Pay

[Robert George Young]

Probably obvious question but
Did seaman get paid in cash at end of job?

[Captain Kong]

Usually paid into your bank account. monthly,
Brian

[Louis the fly]

We used to be paid in cash at the end of the trip.later it became monthly payments into bank account.

[Keith Tindell]

Although in the 50-early 60s i was paid off in cash many times, in fact i did not own a bank account, the problem on several occasions was i had a good advance, but had to go up to London to collect the rest. On one occasion i had to come home with £800 in my back pocket, and in 1960 you could buy a small cottage for £1200, happy days indeed, although it had been a very long trip 15 months as i recall, kt

[Bill Morrison]

Probably obvious question but
Did seaman get paid in cash at end of job?

Hello Robert. If you have ever seen the film Tiger Bay. The opening sequence is the crew being paid off at end of voyage cash in hand.

[Bill Cameron]

I paid off the MV Dundee 2nd Jan 1958 as the cabin boy after a 10 months trip on the Great Lakes, was the last of the crew to be paid off, I got £150.00 in one pound notes I had never seen that amount of money in my life before, joined the Dundee three weeks later skint, but I was then an Assistant Steward big money.
Even up to May 1963 on my last voyage on the Windsor Castle, we were paid in cash at the end of the voyage.

[Lewis McColl]

Some companies I worked for you had an allotment paid into your bank and then I had my leave paid as cash when leaving the ship. One company I always insisted in taking all my leave pay was Petromin Tankers a Saudi outfit, it became part of Aramco later.

[cappy]

Probably obvious question but
Did seaman get paid in cash at end of job?

##used to send an allotment to my granny ..she put it in the post office ....always got cash on paying of never had a bank account then....cappy

[Ivan Cloherty]

I think a lot of peoples memories may be slipping, procedure was.

Brief synopsis

Sign Articles at the Shipping office
Everyone was asked 'do you want to leave an allotment' (allotment was a certain amount of money out of your basic pay [not more than 2/3rds] to your wife/mother etc) This allotment was paid weekly to your nominated person upon the vessel sailing, either by cheque from the company or paid into a nominated account.

If you were short of cash before sailing you could ask for a 'sub' (cash advance) usually less than a weeks wages, this was normally an 'advance note' which certain shops would cash for you and take sixpence or a shilling in the pound as commission.

Once at sea and after a sea passage and if you wanted to go ashore you could get a 'sub', this was debited against your account, the amount of the sub was dictated by the amount you had left 'in the ship' at the time of the sub, some Masters would take your overtime earnings into account up to that date, others wouldn't

At the end of the voyage you received a 'Pay off slip' this noted all the money you had earned during the voyage, your allotment, subs, purchases from the slop chest (shop) tax, NHI etc were deducted and you were paid the balance in cash either on board in front of a Shipping Officer or at the Shipping Office, together with your cash balance you received your Discharge Book and a travel warrant if entitled to one, that was the system from the 1930's right through to the 1970's and perhaps beyond

[Lewis McColl]

Ivan are you referring to those employed through the pool? I never worked out of the pool I was always a company contract while sailing British Flag from 1969 to 1973.