Ships Garbage.

[Jim Brady]

I've been attempting to obtain a list of the ships that my brother was on during WW11 to see if he has a medal entitlement.I've received a couple of names and I was talking to my brother about one ship (the Empire Flamingo which he didn't know he was on as it was given a number) he recalls that it was slewing with rats and the galley garbage and the rest of the ships rubbish was piled up on deck outside the galley and was left there until the ship sailed when it would be thrown over the wall.I couldn't believe that but he said it was common practice.I recall when I was galley boy in the 50's no matter where we were the rosie went over the side into the dock.Anyway I was talking to a guy on Sunday about this practice,he was telling me that he was on a Watts Watts in Hull in the 60's (as late as that) they were there for 6 weeks and the ships garbage was piled up on deck and went over the wall once out to sea.He said you couldn't throw it into the dock anyway because there were barges alongside taking cargo.Ha anyone ever come across this practice???
Regards.
Jim.B.

[robpage]

the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL 73/78), Annex V, came into force in 1988, but certain ports in the 1960s ( Late 1960's ) we were restricted on disposal of waste in port , It was not easy to catch the galley though who prefered a short walk to the rail rather than a longer stroll to the garbage skip normally several decks away from the galley . I knew one Chief Cook who convinced himself that the waste was handy for feeding the fish , I never met a fish that ate empty beer cans but I took his word for it , after all no one wants to upset the Cook .

[Louis the Amigo]

Hi shipmates, in my time at sea it was the first job you did, at sea after the ropes were stowed The "Rosie" was fish and seagull food? But I like to meet the guy who came up with the name "Rosie a great joke??? The bosun was sometimes call the bin man, because of his leading the man on deck to do this job , washing everything down with the fire hose was the best part.

[John Arton]

Jim
Cadet's job on the Beaverfir when in St. John NB in winter.
After around 10 days in port (usual stay was 20..brilliant) had to turn too after midnight and puncture all the empty tinnies that had piled up and were blocking the outside alleyway on the poop deck, before throwing them over the side into the dock.
Freezing cold, miserable job especially as there were parties going on all round the ship with antics that would make a Vegas showgirl blush and there was me, the poor bleeder working. Aaaahhhhh
rgds
JA

[John Albert Evans]

Jim,

I to was a galley boy during the 1950's and since reading your post i have racked my brains (Whats left of them lol) as to what I did with the garbage whilst in port but I just cann't remember. Having said that i cann't remember stacking any garbage till we were out of port either, mind you I was on tankers and they were very rarely in port for more than 48 hours. The only stuff i do remember was keeping the bread for the mules on my first trip through the Panama Canal......donkey.jpg.
Ahhhhhhh....happy days.jpg

John

[happy daze john in oz]

Far as I can recall it all went over the side once we were in open waters. Gash shutes were locked whilst in port and I think we had garbage bins on the quay. When I was officers steward we put all the garbage into black plastic bags, the when it was dark over the side they went. We never though of bloods who may have been out on deck wondering what was flying past them on the way down.
AS for all the beer cans, maybe the fish built little houses out of them.

[alf corbyn]

can't remember what happened to garbage in port but I was working by on a ship in dry dock when someone used the toilet and it went all over a dock worker cleaning the hull. I was in the skippers cabin when the docker turned up covered in s**t. the captain made him strip off and have a shower then gave him one of his suits and fifty quid.. a lot of money in the fifties. but it could have cost a lot more in fines. I had the job of dumping the Dockers clothes in a skip

[John Albert Evans]

Alf,

I would think that the skipper was more worried about the docker bringing the whole shipyard out on strike than any fine to be paid.
It happened to me when I was galley boy working bye on the San Fernando in Camel Lairds drydock n the 1950s. I was bored and had nothing to do one evening so I painted my cabin. Oh my oh my ,I was 16 years of age and knew nothing about union politics at the time. The whole dam yard almost came out on strike. Like I said previously Happy Days ha ha ha.

John Albert Evans

[Captain Kong]

I joined my first ship, Commodore Grant, a London Greek in Brocklebank dock Liverpool, in for two days before sailing. I was Sailors Peggy, The gash bucket was getting full, I asked an AB were do I dump this?, he said, Over the wall.
I went on deck an the only wall I could see was the Dock wall by the Overhead Railway, I went down the gangway with the bucket and the wall was too tall to throw it over, so I just dumped it by the wall.
I went back on board and the AB just fell over laughing. I felt a bit daft after that.
Brian.

[Lou Barron]

Dumping the Gash over the side during the war was suppose be prohibited they say that the Germans good track down ships but i think it did go on .On the Empire Austen this was my first ship after the war when we found out that we was going to go through the Panama Canal We told the deck boy (is first Trip )to save the gash to feed the donkeys at the canal and he did .Another time concerning gash This was on the Saminver we was to load phosphate at Makatea but when we got there was a Bank ship there loading so we use to stop engines during the day and drift one day after smoko a couple of us was leaning on the rail when the peggy throw the gash over the side thats when we saw the sharks gobbling the cash so that started us to gofishing for them .Thats another story