Gordon Jones Markhor1953 Mahanada`1955 Malakand 1956 Makalla 1956

[Kevin Mercer]

Hi Gordon and all,
You mention Cherasades and I can't remember where it was ! We used to go to a posh hotel/bar in Columbo for drinks, was that it or was it in Cal ?
Talking of Columbo, did anyone else endure the five weeks on the hook waiting for a berth ? We used to have to stay on full stand by that long and on sea watches with loads of other ships just waiting. To ease the boredom we would often challenge other ships to darts matches ....that was always a great night. I got to have a look at other company's ships and meet their lads. It was a chance to use the lifeboat too!
Whilst we hung about waiting we would watch a Blue Flue ship sail straight in to a berth and leave a day or two later. They had some pull out there !
Kevin

[gordon jones]

Hi Kevin and all Brock Lovers everywhere. The cheherasard ( if that was its name) was in Cal. It was supposed to be a sort of meeting place for "locals" I dont think the MN types were encouraged too much.
What intrigues me about your last comment was the story of a Brock Boat sinking in the Hoogley. The reason I am interested is that I was
on the "old" Markhor when we were asked to go up a river which from memory was round the coast a bit from the Hoogly and ran, as it were parallel to it. The story was that we were going to "open" a new."port" When we arrived the only berth available was a Buoy in the middle of the river. The cargo was brought down the river in barges. Either side of the Buoy about 1 mile away was virgin jungle. The problem was a city Line boat had beaten us to it by a day and we had to swing round the hook on full watches,just as you describe. We were there 7 weeks. One day in order to break the boredom it was decided to take a lifeboat to the shore with a few Beers and a "picnic"
From memory the 2nd and 3rd mate and 3 engineers were in the boat.I was one of the Engineers. We got to the shore and were about to
get out when we saw a crocodile. We turned round and went back to the ship. It seems that the Crocs were those with the pointed snouts
and are vegetarians. But we didn't know that at the time !! To get back to the story how did the Brock boat trip over it's own anchor?
Also while your at it tell me was this swinging round the hook that you relate OUTSIDE the columbo harbour walls?

[Ron B Manderson]

Anchor ripped bottom. only life lost was the cat.
The story I was told was that the boe tide was coming upriver and the pilot panicked told them to drop anchor.

Master Mar. was W.K Watkins
Seems when the company gang arrived from Liverpool the told him " I hope you made a good job on her"


The post hotel in Columbo was ( hell I forgot as I was typing) but the bar up top was called" taprubane ." May not be spelt like that.
The other was MOunt lavina.

Cant beat the rooftop gardens in Massawa.
Ron the batcave

[Kevin Mercer]

Hi Gordon,
Looks like Ron has covered the details of the sinking. I sailed with the 2nd eng who was on board her at the time. He told me they were down below trying to manoeuvring her to the shallows with water slowly rising in the E/R. He jokingly said to the Cassab " what about all those lovely spanners and stuff in the stores,?" which from what he said were low on the bottom plates and getting flooded. I don't know if he was taking the P--but he said the Cassab set off swimming over to the stores before he dragged him back ! Such is loyalty! He said the main air pump was still working half submerged !
Yes we were well outside the harbour when we hung around outside Columbo, the odd trip in the lifeboat to collect the mail. Or to visit other ships in the "queue".
Salaams
Kevin

[Ron B Manderson]

I heard that the chief steward was cluching the bar book and W K Watkins grabbed it and threw it over the side.
Don't know if that was true but a thing I think he would do.
The amazing thing was that when they looked at the ship again , they opened the door and the accomadation was like a dance hall. Stripped. clean.
Ans the ship was in the middle of nowhere even the fridge compressors were GONE.
The masts of the ship could be seen in the river for years to come.



Columbo.
Nothing worse than anchored off the harbour, swinging around and seeing the town and bar lights.
Like playing a Jimmy Shand record and nailling your feet to the deck. " hell"
Ron the batcave

[gordon jones]

When I was sailing with Brocks their main routes were UK to Calcutta. via Columbo and various other places on route. Then we were
told that there was a shortage of cargo so they were going to spread their wings a bit. This is circa 1955. The result was that having sailed to Cal. the return journey went from Gib to the States. Some ships going to north america (New York) and some to the southern States
(New Orleans). one or two ships went to Australia, but i don't think that lasted long. Bring me up to date where did they finish up sailing to and was the END made quite obvious to all those sailing at the time? Gordon Jones.

