Manchester liners

[Robert George Young]

Did they all have names starting with Manchester?
Where did they go?

Thank you

[Graham Shaw]

Hi.Robert.There were 4 vessels named Manchester Port ranging from years built between 1899-1966.Your Dad would have been ,in 1952 as you said,on the third one built in 1935 and scrapped in 1964

INFOLINK

MANCHESTER PORT O.N. 147428.jpg
Courtesy Scottish Built Ships Database


ShipsList History/Fleet.

As it says,services to the Great Lakes started in 1952.After the takeover by parent company Furness Withy in the 1960's their trading pattern to other areas developed...

[Keith Adams]

Yes, They had seven ships in service during the 1950’s. Manchester Merchant, Regiment, Trader,Progress, Shipper, Shipper, City, Port and Division. They added special builds for their Great Lakes Service Manchester Spinner, Pioneer and Explorer. The Great Lakes Stevedore Company I worked for didn’t work them but North pier Terminals, adjacent to me did. I worked mostly European and Scandinavian vessels. Did handle the odd Head Line and Watts Watts vessel. Hope that helps. Have no idea what happened to Manchester Liners. Cheers !

[Doc Vernon]

Lots of good info on this Link! and others !
Cheers

Manchester Liners - Wikipedia


Manchester Liners Ltd. (theshipslist.com)

MANCHESTER LINERS (tripod.com)

[John Arton]

Sailed with quite a few ex Manchester liner guys and often had big parties with their lads joining us on the Beaver for in saint john N.B. or joining them on board their ship. Particularly remember a huge 48 hour party on the Manchester Faith.
Rgds
J.A.

[Robert George Young]

John
Tell me more about the parties ��

Thank you

[John Arton]

John
Tell me more about the parties ��

Thank you

Robert
I was cadet on the Beaverfir and in winter with the seaway closed we would discharge and back load in saint john, at that time,1968/69 the only place you could get a drink there was either at the big C.P. hotel ( hotel guests only), a cocktail lounge attached to a restruant for patrons only or in a private club so any ship that had a bar would be inundated with locals. On the beaverfir we had the officers bar and a crew bar and I think Manchester liners had the same setup.
In port I spent my days in the focsle making up wire slings out of old cargo runner wires, which the mate then sold to the stevedores ( he pocketed all the cash, I got nothing). At 17:00 it was my job to go to the local burger joint to get burgers for all the officers as they were all catching up on their kip before the nights party and the cook was pizzed anyway.
At 20:00 gangs of female nurses and telephonists would descend on the officers bar and the party would begin, again. At midnight at change of shift ashore it quietened down a bit then a new crowd of them would turn up and the party would pick up till around 06:00 when they would knock off and allow us to let some kip. At the same time there were a whole bunch of girls living and sleeping with the crew and using the crew bar, in fact one of the girls took over the running of the bar. These girls were very liberal with their favours to such an extent that one night I came across one lying naked on the crew newsroom table pleasuring herself with a Heinz sauce bottle demanding to know who was going to have her that night whilst some bored crew just sat around drinking tea.
Due to the decks being covered in ice and snow for the deck crew there only work consisted of opening and closing hatches and snow clearing while engine room work was just routine oiling and greasing and keeping the generators running with some routine main engine maintenance.
There was no night or weekend work so to discharge and back load took around 20 days with parties every night and if there was a Manchester liner in port at the same time, similar going on would be happening on their ship to such an extent that one weekend the officers of ours and their ships got together to hold one big weekend party for all the nurses, telephone girls plus any and all of their friends and we had on the Manchester Faith.
I joined the beaverfir in October 68 and left her in July 69, never went home even when we were back in Vic docks as there was so much going on in London those days, rolling stones concerts in Hyde park, a lovely Easter end Irish girlfriend etc. Eventually I was told to leave by the personnel department. Went home stony broke and a month later was in Tilbury joining a forest products ship that ran to British Columbia where again I found that whilst loading in Vancouver and on Vancouver island I was once again on a party ship but that's another story.
Rgds
J.A.