Voyage record cards

[Tony Taylor]

C'mon boys, lets have a few more jobs described to help Bob understand that his father had skills unknown to those who never went to sea (don't suppose in this PC world we can call them landlubbers anymore)

Splicing ropes and steel wires, always fascinated me and learned how to do it myself, being taught by an AB, also canvas work, had a very nice tool bag with shoulder strap made by an AB from canvas, to carry all my electrical tools and smaller kit. Caps and rope soled shoes also made, as well as a wide variety of covers for vents etc. ABs would often volunteer to fit mast head light bulbs for me (I am pleased to say). Also saw these guys dangling from mast stays while applying preservative (I think it was white lead and linseed oil but not sure), not a job I would relish.

[Robert George Young]

I want to thank everybody that has been so kind in sharing their experiences with me about merchant navy life...
My dads life is a tragic story...in many ways..

Took me a very long time to really start understanding his life.
I’ve been researching it now for 4 years....
I must admit it as knocked me for 6......gutted I didn’t have a 65 year old brain when I was 25 but suppose life doesn’t work that way.

Difficult to describe how I view him now compared to them bad old days of the 60’s and 70’s where I only seen him drunk.
Think I can describe it maybe as 100% respect.

He used to come to our house at 4am drunk...he would say “ they haven’t seen uckin nothin “ referring to me and brother.
Police came, he would knock one or two to the ground, spend night in cell...then they let him go..

We never totally lost touch with him and although relationship with me and my brothers was not close. We never gave up seeing when it was possible...

[Keith Tindell]

Robert, i have to say that in the 50s and 60s it was drinking culture, and one in which most of us indulged and indeed over indulged. You have to remember that a lot of the guys at sea were war served seamen, and understandably at the end of a voyage made whoopee , not that i had served in the war, but it was something we all did, and were logged wages because of it, and of course some became addicted, i count myself lucky.It did cause some problems when i first married, but luckily she saw it through. So don't think of him too harshly .. It was a life, as you read through the stories on here, that we all loved, and still enjoy the memories, regards KT

[Robert George Young]

Keith,

I currently judge him very highly.
Somewhere along the line it would have been great if mum and dad would have spoken to us a little about the situation.
But that wasn’t possible. For a few reasons. One of them being when we were 20+ we were only interested in clubs, girls, football and music...not what dad did throughout his life...

I’ve posted this page a couple of times...I did it a few years ago..
The story of Able Seaman William Patrick Young, survivor of three shipwrecks during World War 2 – WW2Wrecks.com

I’m intending to do another about his 27 years in the merchant navy...
Thank you

[Keith Tindell]

Thanks for that Rob, he served through tough times, and as you say hold him very highly. My own father was on HMS Suffolk when she was bombed and nearly sank after shelling Stavanger airport, this was on operation Duck, he was severely burned in the gun turret, and that was the end of the war for him. He also liked his pint, and died at the age of 86, thanks again, kt

[Doc Vernon]

Keith,

I currently judge him very highly.
Somewhere along the line it would have been great if mum and dad would have spoken to us a little about the situation.
But that wasn’t possible. For a few reasons. One of them being when we were 20+ we were only interested in clubs, girls, football and music...not what dad did throughout his life...

I’ve posted this page a couple of times...I did it a few years ago..
The story of Able Seaman William Patrick Young, survivor of three shipwrecks during World War 2 – WW2Wrecks.com

I’m intending to do another about his 27 years in the merchant navy...
Thank you

What a great Story you have done on your Dad ,i know for sure that he will be so proud of you for all you have done.
Yes life is strange i can vouch for that as i too like i know many had a very difficult life
my Story is somewhat Similar so can understand how you thought when younger.
Likewise mee too but as we grow older we get to understand what it was all about in those terrible Years
Thank you for sharing
Cheers

[Des Taff Jenkins]

I was an AB in the 50s and 60s I remember climbing a sixty foot mast with a rope tied over my shoulder reeving it through a small block in the truck, {that's the very top of the mast sending the end down to the deck where your mate bent on a bosuns chair and hauled it up to the top, with a paint pot and brush tied on, you got into the chair and started painting your mate lowering you down with the rope around a winch barrel. I also still have my palm and needle for sewing canvass., and well remember sewing rips in tarpaulins,neat enough to pass the bosuns inspection. Splicing mooring ropes with a fid a pointed wooden thing that you pushed or hit with a mallet, through the twisted mooring line in order to push the end of one of the thick strands through. Wire slicing was generally done around the after end of the ship where there was a vice and a hook in the deckhead to hold the wire upright as you spliced.
As been said it was very important to make sure that the tarp corners were folded so that the sea couldn't get in.
Your Dad would also have spent many hours sougiing!! that's washing down paint work.
Cheers Des

[Sylvia Grinham]

My husband Stan Grinham ( goolie to his ship mates) was at sea from 1961 to 1979 ( new Zealand shipping company). He told me they painted the ship, cleaned the ship, repairs etc. But would also like to know what else he may have done, too. I'm still hoping for stories from anyone that may have known him ( I don't mind if they are a bit risqué as they say ...he told me a few!!.

[Captain Kong]

On a Cargo ship, the ABs routine jobs were, ….
as a Watch keeper, eg. 8 to 12,am & pm.... or 12 to 4, am & pm..... or 4 to 8 , am & pm
he would do 2 hours steering the ship. one hour stand by in the mess room and then one hour on Look out, Three men in a watch so the others do One hour Look out and two hours on the wheel steering, and the other man one hour stand by, and the middle two hours on Look out, rotating this every watch.
during the day on overtime Outward Bound say to Australia, he would overhaul the cargo gear, example, a ship with six cargo holds and hatches, would have 24 Derricks, four to a hatch, The wire cargo runner from the winch to the blocks on the derricks to the hook on the end would be greased and inspected, the Topping Lifts, the rig for lifting the derricks, would have the lifting wires greased and inspected , etc, so by the time the ship arrived in Australia the cargo lifting gear would all be in good condition and working right. any wires or rope strops that needed changing , new ones would be spliced and the old ones dumpes overboard. [Not anymore ]
on the Australian Coast the ships sides would be, rust chipped off and then painted.
Home ward bound the decks and Housing would be chipped and painted so she looked good for the shipping company Reps.

Also many other cleaning and maintenance jobs around the ship.including cleaning the cargo hol;ds when empty ready for the next cargo.

afterwards ashore in Australia, in the many seafaring pubs, round the coast, and meet some lovely and Not so lovely ladies in there.

[j.sabourn]

Sylvia your husband was probably no different than any other man risqué or not. He went to sea because it was probably the life for him as he saw it. A couple of lines from John Masefields poem on dirty British trampship for those sums it up for a lot of us. .... for those who left love home and comfort. For a glorified bleeding Hell. About says it all. Each man is different but seamen all had thing in common,was because they liked it. It was conducive to their way of life. Money was never good but they were happy in what they did, or they left. Regards JWS