Duquesa

[Mike Hall]

Now here is a story,back in 1960 i was given the job as a galley boy on the above ship.
So off i went to the docks to join her,when i arrived it was right on lunch time,as i walked
on board,i was told to put my suitcase in the corner and start washing up the galley pots.

Hey!, i was still in my civvy clothes,so i refused and i said "show me my cabin and i will
get changed,then i will help"
I was told that this was not possible as i was needed now.So i refused the job, picked up
my suitcase and went back to the pool.

At the pool i explained what had happened,and i had the full backing of the pool,they said
i should have been allowed to change,at least.
I was then given the job as galley boy on the Royston Grange,and i made sure i arrived in
the middle of the afternoon.

Has anyone else been in the same position as i was,where you had to refuse a ship/job.?

[Bob Dunkley]

mike ive never been in the same situation ,but a simarlar one , id jumped in aussie stowed away to n.z and after a couple of months was given a job on the cumberland which i helped bring back to the uk ,from port chalmers to las palmas around cape horn .When i went for my committe in the K.G.V pool old reggie the rat(pool manager) told me i had to ship out before christmas as it was the 20th december 1st he tried to get me away on a tramp, but when i grovelled a little he sent me to join a coaster in the spillars flower mills it was called the Harting a stevie clarkes collier, iwalked on board and signed the home trade agreement, and before the ink dried i said i now give 48 hours notice you should have seen the look on the skippers face I paid off christmas day in Middlesborough

[cappy]

no mikein shields we always stood out side or in the steamboat pub nearly next door aand asked what was going wouid never have took one of chapmans or a baron boator some others ....but I believe in the states they write on a board whats going andwhat crew are needed more civilised than some jerk with more braid than nelson and who has never been yo sea telling you what to do.....cappy

[cappy]

had to go in front of committee once for skinning out in oz three old skippers from shields looked like old sailingship men puffing away on cigs and oneold un sucking on a pipe him why did you jump ......fell in love with Vickers daughter ...one of them but that's no excuse you cant just jump for that.......well I wanted to stay .....old one with pipe wer you effin her.....me well a wodnt have jumped if I wasn't......old one with pipe sucking hard was she bonny ......me woudnt of jumped if she wasn't.......old one was was she a blond or brunette .....well she wasn't an abo she was blond old one sucking on pipe.....whathappened......me her father sent her off up to queensland andtoldthe local copper iwas illegal I run for three days but they court me sleeping in an old copper mine thirsty and hungry.......old skipper would have done the same meself give him his book back.....in a huddle but gave me my book back ,,,,,went in pool later cocky littleprat gves me chitty looks like mabul wahad at iron ore quay ......methinks jesus they've put me on an arab for skinning out ,,,,,off I goes to iron ore jetty feeling really pissed of and there she was the mabel warwick a beuty one of houlders lifes all ups and downs......must say ive had more ups than downs happy cappy

[alf corbyn]

hi mike. you missed one of the better boats. the duquesa was a good feeder and the officers were ok. I was engineers steward. plenty of time off.

[Mike Hall]

Alf,
The Royston Grange was a good feeder as well.i never went without anything.
seeing as i was the galley boy,it was my job to keep the fridges in order.
I even had a cool room for the potatoes,and in those days they were still
fussy about stock rotation.
The other rooms were,Meat,Fish,Vegatables.

Mike

[cappy]

acool room is nice the old tatty locker had to be guarded going thro the canal and most places.....cappy

[Captain Kong]

My younger OS brother did the maiden voyage on the Gulf Dane in 1961 and in one of his letters home said it was a good job.
So my mate Ted and I went to the Pool and asked for it. we went to Tranmere to join and `ar kid was packing his bags. `Wots up lad` I said, he said he had just been sacked and got a Double DR.
Me and Ted went amidships to the Skippers cabin and just walked in on him. the Cabin was full of officials, Agents, and from the Office and so on.
`What the hell are you two doing in here ` he shouted.
I said "You gave my brother a double DR, you cannot give an Ordinary Seaman a DR for Ability.`
`Who cant` said the Skipper , ` he was bloody useless and lazy, took him all day just to paint the forard bulkhead`.
Then he said, "Have you two signed on yet?"
we said `No`.
"Then go and sign on and then I will Log the both of you."
`Stuff you Skipper we are off`. we said
We told the Union man who was in the Saloon where the crowd was signing on
"Sorry lads me hands are tied", usual answer of a Union man,.
We went back to the Pool and told them we were threatened with a Logging before we had even signed , So he gave us the William Wheelwright, a big PSNC Tanker. another bum job.
Brian.

[robpage]

I think in those days the Britama Tankers of Gulf Oil Afran Tanker Company were Watts Watts management , then after a brief period under Denholms they were taken under Gulf Oil Management , My first experience of Tankers , and there were some strange people amongst those professional Tanker men , The master had strange noises all day and all night in his cabin , like large steel balls rolling around in the vent trunking . They were quite obscure because no one in engineering could ever find the source of the noise , or the 35 mm Balls . He must have been haunted because new Master , and the noises went away .