The Pool

In government there are lies and statistics both used for their convenience, a few years ago it was stated that Switzerland had the highest unemployment rise in Europe and that it had risen by 100%, whilst it was not a lie, it was a most convenient truth that made people believe that our unemployment rise was acceptable by comparison. The truth was that in that year unemployment had risen by 100% in Switzerland which in reality meant that two people were unemployed as opposed to only one in the previous year. Numbers are but a game and can be played to advantage or disadvantage depending on the result you want to convey, as most people do not read beyond the headlines. What the hell this has got to do with the 'Pool' I don't know but thought I'd just throw it in, probably something to do with the last sentence in #30

#31... Ivan going back to the pool. Taking it back to its real roots, would be the press gangs. Not many people will take this as believable but in the late 80"s employed on non union/non federated ships, but British flag just the same, it was not uncommon to have a late crew member more or less tossed on the ship to make the number up. Was usually inebriated and coming to the next day was unaware of how he found himself in the position he was. On at least one instant the same crew member had the DTs. and had to ween him off with contraband I carried for emergencies. As he was stuck there for a minimum of 4 weeks, sometimes usually much longer he had no choice but accept his position. The powers that be who had recruited him ashore in the local pub fortuanetly had the presence of mind to at least choose a seaman who they probably knew. Just before the sailing of such ships there were usually 2 office workers at ship to try and prevent anyone going up the road to the phone(pub). I had to make an unscheduled dash to join a ship where the master had gone up the road to phone and had a pint in the pub, on coming back he was accused of being drunk, so told them to stick their ship and went home. The particular ship I was on at the PA I wasn't even meant to be on as received a phone call to get there in a hurry as the master joining had had second thoughts, so was a pier head jump for me, right into the jaws of hell. Cheers John S

Ref. 31. Ivan re. my pier head jump... Exerts from another 5 page document. From Para 19. On joining the S.P.I relieved xxxxxxxx who I knew well as was a local man, and had also relieved on a deep sea vessel previously. Funnily enough I wasn't supposed to have joined, as a Capt. xxxxxx who I had also known many years previously was supposed to have taken, I remet Capt. xxxx who was joining a previous vessel I was just leaving and he was going there as mate, he must have the same as all of us fallen on hard times, as had been master deep sea for many years, I knew him from way back in the 50"s when I was an apprentice and he was 2nd.mate, years later I sailed as his Ch. Officer on the Warkworth, however I believe he was fortuanate enough to get a position as master with a Singaporean company, so my joining was a rush job to replace him. XXXXXX however was good enough to keep my family informed during the couple of days of what was happening as he was following the media reports, the company certainly didn't. Just another few lines from one of the documents I did for self therapy or so I thought. Cheers. JS

there was and still is a family in shields of seafarers.....people were not happy to sail with them as there was always at least two brothers often three they would rule the roost.....and of course always had a gopher who would like to be part of the scene.....i will not mention the name as some of them are still about and of course there familys and grankids are carrying on in the same way......i sailed with them twice and they were always causing upheaval .......the supposed hardcase of them i saw 40 years later bumming beer in the pubs he was now a nothing man ......for old times sake when he decided he recognised me i bought him a beer .....he was truly in a bad way not washed and stinking .......he told me he had twins who in 1960 had got a pier head jump on a greek out of shields.........he never heard from them again ......i knew this to be true.....also another load of hard luck stories ........regardless of this i gave him a fiver .....dont ask me why ....later i tried to understand why i had done this .......i could only put it down to the bretheren of the sea....he was no good .....never had been ...and never would be......but somehow he was still part of my past....2 or 3years later he drank himself to death ......a sad story of a mans life.......after being chucked of the pool in the middle 60s he never worked again .....how can a man do that.....only on the benefits supplied by the rest of us......sad regards cappy

Hi shipmates, The pool in Cardiff was run by in my time Bill Henkey or Inkey? never can remember how to spell his name, he was a memory man he knew every one from the war-time and what ships {Convoys} he sent them on, he join the R.A.F. but was soon back in his old job they could not work without him, He knew my dad wartime on convoys, and uncle so I never had a bad ship, The one which No old hand would go on in wartime, was Called the Empress of Russia soon as they knew that was on the board every one ran? so I was told, my dad did 3 trips on that one.

