quite close, with the dead bodies lain on their quarter decks.
The Princess Victoria had drifted 30 miles to the south that is why no one could find her. The strange thing was, she was never out of sight of land in all that time.

Hi Brian.
I remember that day like yesterday. My father and I had been by the radio most of the night waiting for reports on the ferry Princess Victoria , Think we first new something was wrong late on Friday night. The wind and snow was bitterly cold and got worse on Saturday, We lived in Bangor, County Down . Went down to catch the train to Belfast to go to work at H&W Docks ( 48 hour week then , and worked 4 hours on Sat morning) But never got down to the station "Just could not walk in the wiind"
We knew the Princess was in danger of sinking by the reports we were getting, My father was very upset as the Radio Officer on board was his friend,I too had a Friend as a passenger comming home from Scotland.
During the morning the Radio said she was out of site and to expect the worst!. Soon after she had been sighted off the coast, then that she had sunk and passengers and crew were adrift in the sea at a point north of Bangor. We went down to Donaghdee to try and help with the Life Boats
The Sea was so rough that they could not get them into the sea as it was pounding the shed's door's, when they got some out they were sweept ashore
one or two did get away, dont know if they reached the area?.
Next day there were reports of bodies along the coast line.
Then we recieved information on Monday that my Father's friend the Radio Operator and my old school friend had both lost there lives at sea.
From that day I always hold the greatest respect for the men of the Merchant Navy!
Reg.

I believe the Radio Officer`s George Medal is in the Stranraer Museum.

A very tragic day.

This was taken in October '61,recognise anyone among the crowd?
The Chippy is on the left,the deck boy is in the middle ,to his left is the Lampy and all the rest are engine room crew.
I took the picture so don't go looking for me!
BrianD

Captain Kong,
I'm a newcomer to this site, and I have just read your account of the sinking of the Pool Fisher.
I have wondered for years what happened to that ship, because the bosun on her, Terry Morgan from Seacombe was a friend of mine.
I sailed with Terry on Blue Flue's Memnon in 1960, he was AB, and I was JOS. I found him to be a fine seaman and generous shipmate, who taught me an awful lot about seamanship.
I doubt if Terry would neglect in any way the battening down procedure, he was too good a sailor.
I had heard from others that Terry was on the wheel when Pool Fisher foundered and that he went below to rouse the crew and get them out on deck, and that he had never made it back onto the deck.
This would be typically brave and unselfish of the man. He was a great bloke.
Best Regards.
Backsplice.

Hi Backslice,
, welcome to the site, hope you enjoy some of the yarns.
Yes the Pool Fisher disaster was terrible.
I met Mrs Morgan at the inquest in Gosport and had a drink with her and some of the other widows and the two lads who survived. It was she who told me that the ship owner, J.Fishers of Barrow, did not help them with fares and hotels in Gosport where they were ordered to attend the Inquest. She said they got to the Station in Gosport in the dark at night with no where to stay, they were wandering around in this strange town not knowing what to do. Their treatment was terrible. Understandably they were very upset, and it did affect me for a long time. I really did have nightmares reoccuring for a long time after.
The lads who survived, Don Crane and Mark Fooks, shared a cabin and were turned in when she started to go under. Terry Morgan went down to their cabin and woke them up and told them to get out quick as she was going down. He had his life jacket on. He was with them as they made their way to the outside then as they were washed out they didnt see him again.
Maybe he was trapped as she rolled over and he would have been unable to get out. Brave lad, he could have stayed on deck and saved himself.
If there is anything else I can help you with let me know.
Cheers.
Brian.
I was A.B. in Blue Flu in 1960.on the Euryades, then walked off the Melampus just going on her maiden voyage, for the Seamen Strike, then sacked from Blueys.

Hi Backsplice, may I offer you a very warm welcome to the Liverpool Sailors thread.
I started my sea going career with Blue Flu and was there for about 18 months from Dec '58 to the Seamans stike in 1960. I am very glad I sailed with them for that short period,it gave a good grounding in deck work.
I laft the Merch ten year to the month that I joined it and look back on those years as being a very colourful period of my life. Come aboard and tell us your tales,you'll find a very willing audience,
BrianD
(Cousin of BillyD)

Hi Backsplice
I was thinking back,
I believe he cleats on the hatch combings were in a bad way and needed repair, the wedges must have kept coming out.and maybe there were not enough locking bars to adequetly cover the hatch.
I believe she was due to go for repairs for this The tarporlins were supposed to have come adrift a couple of times coming across the North Sea, and the lads had to batten down again.
Again maybe the shipowners think about money, and then at the end the Mate and Master got the blame.
I know there was a lot of talk at the time of the Inquiry that it was wrong to blame the Mate and Master.Tho` ultimately they are responsible for the safety of the ship you still need co-operation from the shipowner.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by brian daley

