Policing American style

[Keith Tindell]

Doc ref 19. i think i posted on here before, i visited S Africa quite a few times in the 50-60 era, and it was a depressing place to be sometimes, but i went back with my wife just a few years ago, to Capetown, and had a very enjoyable holiday, i am amazed that the transition went by largely peaceful, not the bloodbath some thought would happen. So I agree with you, it is a lovely country now to go on holiday, kt

[Doc Vernon]

Good story Des
The b---- must have hurt mate! Ohhhhhh!!!
Yes as said I have been in a few Tussles with thos Coppers and its not nice,but that's ones own silly fault! We should have behaved ourselves! LOL

I don't know about the Durban Prison,but believe me the one that was in Cape Town was I think even worse than you describe!
Spent some time in there and WW2 Camps had nothing on Roeland Street Jail mate!

We were housed (if you can call it that) in small Concrete Huts no higher than 3ft 6ins with a small Oval entry and no doors at all.
You slept on the Ground Freezing cold,with two old Blankets that did not much good at all.
No pillows either.

In the Morning all you got was a Mug of Coffee (tasted like Sock Water) and a piece of dry Bread,
That was it till lunch,which consisted of a Bowl of some Sh---y stuff,a piece of Meat (more than likely Donkey) two veges whatever came your way. Nothing to drink but water

Then on to the Evening meal,yes you guessed the same old Soup routine Bread at least too ,no Marg or Butter just dry
At least there was a cup of Coco with that meal,think it contained the suff to keep you down! You get my drift!

I was in a work party and we had to fix up and fix Roads with Pick and Shovel
hard yakka with the Prison Guards just sitting and smoking!

Yep that was hard times thank goodness it was not for long! 3 Months but seemed like 3 Years!
Cheers

[Lewis McColl]

Just checked my discharge book first time I went to SA was 1972 and the last was 2006 not a regular but every 3 years or so.
I joined the Bibby lines Staffordshire in Cape Town ,she was alongside fully loaded having repairs to her ventilation system. We left with a riding squad of two, a Cape Coloured lad and an Afrikanner, we also had a squad of Freetown lads who desludging the ballast tanks and general fabric maintainence.
The two SA lads were working with me doing Generator major overhauls, this ship had been out of drydock 2 weeks. Bibby's idea of a dry dock was in and out asap so bottom clean/painted and ship side vavles sorted and gone.
The Cape coloured lad was a cracking kid good fun and a grafter, the other lad was a lazy b-----d. Because of the problems down below I was on day work 12 hour days or more like work till you drop. The other engineers were on 6's. Anyway the 3 of us would have a dirty beer after knock off. The Freetown lads 4 off them were sitting down aft having there dinner and Mister Minty the head man and I always had a good banter going so I dropped them down a few beers. The Afrikanner started to get a bit disrespectful towards the lads so I told him to wind his neck in. Mister Minty was as big as that actor out the movie The Green Mile even looked like him. Anyway Mr Minty overheard me telling the guy to watch his mouth. I got up and left went to my cabin for a shower and an early night. Next morning no sign of the SA guy just the little one. He was a bit quiet so I asked him what was up, he just started laughing turns out the Afrkanner did not take my advice and watch his mouth. He turned to at smoko a very subdued and well battered and bruised individual. They were to do the round trip as we were going back around the cape.He was useless and I had to double check everything he did. In the end I asked the C/Eng to get him off in Brazil but I wanted the little guy to stay. I think if he had stayed on board for the return leg he would have gone over the wall. The Filipino bosun told me he was stealing beer from the crew bar and if he was caught doing it again he would disappear astern one night. The little guy stayed and as said he was a grafter.He asked if he could get a job full time with Bibby's but it was not possible. I asked Mr Minty what happened the night the Afrikanner got a battering and in that lovely Pidgin english of Sierra Leone, Mr Minty says ''yeasir boss de man he abuse me so I go biff him good'' Not quite revenge for the abuse handed out to crew of the Ibn Rushd some 15 years before but I like to think the Carpenter would have had a smile on his face.(see post#10)

[Doc Vernon]

Yes Lewis
There is good and bad in most all Races and places!
Pity as I have said one Rotten Apple spoils the Barrel!
Good yarn that one though,he got what was coming and so it should be!
But again my word mostly they are good Guys and hard grafters too!
Cheers

[j.sabourn]

#21.. Des I think a seamans medical Should have included physiology report on all persons as to fitness to be able to adjust to conditions on a ship by all hands. If you got a maladjusted master it was a bad situation. There was at least one person on every ship. That is at last one person close to the edge of rational behaviour. JS

[happy daze john in oz]

Talking with Miss Jo'burg in the local bank the other day. She has family in Durban and Jo'Burg and was just back from holiday.

Said Cape Town is beautiful now but Durban, Jo'Burg and Pretoria are not the places to go now.
too much violence, general crime and a total dislike of the whites.

[Lewis McColl]

Talking with Miss Jo'burg
too much violence, general crime and a total dislike of the whites.

It is a fact of life the White race is dispised by all other races, the Japanese are a very rascist people. How many here have been to Japan and heard the sorry Japanese only when going into a bar??? happened to me on more than one occassion.

[Captain Kong]

Hi Lewis,
In Tahiti and the other "french" Polynesian Islands, the French are Greatly Despised and HATED by everyone.
They like us British .
Brian

[Lewis McColl]

Hi Lewis,
In Tahiti and the other "french" Polynesian Islands, the French are Greatly Despised and HATED by everyone.
They like us British .
Brian

Brian ,they like your money don't be fooled,

[j.sabourn]

#31. Lewis is a long time since was in Japan but during my time the bars with a red light outside were the Japanese bars and we respected that. I have been in them when with a Japanese person and the female waitresses were a bit more dignified And whereas the beer in the A and B bars was 200 yen the beer in the jap bars was 120 yen if I remember correctly. There was 1000 yen to the pound. The A bars were open to US service personel the B bars weren't. We used to use the B bars. The signs were outside the doors during the US occupation. The bars Lost their A rating by the US army administration if a social disease was traced back to them. So I was informed by various people of various nationalitys. We all had shore passes in those days so when the shore patrols came around checking we were all legal. They stopped giving Cappy a shore pass in the finish as the only way you could keep him on board. I don't think there was any legal age to drinking in Japan as it was never mentioned to me as I was only 16 then, on my first visit in 1953, could hold it better than I can now.. cheers JWS