#34... Cappy there were at least 3 of my classmates at school did porridge. One of them when home on leave tried to put the bum on me trying to extract money, his brother was an ex borstal boy, and they started up or tried to start a protection racket when the night clubs first opened in Whitley Bay. Another one came from a more wealthy background as his father was a bank manager, he had just come out of prison for house breaking, and came round to my house begging, I took him down to the pub bought him a pint put him on a bus told him to eff off and not come back. Who knows I might have been joining them in prison if had worked ashore. John S

Forgive me, for the moment, if I return to the question posed by E.Martin in the original post. In keeping with the opinions offered by Ivan, Lou and others, I too think it unlikely that, during WWII, merchant seaman were allowed the opportunity to decide on what ship they would sail. Surely, at a time of emergency and expediency there could be no allowance for such courtesies. Of course, I could be wrong.

On the question of 'established' seaman however I can, perhaps, be a little more certain. As some may know, the Merchant Navy - Established Service Scheme commenced in 1947. As far as I can see, it's basic purpose was to establish, under legal contract, a group of Seamen whose services the Shipping Federation could call upon to fill positions on ships they would otherwise have difficulty in manning. In return, after all accrued leave had been taken, they offered to pay the 'established' seaman an allowance until such time as he joined another ship as required by them. This payment, whilst not overly generous, was certainly a lot more than the existing National Unemployment Benefit. It was not an arrangement all seaman found attractive. Many, like our mate, Brian (Kong), (and me too, for most of my time at sea) preferred the independence that being an 'unestablished' seaman provided. Being 'unestablished' (which, for those unfamiliar with the terminology used by seaman, meant 'freelance' ) allowed him to be a little more selective about the ships he sailed on and broadly speaking enabled him to choose that part of the world he wanted to visit (sometimes, this luxury was denied to trampshipmen, but for many of that 'breed' the attraction was in the 'not knowing' where they were headed next). When it came to taking leave the 'unestablished' seaman was not restricted to the amount of time he spent at home. More often than not, such considerations were dictated by one's financial situation, at least it was for me. :) However, before December, 1960, when National Service ended in Britain, seaman under the age of 26 (who had not already completed their two years of military service for Queen and Country) needed to be careful about taking more leave than was due. It could be a trap for the unwary. Not for the first time did a young sailor find himself marching round a wet and windy parade ground in Aldershot when he should have been having a 'bronzie' down aft, gazing at the azure wonder of a far away ocean .......silly boy.

So having said all that I must now confess that in October, 1962, I signed my name to a General Service Contract with the M.N. Establishment Administration at Prescot Street. ( n.b. I'd recently married a lovely girl and accordingly had developed an unaccustomed desire to avoid insolvency).
Mr.Blake explained to me that, henceforth, I could only take the amount of leave accrued whilst on ship's articles. Once that leave expired I would receive a telegram instructing me to report at the Prescot Street Pool on the following day, whereupon I would be offered any one of three ships. I could refuse two ships, but would then be compelled to take the third, like it or lump it (it was almost like
'Pick-a-Box' really, but with far greater repercussions if I should make the wrong choice and find myself
'swanning around' the Persian Gulf for the next two years). If there were no ships available I would be given a report card on which the dates of my attendance at the Pool and the names of ships offered to me would be recorded. I would be required to attend the Pool every Monday, Wednesday and Friday until such time I ran out of choices. ( Later, I would discover that they rarely had to pay out any allowance for more than a week). When reaching this point in the process, the uniformed robot behind the counter would invariably say," Righty O!, sign here...off you go, have a nice trip", with little attempt to disguise the lack of sincerity in his voice and, no doubt, inwardly rejoicing that he'd seen the last of me for a while.

