Discharged

[Keith Tindell]

I was logged on many occasions, the only gripe i had once, was the skipper was as pi**ed as i was being logged for, other than that, was warned if it continued i would be DR`d, so fair warning, so pulled my horns in. Pretty much at the end of every trip was offered a re en gagement. Most of my logging was for going adrift in port, KT

[Dennis McGuckin]

Me too Keith.
Lucky. Only ended up with one VNC

[judith george]

I have a Log Book of the Lord Byron 163465 for 1941 where the Master Samuel Thomas whilst filling out his report for the voyage gave a good for conduct and DR for respect of ability for the crew

judith

[Jim Brady]

Judith I reckon if you going to get a good you may as well have a DR.
Regards.
Jim.B.

[j.sabourn]

Judith the master had the power to disrate anyone at sea. However when you get into those realms you would also have to give a DR for ability. If disrating someone you are literally saying whoever passed him as competent must also have been incompetent. Probably another good reason why such discharges no longer exist in a seamans book. Too many masters getting carried away with their power. I preferred the Foreign Flag method where if someone was too much trouble to carry you just paid off in whatever part of the world. Probably where the saying came from "I wouldn't carry him for ballast". JS

[Captain Kong]

The very best References I have seen are........

"This man consistently fails to achieve the abysmal low standard that he has set himself".
the other............

"I would not breed from this person."

off my mate Fred, ex galley Boy ,2nd Cook, Cunard winger, and then RSM Grenadier Guards and Major in Liverpool Kings Regiment.
Cheers
Brian

[j.sabourn]

For people reading these posts with no seagoing background... Discipline was defined as what the Articles of Agreement said, and followed up with the Official Log Book. The use of this varied from ship to ship and master to master. It must also be remembered that the Merchant Navy was a civilian occupation and not like the Royal Navy which had its own police force and set of Kings/Queens regulations enforceable by the Admiralty. Most of the seagoing laws as applied to the MN was made up by and for the benefit of the shipowner. Fines were supposed to go to charity and stoppage of wages back to the shipowner. The British Shipping Federation was a consortium of shipowners who decided amongst themselves the wages and conditions of service. All the info. appertaining to was contained in the Bible the Federation year book. Nearly all the rises in such were gained by union negotiation, regardless of ones thoughts on unions for or against. Anywhere in the rise of living conditions throughout the UK in whatever industry has also been gained in the same manner. JS

[Louis the fly]

John McDonald was charged with spitting on the deck. He was hung by the neck until his tongue flopped out and his face turned blue , then cut down and given twenty lashes with the cat of nine tails. Finally keelhauled he lay on the deck barely alive from near drowning , the skin on his body ripped and torn from the barnacles on the ships hull.
The Captain said . " Let that be a lesson to you my lad , the next time I will give you a much worse punishment . Any more of this you will be getting a D.R. "

[Jim Brady]

Louis apart from being threatened with a DR he was also told that he would be sacked out of the company.
Regards.
Jim.B.

[j.sabourn]

Although I worked for 4 years with a combined complement of RN and MN personel, I would not be so presumptious as to define naval discipiline other to say the RN people were as liable to go on a Hoo Haa ashore the same as MN people. Whether different branches of the Navy were more relaxed in some departments, the same as Merchant ships, I would hazard a guess as to being so. We had a fixed complement of 14 MN and 16 or so RN. This complement grew to about 45 on trips down the Medi. All were leading seamen and POs, the RN officer in charge would be anything up to a full Commander, always carried a Naval surgeon and up to 3 surgeons on foreign going trips. They had their own problems at times the same as any ship, personel problems due to over indulgence ashore or other non military issues usually consisted of a fine of a case of beer for the POs mess. This was if remember correctly upped to two cases to a diver who went ashore in Marseilles stole a car wrapped it round a lamp post and had to be flown back to Portsmouth. When coming out of saturation which was always done alongside if possible, usually at Customs House Quay on the Clyde, they were sent back to Portsmouth by train with a label in their pocket, to anyone who found the bearer in a comatose position that he was suffering maybe from the bends or some other ailment. As never knew a matelot who didn't like his grog used to wonder if they knew best to keep off until they had reported in. Will always remember being in the Diving Control room one day and this Leading Rate turning to the French Canadian Lieutenant on secondment and saying to him Hey wack did you eff my wife last night, Non Non monsieur was the startled reply from this young kid, well you should of says this scouser shes a better eff than yours. Believe three of these divers were flown down to the Falklands well ahead of the landing forces and were almost the first ashore checking the beaches the same if not before the Ghurka contingent landed. Before I left the uk used to bump into various of them who leaving the navy found lucrative jobs in the offshore industry. Cheers JS