Bob Womersley

[Bob Womersley]

SHIPS NAME AND SERVICE RECORD

Full Name

Bob Womersley

Discharge Book Number

R608789

Department

catering

Your Rank/Rating

catering boy/ barman

Which Ships were you on and When

Regent Springbok
Strathaird
Chusan
Himalaya
Arcadia
Oronsay
Orsova
Canberra
Oriana
Port Philip
Empress of England
European Navigator
European Seafarer
European Trader
European Envoy
Veesea Tornado
Searcher

Notes:

sea service 1954/2000

[j.sabourn]

Welcome Bob. Ref your list of ships, I am probably getting names mixed up was the Arcadia one of Anchor Line or getting mixed up with a similar name. The Veesea Tornado boat you were on, I was on the Veesea Topaz and was the last official ship I was on in Britain. Unofficially I relieved a Greenpeace master off the Chieftain for a survey in the Dover Straights and the Southern part of the North Sea this was to pay the air fares out here. Left the Topaz 22/8/91. See by your resume you were in catering were you cook on the Tornado. Assume you enjoy living in Spain, its true then the rain falls mainly on the plain. If you were on the Veesea ships about the same time our paths may have crossed. They had just started off when I went with them and were for a short time a subsidiary of BUE, and just had the one ship British Magnus, which I got the heave ho off as upset some person on the platform who wouldn't even come forward and show his face. The first ship that they got after that was the Topaz which was American from the Mexican Gulf and I took over from the US crew in Sunderland for the conversion, 2 or 3 followed soon after, believe the fleet was sizeable in later years. Regards John S

[Bob Womersley]

Thanks John,
the Arcadia was P&O not Anchor line, I was on her in 1972/73, Aussie & US cruising. Veesea Tornado I was ships cook, took my ticket at Blackpool tech after we all got binned by P&O. I only did the one trip, the job was ok, but I fell out with the shoreside engineering super because we stopped off at the pub on rejoining day. ( not my most glorious day !!) I wasn't too impressed with rig bouncingso I managed to get a job on Irish Sea ferries where I finished my seagoing days in 2000, came to Spain in 2004 and have been here since.
regards Bov W

[Keith Moody]

welcome Bob, the Arcadia you speaak of must have been the old 1953 one, I spent 3 years on her (1956-1959), a very happy ship then. there are also a few of us on here that worked the Canberra on her maiden voyage and afterwards.
keith moody
R635978

[Doc Vernon]

Welcome to the site Bob, and thank you for listing your details and Ships !

I wonder if you came across my late Uncle "Dusty" at all in your time he was on the Himalaya for quite some time will have to look up when! Real name was George Van der Poll



Hope that the site will provide lots for you to keep you interested and busy!
Nice to have you aboard!
Relax and enjoy!
Cheers

Added Himalaya Nov 65 to Sept 69 Assy Stwd and Bedroom Stwd


SS Oronsay 7/2/73 A/Barman- PR/Barman to 30/9/75 Total Sea Service from 53 to 82

[j.sabourn]

Thanks Bob, ref. Arcadia, for some reason was thinking of Circassia why I don't know, probably because I went on her on an invite in 1954 in Bombay. I wasn't too long with the veesea ships as came out here at the end of 91, and first job was working for Swires. The super here then was from Hong Kong and couldn't understand how I could work out here permanently and he couldn't. Anyone out here then if not a permanent resident had to leave the country after so long and reapply for a work visa. The same attitude in the UK would of stopped a lot of the labour going in there and taken jobs away. Also any foreign labour had to be paid the same as Australian. so would of been no advantage in employing cheap labour. The people out here squeal about this but the truth is its all about money as regards the labour which they fail to admit to. You obviously hit the time in the North Sea offshore where they had purges about the evils of drink, years ago little was said and the jobs got done just the same, the atmosphere changed overnight and was probably the same on all British Ships, and was rare to see seamen ashore in Aberdeen as most sat on board afraid of some spy reporting them to the office, what an attitude to life. That is a big difference between then and now,now you have seamen like little boys towing the line by some proviso put out by some office boy, and frightened of losing their jobs as know another will be hard to come by. Have a good retirement as you have probably like some more of us seen both sides of the coin and know which some of us preferred. Cheers John S

[Bob Womersley]

Hiya Mate,
nice one, I knew Dusty well, we were on Oronsay together, he took over from me in the Pool Bar in '74, If I remember correctly, we also shipped out on the Oriana at one stage.He must have died very young, really sorry to hear it, he was a good lad !!. Last time I saw him was in Long Beach, he was on Spirit of London and I was still on the Oriana.

[Doc Vernon]

Hello Bob
Yes Dusty was a real good one and we had many good times together,he was more of a mate than an Uncle as there was not too many Years between us! 6 only to be exact!
He was the baby of the Family of nine.
He passed away in 2003 at age 69 after contracting a very bad bout of flu,was taken to Hospital and later had a Heart Attack that was so massive they could do naught!
A great shock to us all!
He is still missed so much by me especially as said we had a good friendship !
He signed off the Sea at Sydney in 82 was then on the Sea Princess (if I recall) ,he then worked at the Holiday Inn Menzies Hotel in Sydney ,had his own little Bar there upstairs and was very happy!
We saw a lot of each other after he stayed ashore,and had some more great times!
RIP my dear Uncle!
Cheers