H Samson and his merchant navy days

[R Samson]

Hi, I've recently joined after getting a copy of my grandad ( now deceased) H Samson's book of his life in the merchant navy.
Although I was alive when he wrote the book and used to talk me to about it a lot whilst we played chess, I wished I took a bigger interest as it is fascinating to me now on his life as he was such a gentleman. I hoped that maybe I could learn more from those who maybe have researched this area more to give me more insight into his life during this period.

Harold Samson joined the merchant life at the age of 17 in 1937 on the SS. Raranga for two voyages before joining the M V Waimarama in 1938 firstly as as engineers Steward, then officers Steward, then in late 1938 became the Captain's Steward to Captain James Avern.

He was taught by the chief steward Mr Townrow how to mix cocktails for the captains visitors. As Captain Avern played chess, he challenged my grandad to a game of chess which led to many games on their voyage to Australia via the Cape. He was also taught by the Captain on how to decipher coded messages and was later instructed to heave the weighted bag carrying the code books oversea if they were attacked and the captain was able to.

Much later as they were going through the Suez Canal my grandad witnessed a heated row between the captain and a senior officer involving a bit of slapping. He was told by the captains that his intention was to leave the ship at Melbourne. My grandad was anxious that it was linked to the fight and was afraid he was going to be called at a a witness on this, so decided to leave the ship at Melbourne and watched it leave the harbour without him.
He never found out if Captain Avern did leave the ship and if Chief Officer Mr Pearce became Captain.

He joined the Australian army, became homesick, managed to get a job as an able seaman on Fort Pine in Townsville, changing his name to Cyril Thompson. This ship was on its way to Bombay and then the UK sailing up Manchester canal where he spent a night at the local police station waiting to find out if he was in trouble.

He then rejoined, boarding Tordene at Liverpool which was on its way to Nova Scotia which returned to UK. After he was then on Fort Fitxgerald at Avonmouth heading for Italy then for Cape Bone, of Tunisia not far from where his beloved Waimarama was bombed and sunk.
They then headed towards New York then to Connecticut to load cargo, heading back via Gibraltar and eventually home to Liverpool.

From what he has told me and from reading his book there certainly wasn't any uneventual journeys and my main regret is that I don't have any dates for his days as a seaman.

What is interesting is his seapouch of which both his real name Harold Samson and his alias Cyril Thompson although which have separate numbers also show as being the same person which I think now he would have been fascinated to see as he always thought no one really knew!

He wrote his memoirs after reading the Post War Fortunes of a Shipping Empire by Richard De Kerbrech, and those who knew my grandad knew him as an honest gentleman who always regretted his choice in Melbourne to abandon the ship Waimarama which he dearly loved.

[R Samson]

The ships I am interested in finding out more about, including possible dates my grandad was on them are:

SS Raranga from 1937 to 1938
M V Waimarama from 1938 to unknown but left at Melbourne.
Then was in Australian Army - dates unknown.
Fort Pine - dates unknown but left from Townsville to Bombay then UK via Manchester canal.
Tordene - dates unknown but left from Liverpool to Nova Scotia and back to Liverpool.
Fort Fitxgerald - dates unknown - left from Avonmouth to Italy to Cape Bone to New York to Connecticut passed Gibralter to Liverpool.

[Doc Vernon]

Very interesting write up there R Sampson!
I hope with time you may get what you are seeking in the line of info on those Ships!
What sort of info exactly are you after besides dates your Grandad served on them?
Thanks
Cheers

Don't know if this is the same Ship in question?
http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?37246

[R Samson]

Hi, thanks for replying.
I am trying to get the dates of when he was on each ship, and although he was very detailed in terms of the ship he was on and where it was going, unfortunately there are no dates.

The link to the ship is the correct one. I'm sure he had a copy of that or something similar in a frame on his mantlepiece as I remember it being there.

I have a few photos that others may be interested in. One that he took and devolved in his cabin on the M V Waimarama. They had been warned that there was a German ship in the area and came near a Ship carrying the Portugese flag. The Captain and his Chief Officer identified it as the German ship as the port of registration had been painted out even though according to International law it should of been there. A message was sent identifying the Germans ship location. Eventually HMS Neptune turned up, and the below photo is of HMS Neptune to the left and the German ship Adolph Woermann to the right.
As soon as HMS Neptune turned up the German ship admitted who they were, taking down their Portugese flag and replacing it with a Swastika. The German ship was sinking as she had been scuttled so the passengers and crew left the German ship and got into lifeboats which went alongside Waimarama. They then boarded HMS Neptune. The Captain was later awarded an OBE for this.

image.jpg

The second photo is of my grandad Harold Samson. He is on the far right. I don't know who the other two people are. The photo was taken by the deck gun on the Waimarama.

image.jpg