John Clark

[John T Clark]

SHIPS NAME AND SERVICE RECORD

Full Name

John Clark

Discharge Book Number

R 902133

Department

Deck

Your Rank/Rating

AB

Which Ships were you on and When

1st ship was the Dalesman J T Harrison line 1971
2nd mv Explorer
3rd mv Inventor
4 mv Trader
5 mv Craftsman
6 mv Trader
7 mv Scholar
8 mv Discoverer
9 rms mv Aureol Elder Demsters 1974/3 trips
10 mv Dixcove
11mv Ascanious Blue Funnel
mv Falaba Elder Dempsters
12 mv Forcados
13 mv Aotolycus Blue Funnel
14 mv Asphalion Blue Funnel
15mv Falaba
16 mv Glenfalloch Glen Line
17 mv Fourah Bay Elder Dempsters
18 mv Falaba 5 trips 1976
19 mv Glenogle Glen Line 1977
20 mv Dumurra Elder Dempsters 3 trips
21 mv Lycaon Blue Funnel 1978 2 trips
22 mv Saint Nazair Elder Dempsters 3 trips 1979
23 mv Magda Josefina ex mv Falaba
24 mv Wiltshire 1980 Bibby line 2 trips
25 mv Hampshire
26 mv Stafordshire
27 mv Devonshire
28 mv Wiltshire
29 mv lincolnshire 3 trips
30 my last ship at sea mv Hampshire paid off Singapore 29.2.84 very sad day i was made redundant by the british shipping federation pier head liverpool

Notes:

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[William Gardner]

john with all your skills as a ab you would have been a find for the oil rigs big money and the stand by boates hope you went that way

[j.sabourn]

John you were made redundant a year before me from the federation. I clung on till the last and finished up with just over 1100 pounds redundancy, certainly hope you did better. Regards John Sabourn

[j.sabourn]

#2... William if you think 16 pounds a day in 1984 on the stand by boats good money, so be it. It was the worse paid job for seamen in the offshore Industry. Most companies gave a few days leave after 5/6 weeks, so if wanted to go back on same ship had to apply for dole. Most companies also had to pay own expenses travelling. Courses such as first aid and firefighting had also to pay yourself if didn't stay with same company for 1 year. They all had individual agreements depending on which company. The supply and towing was different and they had a more civilized approach where conditions and salary was twice as good at least. Was not just a matter of getting a job as easy as that, as was a different world than deep sea. Also they had ships laying up at various times, if ship was laid up so were you. When this happened to me I was fortuanate enough to have contacts in foreign flag vessels and go back deep sea for whatever length of time it took. Regards John Sabourn PS as regards rig work there were very few ex seafarers on rigs, those that were all had rigging experience. JS

[cappy]

#4......in 1984 girls in my factory were getting 15 to 16 quid a day for working on sewing machine ......ok they didnt get any keep but I always found speaking to rig men the money was not big unless you were top management.....the shore wallahs always thought seamen well paid cos they came home with big bucks.......but look at thehours when you couldntspend your brass seamans wages were only reasonable cos you got 3 squares a day mainly better grub than you could afford at home

[Jim Brady]

I was talking to a guy I know quite on Friday,he is a steward with RFA.He tells me he nets 2 grand a month,his deductions include £100 pm pension contribution to which RFA contribute another £100pm.He has just done four months on so he now has three months off on full pay.
Regards.
Jim.

[j.sabourn]

Cappy after 2 or 3 weeks out in North Sea things could get rather smelly. None of this showering when you felt like it as fresh water usually at a premium on some of those old trawlers. Were on call 24 hours a day. Food was not what most seamen were used to deep sea, and certainly no where near the sumptuous rigs. Tossed around for 24 hours a day especially in winter. Even on the supply boats an awful lot who came from deep sea couldn't take the weather and were sick a lot of the time and packed up. If you weren't prepared to go with a bucket round your neck when sick it was the gangway when back in port. On the supply boats spent a lot of time being washed up and down the deck, some wore wet suits to be more mobile it was one eye on the sea and one on the crane hook, used to work in pairs and watch out for each other. Those who think seamen have a soft life, have never seen the North sea in winter from the deck of a trawler or supply boat. Its really great when you think about it being retired, let some other mug do it. Cheers John S.

[cappy]

#8 not a jolly jack tar then john

[j.sabourn]

Very nice Jim would consider a job like that if it was around in my time. Cheers John S

[j.sabourn]

Got quite Jolly at times in the pub in Aberdeen after doing 4 weeks out there. I take my hat off to the fishermen who mostly manned these vessels, they were used to long spells at sea when fishing but were also used to more than 16 pounds a day. I was never sea sick so suppose I was jolly, jolly lucky and only just managing to pay the mortgage. Every winter there was a fisherman went down, of course this was never big enough news for the press and might get a couple of lines in Page 3. Some scaffolder falls off the rig and is headlines. Cheers John S. PS sorry forgot to mention with the new Health and Safety regulations were liable now to get the sack if seen in the pub. So be a good boy and just have a walk around the harbour and go to you piece of foam mattress masquerading as a bed, or as some ships to your sleeping bag. John S.