Cardiff Sea School

[Brian Tantum]

Hi Kiss
Many thanks for the reply it is much appreciated
My dad was there starting 1942
I dont think he actually studied there as he had run away to sea aged fourteen
I may be wrong though as i suppose all juniors had to be trained in basic seamanship before being allowed out on the high seas
Any further information you can give me will be gratefully received
Hoping to speak to you again
Best regards
Brian

[tsell]

Hi Geoff

I seem to remember that name as being correct as somebody else jogged my memory in a PM last year.
He was a shortish nuggety fellow who's call of "STILL" when anything went wrong, to this day rings in my ears.
During gunnery practice he once belted me for almost dropping a four inch shell on his foot as I attempted to load it into the breech. Bloody heavy it was for a young lad! Great days though.

Taffy R556959

[tsell]

Hi Brian,

Yes, certainly Welsh Boyo! At least from the year 900 according to the family genealogy. Still have family in Wales.

As I said earlier, I'm not sure about the school in wartime. I have tried for years to find info on the internet and by talking to other Welsh seamen, but until last year and Geoff's posts, had not found anyone who remembers it. Nothing on any website. There would be few left of my contemporaries now as I'm 75, going on 30! (According to the missus.)
As the school was only for deck training in my time, it could have been that your dad signed on as deck boy, or Peggy as I was on leaving and joining my first ship. Unless of course they trained catering crew earlier.

Good luck with your research. I wish I could help further.

Taffy R556959

[Geoff Anderson]

Hi Taff .
sounds like the same person,he had arms and hands like a gorilla and a voice like a fog horn. I remember he shouted once right in my ear when he was telling us about look out duties and i to can still hear him to this day shouting , Watch there watch. I think it was because that was the last thing i heard for the next few hours.
You got off lightly with only a slap around the ears. he once sent me to the shipping fed building and because it was raining he lent me his bike. Going down Collingdon Rd the bike slipped on one of the railway tracks that were embedded in the road and i jammed both wheels in between the tracks , buckling both the wheels and sending me flying across the road. So soaking wet and sore from grazes i had to carry his bike back to the school approx a mile away. His punishment was me to haul myself up and down on the bosun's chair(approx 10ft high) and hold myself at the top with one hand gripping the the rope until he counted 20, then lower myself and do it all again 20 times .My arms were like lead when i finished and would i do it all again ,YES with no reservations.

[tsell]

Hi Geoff,

Definately the same gorilla! He did the same to me with the Bosun's chair. I recently started a thread on Ships Nostalgia, 'Bosun's Chair', and in it I posted about learning to haul myself up to the rafters there, although it seemed to me to be higher than 10 ft.
He taught us well and I was very proud when I found out that my Liverpool Wire Splice was mounted on a board and put up on the wall in Bill Henke's Pool office, with my name on it. Copped a lot of stick from my mates over that.
Will never forget the last day at the school when he took us, one by one, behind the gun mounting and gave a lecture on what to expect aboard and particularly ashore with the wild, wild, women and how to protect ourselves from the obvious.
As you say Geoff, would do it all again!! If only...

Taff

[Geoff Anderson]

I wonder what happened to all the gear they had when the school was closed?. There were builders ship models. a steering demonstarter were you could practice your steering, set up like a real bridge and as you turned the wheel a canvas picture turned with you , every realistic. He also had a model life boat that he had built himself with everything that a life boat should contain, even the cordage and sheets were spliced.
Are there NO CARDIFF NSTS students out there????. How about Terry Hewitt east Cardiff, Ray Jewett from the docks, Mr Seaborne also fron the docks, They were from large families of seamen, somebody must know them or the family name ???
Geoff.

[tsell]

Well Geoff, it hadn't changed from when I was there by the sound of it. Your memory is at least 10 years younger than mine, so thanks for bringing it all back. Yes, wonder where all that gear went?
The only names I recall were Phillip Parsons (joined our first ship together), ?? Roach, and Ike Williams a big West Indian. We had a big fight and ended up best mates! I met him years later in New Plymouth, think he was on a Bankboat and we had a great time.
They would all be a young 75/76 now, so surely somebody will remember them.

Taff

[Geoff Anderson]

Anybody remember sailing with these Cardiff guys.
Dinny Mahoney,
Mussa Nolan,
Bumpy Ford,
? Luscombe
Billy Wilson ,( Fairwater)
Jeff Sulivan,( Ely, died at sea) aged 17 MV Irom ore
Jeff Hudd, (Roath, died at sea) aged 18/ 19 Portugal
? Scoble ,( Grangetown)
There must be somebody who remembers these seamen.

[tsell]

Anybody remember these Cardiff brothers?
Stan Drake, over 6ft spitting image of Charles Laughton,
Ivor Drake, swarthy, jet black hair.
Stan passed away in New Plymouth, NZ some years ago where they had another brother, known as 'Taffy'.
Stan and I jumped ship together in NZ and he married a local NP girl. I always wondered what happened to Ivor.

Taffy R556959

[Brian Probetts (Site Admin)]

Was Musa Nolan a Somali?

If he is the same Musa I knew he was rather political, I sailed with him on the El Lobo.

Brian (site admin)