Money..

[Robert George Young]

Money was always an issue in our house as it was in most in the 50’s and 60’s...

Dad was at sea 1947-1973

Mum got a legal separation from dad in 1960.
When he come home in the 50’s when I was a boy I remember he gave me and my brother a Kit Kat and mum a box of Black Magic.
Don’t think there was much money for mum. If any?

My question is how was dad paid for example when he was on Bittern between 7 April 1954- 8 June 1954?
What would my mum have done for money in that time?
Next question is dad used to say in the 60’s he won’t be paying any maintenance. And I don’t think he did.
His money went on booze. What would have been procedure to pay maintenance?

It would be great if somebody could help with these questions or maybe give their views on the above.
I expect things would work a lot different now. Money deducted and transferred to mum.

But in them days my guess is mum had to rely on dad bringing money home when he was on leave in the 50’s
Not sure how it would have worked after their separation ?
Thank you

[Keith Tindell]

I can only speak from my time at sea in the 60s, i always made an allotment to my Mum, i was single, but money could be allocated to be paid monthly to home, wives etc, so would only guess thats what your Dad could have done. The rest of your money was paid at the end of the voyage, minus deductions of the normal taxes etc, plus whatever you spent on board for cigarettes, drink etc, and when in port your spending money. I can only presume maintenance money coyld have been deducted in the same way as an allotment, kt

[Robert George Young]

Thank you Keith

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Keith, how was it allocated ?

Sorry for being a bit thick as I know very little about the merchant navy in dads time
I have been researching his 6 war years in the Royal Navy and 27 years in the Merchant Navy in recent years and have learned so much thanks to this forum..

[j.sabourn]

#2.. Keith I was married in 1962 and up until 1964 whence I changed employers the allotment had to be collected by my wife at Moor Line buildings Newcastle on Tyne where she had to sign for it before it was passed over. From the end of 1963 I worked for RS Dalgliesh who paid the salarys straight into the bank so had to have a bank account.i would say the method of paying of salary changed to direct payment to bank sometime just prior to 1964. As regards leaving of allotments in those days before salarys going into the bank every month, according to the NMYB 50 % of wages was the maximum that could be left. JWS
PS A month was a calendar month and your daily rate was your monthly rate divided by 30.
E.G. A voyage from 5th feb to the 12 July would be 5 months and 8 days the 8 days would be 8 days calculated at one thirtieth of monthly rate x 8.
JS

[Captain Kong]

In 1952v I left an allotment to Mother every month, £2 out of a £10 a month wage, it was paid into the Post Office savings bank.
In Liverpool the local lads said their parents or Wives had to go to the Ship owners Office to collect on one day a month.

[Keith Tindell]

Robert, as JS says in his next post, you made out an allotment form, stipulating the amount to be paid each month and to whom, as John says, later it was paid into a bank account, something most of us did not have in the early days, and your mother would collect it , usually from the post office. The other thing is that at the end of the voyage he could have accrued a good lump of money, living onboard was quite cheap, cigarets in my time 50p for 200 etc, plus depending on the ship there could be overtime payments, so pay off day was usually whoopee day, kt

[Red Lead Ted]

I left an allotment to my mother for the first few years until i got married then it went to my wife, They received a check through the post weekly, My dear old Mam had no bank account she would get the cheque cashed by the grocer she worked for. I never for one minute begrudged my beautiful Mother they few quid i sent her there where 3 kids younger than me at home my old man was a docker here in Liverpool in the 60s he wasn't exactly on megabucks and if he found himself in what they called the pen, They weren't guaranteed a living wage. I was away for 12 months on one ship my Mam still got her allotment, I remember my old man telling me she would be standing looking out of the window on allotment day awaiting the postman. It was the least i could do. My old man was one of 8 brothers who all went away to sea, The oldest who lived into his 90s out in OZ Told me a story back in the early 50s he was caught between ships and had no income but he had a wife and 2 kids in them days you would get a visit from the National Assistance Board at home after the visit they told him they couldn't help him until he was absolutely destitute i am he explained, Sorry sir you can sell that piano for now which was his Mothers pride and joy. He threw the two of them out the house, In those days Neighbours helped each other out and always found themselves in the same situation at some point and they where helped out. I think we are seeing a bit of that spirit back in are communities today with this virus, Me i always do a separate shop which i donate to our local food bank i am fortunate enough to be in a position to afford it. But there is still a lot of people go hungry in this country and there usually people like your dear Mother left on there own with young kids. Regards Terry.

[John Gill]

#1 hi Robert. I sailed on the Bittern same time as your Father.British and Continental was the name of the company, sailing out of the Queens dock south Liverpool to Holland and Belgium 10 day round trip. I was galley boy. We all had to pay for our own food deducted from wages. I spent about 6 months aboard her and mostly enjoyed the experience.
Gilly

[Les Woodard]

It took me years to get my head around money after leaving the sea. Could never hang onto it even if it was nailed to my head. Drove the sheriff mad as to how I was. All I know was that hitting the coast in Oz would sub max every time and would go ashore with pounds at first then after a short while, go ashore with about two bob in the sky rocket but each time would come back aboard in the same condition LOL. Simple fact being that we used to look after each other in them days and if a seaman came into the pub would be assured of leaving with a wobbly boot at least. Hence the term tarpaulin musters that went on all the time. Know that when on the beach in Melb the owner of the Pier Hotel put me up with the one condition that I did not drink in any other pub if I could not pay back what I had borrowed of him. George looked after many a seaman that was down on his luck but think he got it back because the pub was always chock a block with ex seamen. Had to leave after a while as was working at the bottling factory for scotch so was finishing work well oiled to go back to the pub to finish of the day LOL.

[Robert George Young]

John,

You must have been young.
My dad an able seaman would have been 33
Please tell me more.
I’m looking into dads 27 year merchant navy career.
Mainly booze and a legal separation from mum prevented me knowing much about him.
4 years of research has taught me a lot.
But I love hearing the stories because knowing dad he could have been involved in any of them.
Especially the naughty ones��