DEMS GUNNERS - Confused and seeking clarification

[DeepSea]

Seems he was in quite a bit of trouble. Few Sealot No's, which means he was in transition and not part of any crew. Seems he refused to join several ships. Lost track of this as thought we were looking for RA Maritime Regt. gunner.

[Hazel Stringer]

Hello Hazel
Email received and will look at it in depth later!
Just at a glance though it says CRS10 as far as i can see, but looks different than most i have seen ?
Cheers

Hi Doc,

Shortly after Dad's death in 1986 we visited the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen in Cardiff. At a guess this visit was between Nov 1986 and Apr 1987. We were told during that visit that this was all there was of Dad's CRS10. However, the lady we were dealing with was something of a "jobsworth". It took a good hour of discussion for her to divulge any information to us. She brought out two "large rugby types" to try and intimidate us into going away without anything. One of these men sidelined my husband and said something to the effect that Dad's service had not been a shining example of service to country due to his predilection to offending and occasionally attacking officers! this was why they lady did not want to divulge details of his service. When my husband said that he was well aware of the times when temper overcame sense in his Dad's case and nothing would surprise him, they came up with these documents. There is another disclosure that shows some other antics on board the Empire Bairn where Dad was involved. We were not surprised at his potential for "clocking" officers as he never suffered fools gladly.

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Seems he was in quite a bit of trouble. Few Sealot No's, which means he was in transition and not part of any crew. Seems he refused to join several ships. Lost track of this as thought we were looking for RA Maritime Regt. gunner.

Hi Deepsea,

I can understand this as Dad did not "stay put" during the war. He appeared to have started in the Royal Artillery. Certainly he was at the Fall of Singapore in Feb 1942. By December 1942, he was in the USED (modern equivalent is the US Corps of Engineers) and by May 1944 he was in the British Merchant Navy!

To say DAd waselusive during WW2 is probably an understatment!

Hazel

[Ivan Cloherty]

We were not surprised at his potential for "clocking" officers as he never suffered fools gladly.

What a funny statement.

Well guess a lot of us were lucky not meeting him, as we had a tendency of not wanting to be clocked and we had to suffer a lot of fools, insubordinates, troublemakers and malcontents of all ranks and ratings, alas it was our lot as foolish officers.

[Hazel Stringer]

What a funny statement.

Well guess a lot of us were lucky not meeting him, as we had a tendency of not wanting to be clocked and we had to suffer a lot of fools, insubordinates, troublemakers and malcontents of all ranks and ratings, alas it was our lot as foolish officers.

Ivan,

He never grew out of the habit! As a pensioner he clocked a copper once!

[Ivan Cloherty]

Ivan,

He never grew out of the habit! As a pensioner he clocked a copper once!

I think you may have missed the point. You seem to relish the fact that he clocked foolish officers. What makes you think 1, that he has the right to do that and 2, what makes you think all officers are foolish.

Seems you are very proud of his intolerance towards other human beings

[cappy]

Well ivan we all know about the hard men .....saw plenty at sea but they all copped for it in the end .....reminds me of thebullying engineer on the coal burner thought he had a right cos of some gold on his sleeve to treat firemen in the stokehold like shitx...he was one big effer ...one night while he was down below ...a slice used for raking clinkers ...supposedly ....somehow fell from the engine room tops...went through his shoulder ...came out his waist ......he was put ashore with it still in him .......dont know what happened after that ........but heard he survived ......big gob ......big shock...many dark nights at sea .....and in dock areas at night to sort problems R683532

[Keith Tindell]

the only time that i saw an officer getting smacked was on the Baltic trader, circa 1960, it was pretty much a mixed crew, German ,Belgian, Maltese etc, and everyone got on fine. At some point, and i cannot remember why, we lost the 3rd mate. It transpired that one of the Belgian ABs we had signed on a couple of months before, had his Belgian ticket, and was promoted to 3rd mate, he had been ok as an AB, what a rissole he became as 3rd mate. One evening a party had developed down aft in the accom, got a bit noisy etc, this was in port, and he decided to come down and lecture us on our behaviour, not very wise, somehow the lights managed to go out, and he must have tripped in the dark, and ran into one of the ABs, resulting in two black eyes. We never heard anymore, and very subdued for the rest of the trip, kt

[Ivan Cloherty]

On attending pre-sea training school prior cadetship, we were told 'if you wish to follow your chosen career to the top, then the first thing you must learn is not to have a temper' and that was drilled into us, time and time again. You have to learn to control situations with a tone of voice and be sure of your facts. As people in charge we have all had to face others who do not like being told what to do, which is what we are on board to do, to ensure the safety of the ship and shipmates. Like others I have been threatened with physical retribution because someone has taken a dislike to legitimate orders. If they could not be calmed and some under drink were difficult to persuade one had to make them see the reality of their situation by simple mathematics...........such as..........'every time you hit me will cost you a days pay and a £2 fine, lets see who gets tired first' always resulted in a lot of muttering whilst wandering off by the miscreant, usually with an apology the next morning and all was forgotten.

[Keith Tindell]

I think that makes a lot of sense Ivan, my post was not meant to condone the smacking of an officer, but some do push their luck. I seem to recall an earlier posting by Lewis, as a junior engineer got a good slap by an AB for not addressing as *sir*, so some things are understandable, !!!!1, kt

[Denis O'Shea]

I couldn't see him getting away with clocking that Bionic fellah from Boltanistan short temper or no short temper. Den