Succession planning

[William Bramhill]

Hi all,

I have really liked being able to read people's memories on this forum.

Has any provision been made for keeping the best stories should, horrors, this forum disappear?

As far as I know there is no national Merchant Navy museum (there should be!) but would any national museum or the National Archives be interested in preserving the recollections of the last few thousand MN crews to sail the seven seas? Has any approach been made?

Will

[j.sabourn]

That’s why forums like this should be kept for posterity. This iis mainly a true account of peoples experiences and not a few chosen stories picked out suitable for public consumption. Have thought about this when people open up , especially the older ones , if they want to leave something behind for family and the public in general this is the obvious place to put it, a truthful account or accounts as they experienced and not accounts cleaned up to make suitable to someone else’s ideas. The owner of this site should be recognised for his endeavours for starters for trying to achieve this , by publishing and making available a good cross section of the British Merchant Navy , which has always sat back in the shadows. I think others feel the same, as you do also. Regards JS.

[Ivan Cloherty]

#1. Many on this site have a wonderful way with words and should endeavour to put them in some kind of book format, even a loose leaf folder, and with the advent of the word processor it is no longer an hardship. What ever you write it does not have to be in chronological order, that can be done with cut and paste later if one wishes to do it. In the beginning just jot down random thoughts, even if only a couple of lines, it is surprising what those few words will generate when referred back to. We all know from this site that we start a thread and that awakens memories in others and which tend to drift off course because a word or a place name ignites another path (for which we are occasionally reprimanded, but life is not a straight course).

Although having nothing published I did approach Hull University Archivist by email who said they would look at my 100,000 words, as being bombed out three times in different cities I ended up after the war in Hull and started my sea going career there and my small effort shows life growing up in Hull, also going to sea on trawlers from Hull at the age of 13.. They said they were happy with it and it is now in the reference library. I know it has been read as another fellow from Hull whom I have never met has plagiarised some of my passages and included them in his book that he self published. I know that we have all had similar experiences, but I doubt we use the same exact words to describe a similar situation.

To keep our (MN) memory alive I would recommend anyone who has jottings to contact the Archivist of the University closest to their childhood and enquire if they are interested in a bit of local history, it worked for me. I did have an offer of publication a few years ago, terms and conditions agreed, but was later cancelled, it had been put on hold as some celebrity with large front end fenders had written a cookery book and it was more commercially viable. I haven't bothered since, as it was only started for the grandchildren, in case they ever became interested in what their grandfather did, as we have seen so often on this site, it seems that grandchildren never talk to their grandparents when they are alive, but wait until they are dead and ask complete strangers what their grandfather did, there may be all kinds of reasons for this, it is not a judgement.

[j.sabourn]

Ivan , I wouldn’t like to write a book about my life , as I would know it wasn’t an open book by any means .However as regards a working life is a different story . With of course personal episodes outside of the ship non persona grata . But for people like the opener of this post looking for information not available through normal means , such as the post on wages and conditions in 1957. Or a seamans views on the strike of 1966. There are hundreds of truthful accounts on the site , those taken from google and other places are usually copies from the media of the day . I have looked at a few different ones for different occasions and have holes in them that you could drive a double decker bus through. Cheers JWS

[Ivan Cloherty]

I think if you tell story, you tell it warts and all, no need to be descriptive of every activity ashore, one must leave the reader to his/her/their imagination and interpret the scene as suits their imagination. We were not angels when ashore and had human needs, and feminine company was a welcome relief after spending weeks isolated on a steel island with men of various hygiene habits. Girls such as Dolores introduced easily influenced teenagers to a world that we would never had known existed if we had not ventured away from our mother's apron strings, to which many ashore remained tied to well after adulthood. Unlike many who have written about their experiences and which I have read, I have never found it necessary to use foul language in my utterings in print, although like many I have used it in my profession on occasions in foul weather and close-call situations, mostly as an exclamation mark to myself, I cannot recall using it against any crew member, I certainly hope not anyway, although I may have questioned their thought processes in a non academic manner.

[Ian Malcolm]

All my seagoing memoirs have been published and are available on Amazon.

Regards

Ian

[j.sabourn]

#5.. Ivan been happily married for 58 years, want to stay that way. Don’t think warts an all would be appreciated.
Like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde prefer to keep both life styles completely apart. I never took ships home with me and even what I put on here would be news to her. JS.

[Des Taff Jenkins]

I have written thousands of words, been in three writing groups. Had a look at some of my stories only the other day, the print has faded, very hard to read. Any on the computer could be lost with a click of the switch. But I believe that on this site we have put down many many tales of our sea time for anyone to read, thanks to Brian.
Des

[happy daze john in oz]

I have written, much of it in anecdote manner, my life from birth to swallowing the hook.
It is all on a series of discs and hopefully over the next few years I may extend it to cove from then to now.
My early life from birth to sea going was one of a person always on the move, home to home we went as a result of the war and the way the world was then.
But it has been a very good one to date and will endeavor to make sure it continues in that vein.

[j.sabourn]

#9... Hope you gave Helen in Capetown a mention John or was that purely platonic ? JS.
If I had a pound for every needle inserted into the right hand upper quadrant and had invested it wisely today I would maybe have been able to put in a bid for Virgin Airlines in Australia. Cheers JS.