Merchant Navy Defence

[Captain Kong]

I wrote about the KGB man on the Russian ship in Sourabaya in my Spice Islands story. In Seafaring Stories, thread.
The Second Mate , Victor, was in trouble for being aboard our ship, the Euryades. He was well legless,.The Man came looking and shouting, "Ver is Victor,"

[Keith Moody]

I to did the merchant navy defence course, I had had my appendix out on the Arcadia ( 1961 ) was was at home recuperating when i got a call from the pool to go up to London for this course, the course lasted 2 weeks and was held aboard HMS Daffodill and Crysantheum moored by the embankment on the Thames. we did the atomic training and also down to chatham for the gunnery training, did not get to fire any live ones though. it was interesting course but in regard to any warfare i don`t think it would have been much use to anyone on the ships i was on as i seemed to be the only one who had done the course. I still have my certificate of what the course entailed if anyone wants to know.
keith moody
R635978

[Ivan Cloherty]

Keith, it would be nice to know the details when you have time, especially for those of us who went through the shipboard lectures carried out on number five hatch. Remember fitting all hoses with spray nozzles pointing skywards to deflect fallout and starting emergency and main fire pumps, helping Chippy fit gauze doors to all entrances (does gauze really stop radiation ?????????) and ensuring all ports were fully dogged and punka louvres closed and fans switched off. Mind you we were on the South America run and that is probably the last place that would have been affected, the South American girls probably posed more danger than atomic fallout, but it would have been a pleasanter way to go !!

[robpage]

We did two days at South Shields in 1966 , all about hosing the asty stuff over the side , like the RN pre wet system . The film on how not to get the clap was funnier , but no one took any notice of either .

[Lou Barron]

They should have this in ww2 but against German commerce raiders .I t is seventy years ago tonight that a raider sank the ship that i was on .Hoping to get to South Africa to all those pretty girls .But the only thing i did get to see was the German Kriegsmarine

[Keith Moody]

Ivan,
front cover... Merchant Navy Defence course ( men ).
certificate of attendance
A lot of it is memory now but going from the attendace certificate it went like this, in the first week we were given instruction of what the course was about and what was expected of us in the event of an atomic bomb falling anywhere near us, this was followed by action to take in convoy work, ships defence plans, fire fighting, hooking up the hoses to keep the radiation off the ship, what a waste that would have been!! closing down all hatch`s doors and deadlights. lookouts and first aid, films on the effects of Hiroshia and Nagasake, half the guys couldn`t take the sight of what happened and had to leave the room, more films, a lot of instruction on personell geiger counters along with the bigger models of the same.
The next week it was films and talks on defence against submarines, then to theory on gunnery and the Bofors gun, also the Oerlikon gun with sighting and aiming, then down to Chatham to practice on the real thing, only they wouldn`t let us fire them, just swing the gun around, up and down, and play with the aiming sights, open the breach`s, load belts etc, eyeshootin and ammunition, then onto the 4inch gun, explanations and again play around with it.
back to london with survival at sea and in the days ending up the course was a re'sume' of all we had done and a test on the 2 weeks work.
There may have been a bit more but the old grey matter doesn`t seem to want to bring it to mind. they signed and stamped it with letters i no longer can remember what they stand for... M.N.D.I.O.
I did say in my previous notation that this occurred whilst i was recovery from an appendix op. whereas i got the dates wrong. this took place whilst i was waiting to join the Canberra in southamton 1961. my apolgise for this time mistake.
keith moody
R635978

[j.sabourn]

Keith just retrived my cert. from the rubbish bag. And reads as follows Session 1 Trade Protection 2.N.C.S. Organization. (trying to remember what stood for) 3. Convoy communications. 4. Close range gunnery. 5. Defense against submarines and mines- principles of de-gaussing 6. ABC Warfare 7. ABC warfare 8. ABC warfare 9. Damage control and Ship defence plan. 10 Survival at sea. Think it very apt that they left number 10 session till the last, as if you were lucky thats where you were going to end up, hopefully with one of these super lifejackets that was discussed recently. At least got 5 guineas for the course. Cheers John Sabourn.

[robpage]

ABC was atomic Biological Chemical and I think NCS was Nuclear Command structure . You sat in a huddle in the shaft tunnel and the Deck Officers took it in turns to stand a lone bridge watch . two days of it was bloody boring , Two weeks , well I would have rather had my wisdom teeth pulled without an anaesthetic . Water dissipates the nuclear nasties , so when the lone deck officer came back to the shaft tunnel , you stripped him off and stood him under a hydrant . I wondered if the whole section of that course was written by a grizzled old Clan Line Chief Engineer who thought Douse the mate in seawater a good wheeze

[Captain Kong]

They should have this in ww2 but against German commerce raiders .I t is seventy years ago tonight that a raider sank the ship that i was on, Lou
.
I thought about you yesterday Lou, The 70 th Anniversary of the sinking of the `Gloucester Castle` and young Joe`s death along with the other 95.
You sailed on my Birthday 21 June and sank on my Mothers Birthday, 14 July.
All the best
Brian.