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Thread: Does This Story Make Sense?

  1. #21
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    Default Re: Does This Story Make Sense?

    Some of the greatest theft took place in the KGV and other London docks.
    The number of cases of booze that had an accident is ell recorded.

    During the war I was told we never ran out of meat in our house,
    Grandfather worked in a London hotel and was friendly with a guy who worked on the docks, enough said.

    But theft in some ports was always a risk, there was always something on a ship that some one else ashore wanted.

    But some crew were also involved, Silver in Las Palmas was a UCL wingers form of cash.
    Happy daze John in Oz.

    Life is too short to blend in.

    John Strange R737787
    World Traveller

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  3. #22
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    Default Re: Does This Story Make Sense?

    Quote Originally Posted by j.sabourn View Post
    Nearly everyone made a good living from shipping apart from the seamen .JS
    There were many in every port who made a living 'off' the seamen, namely the coppers on the gate, who if they didn't get half-a-crown folded into your luggage pass, made you open every case and thus miss your train. When you think of the scores, if not hundreds of seamen paying-off every day they made a good living off our backs, no doubt they had to share it with the night time coppers and no doubt a percentage was paid to superiors (I use the term loosely) in the chain. Half a crown was a big lump for someone on £6 per month, but the coppers didn't discriminate and later on in life when they saw the sextant case, the fee was increased!
    Last edited by Ivan Cloherty; 5th November 2021 at 08:55 AM.

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    Default Re: Does This Story Make Sense?

    I remember in Southampton circa 1959, it was a ten bob note, thats inflation at work Ivan !!, this was off a castle boat, a lot of crew to fleece every week. possibly the taxi driver was in the fiddle as well, because he would remind us every time we put the bags in the back of the taxi, kt
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    Default Re: Does This Story Make Sense?

    Quote Originally Posted by Keith Tindell View Post
    I remember in Southampton circa 1959, it was a ten bob note, thats inflation at work Ivan !!, this was off a castle boat, a lot of crew to fleece every week. possibly the taxi driver was in the fiddle as well, because he would remind us every time we put the bags in the back of the taxi, kt
    Memories and the inflation come flooding back, yes you handed the folded baggage pass to the driver who handed it to the copper, although some coppers cut out the middle man. Don't recall anyone refusing to pay, most were just glad to get down the gangway and away home

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    Default Re: Does This Story Make Sense?

    I think seamen were easy game, ready to be fleeced, especially after a session on the sauce. I recall being in New Brighton on a ship, and the lads in the pub, and sinking a few, this was in the days when it was illegal to have a bookies runner, and a guy approached us and asked if we wanted to put a bet on, most of us were not interested. When one of the guys went to the toilet, another guy followed him in, and it urned out to be a plain clothes copper, he explained that this bookies runner was fleecing seamen, not putting the bet on, and if a winner came up for the customer, he just disappeared until the ship sailed. The copper asked our crew member to put a bet on with this guy, which he did, and the runner was arrested straight away. We never found out what sentence he got, kt
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    Default Re: Does This Story Make Sense?

    Loading stores on the Empress of Canada on the landing stage, the stevedores would help themselves to boxes of steaks and any other items they fancied, this would be in plain view of the bridge watch (had to keep sea watches whilst tied up on the stage) and the catering super. We were told not to interfere as they would go on strike and delay sailing.
    The funniest attempt of theft from a ship was when I was 2nd mate on a product tanker going into Naples. We had a mooring rope hung over the stern ready to be picked up by the tub when a fast speed boat appeared, grabbed hold of the rope and tried to make away with it. They didn't get far as as soon as we saw what was happening we took a couple of turns of the rope around the gifts so the speed boat instead of making off at a great rate of knots came to a sudden stop ripping the thwart out of the boat and almost capsizing it followed by a bunch of Italian abuse directed at us we were in stitches recovering the rope.
    Rgds
    J.A

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    Default Re: Does This Story Make Sense?

    Quote Originally Posted by Ivan Cloherty View Post
    There were many in every port who made a living 'off' the seamen, namely the coppers on the gate, who if they didn't get half-a-crown folded into your luggage pass, made you open every case and thus miss your train. When you think of the scores, if not hundreds of seamen paying-off every day they made a good living off our backs, no doubt they had to share it with the night time coppers and no doubt a percentage was paid to superiors (I use the term loosely) in the chain. Half a crown was a big lump for someone on £6 per month, but the coppers didn't discriminate and later on in life when they saw the sextant case, the fee was increased!
    I remember always paying a pound to the cops.
    Sounds like I was sucked in.

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    Default Re: Does This Story Make Sense?

    #29 You must have been one of the last of the big time spenders Dennis. JS
    #30 Ref. the custom officers case , couldn’t have been designed better to receive a bottle and a carton of cigarettes
    JS.
    Last edited by j.sabourn; 5th November 2021 at 02:58 PM.
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  10. #29
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    Default Re: Does This Story Make Sense?

    I sometimes wonder if the customs guys put stuff in some cabins just to show their boss they were doing a good job.

    There was at one time a cafe inside the London docks.
    It was said to be the cheapest around.
    So cheap even the staff working in dock side offices used it, no one could understand how it could make a profit with prices this low.

    Apparently the cafe owner was an ex seaman, he had good dock side mates.
    The deal was the union set the prices so cheap meals and still a profit for him.

    When he needed supplies just told his mate and they appeared.
    Sides of beef just fell out of the sky!!!!!!!!!!!
    Happy daze John in Oz.

    Life is too short to blend in.

    John Strange R737787
    World Traveller

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