Britain's Slave Trade.

[cappy]

at least you got the spuds peeled for you by galley slaves

###aye rob i often when sitting outside the galley peeling my tatties thought well them ginger beers are stuck down there in all that noise and heat just sitting till a other one tells them to press button b .....while cappy sat in the sun getting bronzied getting the best cuts of meat and a good 8 hours kip at night who had the best job ...but of course i kept it secret ....otherwise all them gingers would have wanted to be galley boys...and cappy would have been out of a job ......lol ...cappy tatty peeler extrordinaire

[j.sabourn]

That brings back memories Cappy “ Press. button B” ,you got your tuppence back out of the old phone box. If thought were through and pressed button A and had dialed the wrong number lost that important tuppence. Do you reckon that was the cause of so many vandalised phone boxes. ? JS

[robpage]

I have come across Merchant Navy seafarers all over the world , there is a common bond , a definate cameraderie and an odd sense of humour , there has always been , when dealing with ex Merchany Navy engineers ashore a determination , to deliver on time and to fix the problem , even if waterproofing was a Durex and gaffer tape was involved .

this is a source of annoyanvce to me when shoreside , landlubbers differentiate between Merchant Navy seafarers , and Merchant Navy seafarers classified as Veterans the US does not do this and I think it is time it stopped here

[John Pruden]

the rare time me and my other three brothers ever got together in the pub the tales yarns and down right lies would come out many in the pub would be older time sailors would join in what days and cappy my mate was galley boy peeling taters yes I used to throw the small ones over the wall for him??? jp

[robpage]

engine rooms were fun places , where else could you go bilge diving , or build engine driven washing machines , cook steak on the main steam valve lid after the asbestos bonnet was lifted off , o r scare the s*** out of a cadet by putting the lights out in the shaft tunnel and sneaking up on him . and when the wind was in th wrong direction , by trimming the boiler air you coulld drop soot all over the second mate on the 12/4

[j.sabourn]

Without a word of a lie Rob on that old clapped out steamer I was on in 1970 the smoke coming out of the funnel nearly all the time, and if had a following wind had to go off course every so often about 15 degrees either side to see iif there was anything ahead. It was either that or put the Radar on which was clapped out and on its last legs, and was being nursed for a rainy day literally. No VHF or anything as modern as that to warn ships to give a wide berth. People would just not believe some of the stories. JWS

[robpage]

so John, how did you pee the third engine dear off THAT much

we did on one ship have a competition to see who could get the most soot from blowing tubes onto the bridge wings , the EAR&H kenyan 3rd mate on the 8/12 v used to spend the last 30 minutes of his night watch mopping the planking , other nationalities of mate were available

[John Pruden]

not knowing anything about the engine room working what is it when it sounds like blowing off steam but all kinds of soot fly's everywhere I was on the monkey island on lookout getting back to the seamans mess some of the lads laughing their heads of I looked like al Johnson covered in the stuff? jp

[robpage]

that is exactly it John , that soot can be glowing red hot too

you would never get an experienced mate , first sign of the black soot they would alter course , get them in a channel though

[j.sabourn]

#18.The third engineer was the ex fireman’s cook. He spoke Cantonese and I didn’t so don’t know how I upset him. We had no 2nd. Mate who was originally an Egyptian, he jumped ship in the Kiel canal the real jump as well. The Chinese 3 mate and self split the watch, maybe he upset the ex Chinese cook. He spoke or said he did as far as I could gather both Cantonese and Mandarin, he was the bosuns brother so don’t know what they talked about behind my back. If. got a hundred miles run for the day that would be for the record books. The master was an Irishman called Lundy a well known name I believe in Irish history. Of whom I won’t mention further. Cheers JWS will say however crossing the Bay/Biscay bound for Karachi received a radio msg from the owners to take bunkers in Dakar ( bunker C ) he came and asked me which Dakar they were talking about which was obvious, his reply was but there are 2 Dakar’s one is in East Pakistan, after explaining it was spelt different, he wouldn’t take my word for it and sent a msg. Back to confirm which one they meant. Back came the reply that’s what you are there for to know these things. That was the first warning I got of this persons seamanship skills, there were other droppings of bollixes. That was real trauma. Cheers JWS.