A reunion

[Gordon Turnbull]

Just wanted to say that thanks to this site an old shipmate got in touch. Last saw him on the 3rd January 1973 when we paid off a Ropner's boat in Avonmouth. We had been at Gravesend at the same time (well, me a week before him) and we joined the Windsor Castle together as first trippers, did four trips before we both decided enough was enough and then joined the Bridgepool together at Meadowside Granary in Glasgow. He is an islander so not easy to meet up but a week past Saturday he was down at his son's so we met in Edinburgh for a coffee and a blether. Great to catch up Alex, and continuing good health to yourself and family me old shipmate!

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Hi Gordon.
Nice to hear that you met up with an old shipmate, I suppose we all hope to do that on site.
A couple of old mates of mine did their first trip from the Vindicatrix on the Windsor Castle during the war, they never knew until they met up in Sydney many years later.
Cheers Des

[Doc Vernon]

So nice to hear that this site is still getting old Friends of the Sea together!
Its a small World at times!
Cheers

[alexmackinnon]

It was good to meet up with you Gordon. Thanks to sites like this it makes it easier for people to find long lost friends and shipmates.
Hopefully we will be able to meet up again sometime next year to share a yarn or two. All the best to you and family Gordon.

[Evan Lewis]

That wartime one was sunk Des.

[Des Taff Jenkins]

HI Evan.
Both John Mears and Len Wade were first trip Vindi boys when the ship was torpedoed. They met at a Vindi old boys meeting in Sydney in the 90s neither knowing the other as John was a galley boy while Len was a deck boy, it was only talking about their experiences that they found out they had been on the same ship when she was sunk. John recalled that when he was in the lifeboat he was jabbing his oar into the U-boat hoping to put a hole in it, the Captain of the U-boat wanted to know if the Captain was aboard. around 2000 John flew to Germany to meet some of the U-Boats crew at a U-Boat reunion he said he had a great time with them.
Cheers Des