Hi Backsplice, may I offer you a very warm welcome to the Liverpool Sailors thread.
I started my sea going career with Blue Flu and was there for about 18 months from Dec '58 to the Seamans stike in 1960. I am very glad I sailed with them for that short period,it gave a good grounding in deck work.
I laft the Merch ten year to the month that I joined it and look back on those years as being a very colourful period of my life. Come aboard and tell us your tales,you'll find a very willing audience,
BrianD
(Cousin of BillyD)

---

Brian,
We must have been close contemporaries then, because I sailed on my first trip as a deck boy in the Achilles, left Birkenhead on Dec 24th 1958. I stayed in Blue funnel until I was AB then went to the pool.
My first few ships were Achilles, Peleus , Eumaeus, Hector, Menelaus.
Best regards,
Pat

Backsplice ,Wow, My first trip was on the Eumaeus,coastal signed on on the 18/12/58 .signed off on 27/12/58,joined the Jason 29/12 /58 left17/4 59 coastedon her 23/4/59 until 10/5 /59 and then went on her again 19/5/59 until 28/8/59
joined the Machaon 15/9/59 laft 17/1/60,coasted the Anchises 2/2/60 until 21/2/60 and did my final Bluey ,the Antenor, from 3/3/60 until 15/6/60. Collectively ,they were the best days of my seagoing life.
We may have had mutual acquantances aboard our various vessels,i look forward to reading more from you,
BrianD

Brian,
I'm sure we do have some mutual shipmates, lets start with bosuns. As you know, Blue Funnel bosuns were the acknowledged masters of their trade, and most were widely known throughout the company and beyond.
On the Achilles it was Bill Carmody from New Brighton. On the Peleus it was Jock Sutherland, inventor of the term 'Whammy'.
Eumaeus it was Butch Mason from Seacombe, Hector it was Ned Philipps from North Wales.
Menelaus it was Mick Brabander from Birkenhead.
All of these were excellent bosuns, Jock Sutherland I thought was the best of them, but that was because he used to send me ashore after smoko while in port, to buy him a half bottle of Bells, and always gave me half a crown for going.
Regards,
Backsplice

Backsplice, I did my first trip with "Whammy", he was a prankster of the first order and I have written about him in my thread "Hullo Old Home " on this site. There are a few characters in there that you might recognise too. I believe he fell in the dry dock and drowned ,I don't know if that is true because I heard it as scuttlebutt a few years after I left Blueys,
BrianD

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by brian daley

Backsplice, I did my first trip with "Whammy", he was a prankster of the first order and I have written about him in my thread "Hullo Old Home " on this site. There are a few characters in there that you might recognise too. I believe he fell in the dry dock and drowned ,I don't know if that is true because I heard it as scuttlebutt a few years after I left Blueys,
BrianD

---

Brian,
Jock Sutherland was drowned in Gladstone Dock. It was in 1961 I think, we joined the Hector at 08.00, and she was sailing to Glasgow at 23.00, so after we had finished on deck at about 18.00, we all shot up the road to the Caradoc for a few pints. We all got back around 21.30, but no sign of Jock.
As sailing time drew closer and he still hadn't shown up, the mate promoted the Leading Seaman , Stan Murray, to Bosun.
When we docked in KGV we heard that Jock's body was discovered floating face down at the after end of the Theseus which had been berthed further up the branch. It was assumed he had tripped and fallen into the dock on his way back to the ship.
A sad end for a fine bosun.
A day or two later a replacement bosun arrived on board Hector, Tommy Hogan, known to all as 'the binman'.
Stan Murray became a bosun permanently about two years later but I never sailed with him in this capacity. He was however a really good sailor and a pleasant bloke .
Best Regards,
backsplice

Welcome to the site backsplice. I think I recognise you from another site. I was in Blueys a bit before your time. I joined in 1952 and left in 1956. My first ship was the "Bellerophon" and I was in her for two years. Six Far East trips and three coasting. The Bosun was Bill Thomas from Anglesey. I then coasted the "Nestor" and the "Ixion" before joining the "Astyanax" and doing two Far East trips and one coasting. Big Jake Cleary was Bosun.

I then joined the "Neleus" on the Aussie run. Our first Bosun was Spud Murphy who had a nervous breakdown in Aussie and had to pay off and the Lampy, Dan Proctor, took over. In our last Aussie port Spud rejoined us and came home as DBS which I thought was wrong and embarrassing for poor old Spud.
Dan Proctor didn't want the Bosuns job, he was content to be Lampy, so Jimmy Mason joined as Bosun for my last trip with Blue Funnel.

I left in 1956 and joined Manchester Liners for several years.

Alec.

Any of you ex Blue Funnel men remember David Morgan who was with them around the early 1960s?