There were exceptions to the rule as my own report card of October, 1963, bears witness (see
attachments). Thanks to the 'state of play' information obtained in the 'Black Horse' in Leman St, I was able to fend the b-gg-ers off for three whole weeks. (see Keith Tindell's #5 for confirmation of this excellent source of information). It enabled me to enjoy a belated honeymoon with my
lovely, the one I'd missed out on 15 months earlier. I'm still not sure how I got away with it, but it was one of the those sweet times in life when you feel you're getting something for nothing...... and I was. I knew it couldn't last forever. It was Friday of the third week and when I walked into the Pool, Mr.Blake (or Blakey as he was known) was standing behind the counter smiling broadly signalling that, for me, the 'game was up' and 'the party was over'. In a masterful display of over-kill he hit me with not just three, but four bluddy ships as if to say,"now let's see you get out of that one, mate". He offered me the 'Narek', 'Pozarica', 'Ireland' and 'Brighton. Having a passion for short-sea traders, I opted for MacAndrew's 'Pozarica'. The 'Pozzie' was on the 'wine run' down to Portugal and Spain, a part of the world I was familiar with, so I was a happy chappy.

As a matter of interest I've often wondered what the record was for obtaining continuous 'Establishment' money.You never know, I could be a Champion.......:D

.......Roger

re #1.
RESCUE SHIPS' CREWS
I remember my Dad (Capt. W J Hartley D.S.C.& Lloyds ) telling me that his Rescue Ships were never short of a Crew ( Copeland & Goodwin ) Such brave men. I have counted the Gallantry and Honours and Awards to Crew ( not Officers) and it totals 66.
R/O W.T.McGowan of Walmer Castle was awarded the George Medal and the Lloyds medal for Bravery at Sea. Awards to Masters and Officers total 31. Probably these numbers are an underestimate !
Regards
Brenda

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Roger DYER

Forgive me, for the moment, if I return to the question posed by E.Martin in the original post. In keeping with the opinions offered by Ivan, Lou and others, I too think it unlikely that, during WWII, merchant seaman were allowed the opportunity to decide on what ship they would sail. Surely, at a time of emergency and expediency there could be no allowance for such courtesies. Of course, I could be wrong.
.......Roger

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I think historical research would suggest that there was allowance for such courtesies Roger. With the introduction of The Essential Works (Merchant Navy) Order of 1941 continuity of employment was to be provided by the Merchant Navy Reserve Pool which was a clearing house for men available to return to sea after leave: on leaving a ship, every seaman was told when he had to report back and to which port. Men who opted for, and were acceptable to, one company for continuous employment were only technically employed by the Pool - some 40 percent of all seamen were directly employed by liner companies, the remaining 60 per cent passing through the Pool.
There certainly was a chronic shortage of seamen in 1941 not primarily due to casualties but mainly to retirements and leakage into shore employments, sickness and absence (15 per cent of officers and 30 percent of ratings).
So although a time of emergency and expediency and, as I said in a previous post, there did not appear to be a consistent approach i.e. some could refuse once others twice but you could also face the jail for refusal to take a berth, it would appear that no ships were held in port for want of a crew to sail in them.

Regards
Hugh

ps Another benefit of the introduction of the Essential Works (Merchant Navy) Order 1941 was to officially remove a major source of grievance. Until the Order came into force, merchant seamen whose ships were lost due to enemy action or other conditions of war were not entitled to pay from the day of sinking.

Well I can only repeat what my father told me, and I have no reason to doubt him, he was in the MN prior to outbreak of war, but joined the army in September 1939, he was at Dunkirk, afterwards he was asked to rejoin the MN which he did in 1941 (I have his papers) as they were running short of experienced personnel, he could have stayed in the army had he wished, but I suppose once a seaman, always a seaman, he always told me that the advent of having a choice of ship only came into effect after the war, during the war you took the first ship offered, others may have had a different experiences, anyway he survived the war, which said he never wanted to talk about because things happened that shouldn't be talked about, I know he had trouble sleeping at times with nightmares later in life, I don't suppose he was alone in this.