past times @ sea.

[Brian Charles Williams]

Though reading was what a few guys did while at sea or play cards I found music was my `thing`. Of course the radio was only good when you could pick up a `local` radio station. Even when in the dead of night rigging your aerial as high as possible and in a spot that the bosun wouldn`t find it, when he did see it he pulled it down immediately !.
So to give me music when out of range of shore radio stations I would lug a small case of 78s records which weighed a ton also a record player plus my suit case to what ever port I was to go to to join my ships.
From London stations to maybe Glasgow or ,Liverpool was always a feat of strength !!
Once at sea I would sling the record player under the cabin writing desk, the player would then swing gently with the roll of the ship and only `zip` along the record as the sea`s got up.....time to stop the music !
I have to say that the sounds of Elvis Presley or Bill Haley coming from my cabin would bring a few of the lads to my cabin ,bringing with them a can or two of Barkley beer, screw tops of course ! recall them ?
Regards Brian w.

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Hi Charles.
One thing on BTC tankers they always had a good radio in the recreation room, I think they were a German Grundig, don't know if that was the spelling, but picked up all the music of the time from the American forces network, even down in the Indian Ocean.
Cheers Des

[Brian Charles Williams]

Taff, can`t recall any ships I was on had the rec room radio on while at sea. Grundig was always know as good radios etc. I had a Grindig reel to reel which I would record music when on leave & lug that around from ship to ship. When you think of the size of those things back then ! I now have a `shuffle` smaller that a match box which holds hundreds of music & songs which I take with me on long haul flights these days.Even that now has been superseded . Oh for the gadgetry & IT stuff around to today .
Cheers Brian W.

[Ian Malcolm]

It was no use taking radios to sea during the War as they could be used only in port. If anyone did have a radio, it was the duty of the 1st R/O to take possession of the valves while at sea, as valve oscillations could be detected by the enemy and so give away a ship's position.

During the latter part of the War, my parents bought me a second-hand portable gramophone which played the 78 rpm records, and I gave it to my daughter some years ago.

After the War, we bought radios which had shortwave so that stations could be picked up no matter where we were.

[j.sabourn]

Whatever happened to the Merchant Navy Programme, think it was the BBC that put out in the 50's and used to be put on the ships speakers if you had an accommodating sparky JS

[Brian Charles Williams]

Taff, did your ships have film nights when at sea ? The Port Line ships did ,swapping with other Port ships when meeting up on the NZ coast. The Federal ships did also. As I recall it was always the deck apprentices were the projectionists.
I really did try to get into card schools when on some tramps but the mostly Malay or Chinese crew ,who I have to add took their card playing for money very serious & didn`t like my non poker face upsetting their game so consequently I was banned from their school ! Speaking of music & American radio stations ,it is always being said on music doco`s that it was the MN
guys who brought the `new` music sound from the US to the UK that certainly was the case. Cheers mate...Brian w.
What`s your winter been like in your neck of the woods ?

[Brian Charles Williams]

Ian, you must have had really good short wave radio`s, I think I would have bought a few short wave sets but never were that could certainly when in the Indian Ocean. I still have one of those radios I purchased in Rotterdam a push button Philips ! Bush button no less !! Valve has blown so just an ornament now reminding me of those days. Regards Brian W.

[happy daze john in oz]

A number of lads had record players with plenty of 45's. I had a reel to reel tape recorder and on leave would record what ever music I could, even with ads on it.
But the problem with many ships was the power source. It was all DC and most players needed AC so had to lug a converter around as well.

But not so much of a problem on UCL as half the bloody crew were AC/DC LOL

[Captain Kong]

I was in New York and bought a radio for 25 dollars, came back aboard the PARTHIA , plugged it in and it set on Fire,
The ships voltage was 220 and the radio from NY was 110.
Wasted 25 dollars, that was equivalent to 250 beers in the Market Diner, at 10 cents a glass.
I Wept.
Brian

[Keith Tindell]

I could be wrong with my memory, but I am sure I had a small Philips radio that I took to sea that had a plan at the back, where you could switch from 110 or 240. In later years when the transistor radio became much better I had one of those purchased in Aden, kt