MV La Falda

[George]

Nice to see Buries Marks now on site had nine great months on the La Falda tramping Europe West Coast USA Panama Canal suese Canal Oz Japan back in 59/60 Christmas in Japan yea great ship good Co
Regards George in Southampton

[Geoff Summers]

HI GEORGE
i WAS WITH BM FROM APP. ON lA CORDILLERA 1956 UNTIL MATE ON LA COLINA 1963.
ALSO SERVED ON LA SIERRA,LA PRADERA,LA BAHIA,

LEFT LA COLINA GOT MARRIED WORKED 2 YEATS 1063/65 IN LIBERIA AT MONROVIA FREEPORT.
NOW SEMI RETIRED GARAGE OWNER.

HAVE JUST BOOKED A FERRY FROM LE HAVRE TO PORTSMOUTH ,GUESS WHAT ITS LOUIS DREFUSS LINE!!!

GEOFF SUMMERS

[salvina]

Did any of you guys sail with a chief steward Sydney Johnson from Shetland? He was on the La Falda at some time but not sure exactly when.

[Doc Vernon]

Hi Geoff Summers
Would just like to give you a warm Welcome to this very good site!
Here you will find lots of info,good Crew and with luck also find a few old Shipmates!
So sit back,relax and just enjoy the trip!
Hope we will have you here for a long time!
A site truly worthy of the British Merchant Navy!
Cheers


Note Well

If you would like to join in and have your Full name R Number and First Ship
Included in the Flag project then please pass it on to Mike Hall who is doing a Main Flag for all
to be displayed some time in one of the UK Museums!
We need your names to get the New Flag full,so please do respond!
Thank you
Vernon (castleman)

Please go to following Link



and reply to me in person! Via Private Message Link and I will pass on the info!

http://www.merchant-navy.net/forum/p...?do=newpm&u=18



If you have already done this then please accept my apologies!

[happy daze john in oz]

G'day Geoff and welcome to the site. If you care to list all your ships with soem dates i am sure there will be some who remember you. So sit back with a cold one and enjoy the voyage.

[Michael Gray]

Hello George,
My name is Michael Gray and I was an App with Buries Markes at the same time as you.Iwas in Vancouver end of 59 waiting to load grain. Had to wait a long time as the grain was wet and they had to use blowers to take moisture out. I was on the La Pradera. I wonder if you were on L;a Falder with Mike Compton. I think the old man was a nutter called Mike Hughes. I seem to remember everyone hid when they saw him coming.

When we left Vancouver for the continent and Denmark we we hit a bad storm and water flooded the chain locker and the forepeak.We travelled down the West coast like a submarine that could not decide to dive or not. When we crossed the Atlantic the weather was so bad we were going astern at times.

The other App were Eric Creasey, Iain Rodgers and Phil Henderson. I don't Know if you ever knew Bernard Gaffney but we went to London Nautical School together at age 11,left at the same time and were together on the La Cordillera and we are still in touch every week.

Let me know if you did know any of them ,
Regards,
Mick Gray

[George]

Hi Mick I don't recall any of the names you mention, the only one I remember was the Catering Boy Ather Landing who hailed from Portsmouth, the Apprentices where a great source of fun infact as I recall the hole crew where a good bunch of lads, I sighned on as Galley Boy and the Cook came from Yorkshire and second cook baker was from Southampton they would of made Morecombe and Wise look rank amatures had they gone on stage. We also took grain from Vancouver but took it to Japan, had the hatches converted for grain at a place called Longview on the Portland River. You mention rough weather we caught a bad storm after leaving Japan couple or three days to New Years Day and despite the deckhands being flooded out and shareing other cabins we still managed to have a great New Years Night celibration and getting the Old Man from his bunk to see in the New Year, after he had been on the bridge for 48hrs. Mick one my favourite Ships
George

[George]

HI GEORGE
i WAS WITH BM FROM APP. ON lA CORDILLERA 1956 UNTIL MATE ON LA COLINA 1963.
ALSO SERVED ON LA SIERRA,LA PRADERA,LA BAHIA,

LEFT LA COLINA GOT MARRIED WORKED 2 YEATS 1063/65 IN LIBERIA AT MONROVIA FREEPORT.
NOW SEMI RETIRED GARAGE OWNER.

HAVE JUST BOOKED A FERRY FROM LE HAVRE TO PORTSMOUTH ,GUESS WHAT ITS LOUIS DREFUSS LINE!!!

GEOFF SUMMERS

Hi Geoff you did longer than I with Burries Marks but how remarkable is that to book up a trip to Portsmouth with if my memory serves me right the Parent Co of Buries Marks, now sadly gone the way of many a good Co of yester year
George

[Mike Gough]

Hello George,
My name is Michael Gray and I was an App with Buries Markes at the same time as you.Iwas in Vancouver end of 59 waiting to load grain. Had to wait a long time as the grain was wet and they had to use blowers to take moisture out. I was on the La Pradera. I wonder if you were on L;a Falder with Mike Compton. I think the old man was a nutter called Mike Hughes. I seem to remember everyone hid when they saw him coming.

When we left Vancouver for the continent and Denmark we we hit a bad storm and water flooded the chain locker and the forepeak.We travelled down the West coast like a submarine that could not decide to dive or not. When we crossed the Atlantic the weather was so bad we were going astern at times.

The other App were Eric Creasey, Iain Rodgers and Phil Henderson. I don't Know if you ever knew Bernard Gaffney but we went to London Nautical School together at age 11,left at the same time and were together on the La Cordillera and we are still in touch every week.

Let me know if you did know any of them ,
Regards,
Mick Gray

Hi Mick & George,

I served on the La Falda as Apprentice from ,I think April 1959 until February 1960, which I believe is the trip you are talking about, along with Mike Compton, Mike Herriott and Paul Nicholson who I was talking to just prior to writing this. The Captain for the major part of that time was Bill Davies and the Mate Terry Turner, prior to that on the first trip to Los Angeles and Chimbote the Captain was Dai Davies ( no relation to Bill Davies) and the Mate Peter Oxtoby from Hull. We do not remember the La Falda with particular fondness as the Apprentices worked over 2000 hours of unpaid overtime, many days 16 - 18 hours 7 days per week, mostly in the holds cleaning and rigging shifting boards.
I remember particularly Longview as we managed to spring a leak between the small no 6 hatch and the steering gear compartment and filled this with grain which was discovered minutes before we were due to sail.
Christmas Day in Tokyo was different, the Apprentices were on deck watch so the the Mates could enjoy their Xmas. Happy Days!!!!!!

I served on La Cordillera, La Colina, La Falda, La Bahia, La Pradera, Montcalm & La Pampa.

Regards

Mike Gough

[George]

Hi Mike,
I think we were on the La Falda at the same time, I joined here in Southampton 10/7/59, she was in the drydock at the back of Harland and Wolfe's repair yard. Sighned on as the galley boy, and got promoted asst steward when many of the crew paid off on returning to Rotterdam, I think it was. Can't honestly remember any of the names now accept For Auther Landing who was the catering boy, and came from my home town of Portsmouth. Do you remeber the storm we hit after leaving Japan, one of you apprentices took a sequense of photo's of it, which I still have to this day. I do remember that the apprenticess did get put on, but they were as I remember some great lads, There was one who had grown a full beared and mastash in very good sailors tradition, and then one day turned to wth opposite sides of his beard and mastash clean shaved. Mike I will stop there, before I write a book, and just say for me she was one great ship.
George
in Southampton