No bother Richard I had nothing better to do. Only got my tap stopped after two. Cheers JS
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No bother Richard I had nothing better to do. Only got my tap stopped after two. Cheers JS
Me too, JWS - two. Cheers, Richard
#16, Hi Brian, yes I do agree with all you say there , we are a maritime nation and we were all told of our naval heroes as
we grew up, maybe that is when the seeds are sown in your mind and then of course we had all the movies that involved
the sea and ships so maybe that's the answer to my question (where does the urge come from). I know I've posted this
before, but living right on the Thames in the 60's I did see all those old ships and funnels that I knew so well all heading
out for the places I wanted to see again, or maybe they'd be going down to Tilbury or London for paying off, I found it very
hard to deal with but being happily married and a new house to pay for I knew that had to get my priorities right and keep the past in the past, but 57 years after coming ashore I still miss it all very much. Cheers John F
Why did I go to sea.BECAUSE IT WAS THERE.
Regards.
Jim.B.
I didn't know that guy John but asking somebody why he went to sea from where I came from is like asking a lad in a mining village why did he go down pit.I could walk from my house to join the ship,it was always a taxi home after paying off but once you had been home a few weeks it was shanks's pony going to join one.I joined the Sea Cadets when I was 12 so I was down the docks every sunday and aboard all kinds of ships,kept away from RN ships mostly aboard cargo boats and passenger ships,I remember going aboard the Saxonia in 1954 before she had made her maiden voyage the first of the new Cunarders.From the age of 5 seeing my older brother and many of his mates home on leave bringing home African Sparrows and Canaries and telling tales of New York etc was enough for any young kids imagination to make him go away to sea.In our street one of the lads always had the address in Leadenhall Street where you sent off for the application form to go away,you went away and passed in on to another kid.So from a very early age I knew that I would go away to sea.
Regards.
Jim.B.
#26, I did know exactly exactly what you meant #24 Jim as I got on well with the Liverpool lads I met and have often heard their stories over a few beers, they were all along the same lines as you said and living right on top of the docks
it would be impossible to resist, whereas I lived some 15 miles from the KGV and Albert & Victoria docks in London.
When I joined the sea cadets at 13 it was based at my school all we ever got there was classroom work and square bashing
while carrying the old Lee Enfield 303 rifles, not for us the enjoyment of first hand experiences like you had so I suppose it
depended where you lived, but I loved the uniform when we were on parade white gaiters white belt and the 303, marching
down the high street, daft really but thats kids, the number of the address you had was 52 Leadenhall Street thats where I
wrote to and also where my initial interview was, I can still remember as a 15 year old standing in front of a desk and the
interviewer was a middle aged bloke with glasses. Cheers John F
Heard a story once don't know if true or not, but would fit Cappys description of the man at the Pool in Shields. Was a ship in the Tyne ready to sail and one of the Donkey/Greasers hadn't turned up and the Pool was closed so the Chief Engineer got the Pool mans home number from the master and phoned him and said they needed a man urgently. He goes around to someone he had on the list, and the family were all sitting down having a meal, asks the D/Grs if he wanted the job, and he jumped at the chance, and the pool man went away happy. The same evening the ship sailed. Nine months later the ship returned to the Tyne, and the Pool tyrant out of inquisitiveness went down to the ship and saw the Chief Eng. to enquire how the last man to sign on ship had performed. Excellent man said the chief caused no trouble, only one thing though, whats that said the man from the pool, send one next time with two legs says the chief. Apparently the man had had a leg amputated unbeknown to the Pool. and as was sitting down when offered the job he hadn't noticed. JS
Great grandfather lived close to the Sunderland docks and worked there as a riviter, his father a chain maker. My grandfather a ships engineer and mothers cousin a bosun.
I spent a lot of time in Sunderland and recall as a young lad being taken to see ships being launched.
Mate of mine had joined up with P&O about six months before I went to the pool and convinced me to go as well.
Used to get quite an urge at times but the cocoa at the Vindi stopped that.
As to UCL, there is a river of silver and china between Southampton and Cape Town, board of trade wash up, nothing beats that.