[Kevin Mercer]

Hi Ron,
I heard also that they even stripped the outer decks of all the planking leaving the bare steel and there was a guy spotted in white overalls stripping the radio gear who was mistaken for a " Macaroni Man" but was just another loosewaller.
Out there they would steal your eyes and say you looked better without them !
When I think back it seems like another world, was I really there ?
Salaams
Kevin

[gordon jones]

What's happened to all the other Brocks people? We should hear from some of the Deck people about the comments we have made especially the "sinking" of the ship in the hoogley. I know what you mean when you say "was I really there" It does seem almost like a dream. The one experience I recall vividly was calling in at Jehdda (I think) It was the port where all the pilgrims to Mecca started from. I didn't fully appreciate what it was I was witnessing at the time. We happened to be there at the time when all the pilgrims came to the port
disembarked and started to walk towards Mecca. There must have been thousands of them all walking along and causing a dust cloud. I never complained again about Brocks 3rd division ships being rust buckets. Some of the ships coming into that port carrying their human cargo were unbelieveably rusty. I shudder to think what state the engines must have been in.
No one (and as there are only two of you writing it narrows it down a bit) has answered my question "where did Brocks sail to after say
1970. And how was the END of the company made known to the people who did the real work?
Gordon Jones.

[Ron B Manderson]

Hi Ron,
I heard also that they even stripped the outer decks of all the planking leaving the bare steel and there was a guy spotted in white overalls stripping the radio gear who was mistaken for a " Macaroni Man" but was just another loosewaller.
Out there they would steal your eyes and say you looked better without them !
When I think back it seems like another world, was I really there ?
Salaams
Kevin

SPeaking about Eyes
On Mahseer we had a thrid engineer with a glass eye.
He would leave it out on the telegragh table and the indians were scared of It as it was watching them .
Gordon
I left in 1971 .
The last trip I done was tilbury etc to calcutta
Then down to celyon etc to Capetown across to Savanna down that coast to Mobile. houston port athur and New orleans. Back home to middlesburgh.
So I can't help you where they went from there. But they did run a few years after I left.Gordon
I left in 1971 .
The last trip I done was tilbury etc to calcutta
Then down to celyon etc to Capetown across to Savanna down that coast to Mobile. houston port athur and New orleans. Back home to middlesburgh.
So I can't help you where they went from there. But they did run a few years after I left.
We4 were stuck up in chalna when war broke out and the bangldesh was formed.
Scary it was coming down the river with no pilot waiting for the shells to fire at us.
The old man was Dereck O'Byurn.
I had a deal with the company to return anytime I please.
Deal with the wife that I return to sea if I could not get a job within 3 months.
The dole sent me up to this interve for a job I didn't want ( you know why as my 3 months were almost up )
The swine was an old mate was the boss, . I tried every trick ( can't start for a months . Thats ok we will wait as you are know ever main cable here as you fitted them )
And for about 9 months I really hated the job.
I was aboard the Markor in 1972 and she was still on the India run.


You asked me where I got the name Ron The batcave.
This started on another site where I started a poem about batman and robin.
I started with 4 lines then other people added their 4 lines.
Must admit it was really funny the additions. It run for about a year.
Batman & Robin had some great journeys.
Then some one said( Julian Antos, I think) return to the batcave Ron after he asked me to repair a few photograghs for him. he then added to the site that he had recieved the pictures back from the batcave. And there it stuck.
Ron the batcave

[Keith Moody]

I just want to put the guys who went to the Calcutta swimming club right, most of those girls were not interested in the pilots but were more interested in the stewards as they were the ones who were not married (that is the straight ones ), i spent many a day between trips flying to Hong Kong and singapore at the club, and can tell you that durring the 6 weeks i was there, was one of the best times of my life. does anyone remember the monkey that used to be on the wall and if you left anything on the table , he would be down in a flash to pick it up and run away back over the wall with it.?
I was talking to one of the turbaned security guards who said " what a shame the British had left India, as it has gone down hill ever since" this was 1965. i guess thats why most of them moved to the UK!!!!
did any of you visit the riding stable there?
keith moody
R635978