Your first job at sea

[Malcolm Lawrence]

Same here Tony only difference was it was on a Fyffes ship in Christobal Panama.

[j.sabourn]

#31. A common answer or comment to that in those days with no prejudice and casting aspersions as there is today on saying such , was, the black man is trying to get white , and the white man is trying to get black , and both would joke about it. Today you have the warped minds of decadent persons looking for excuses to cause disturbance in the world , or to satisfy their own egos of a disturbed mindset. JS

[cappy]

Never found any colour bar on any ship i was on .....to coin a phrase we were all in the same boat r683532

[Richard Wilmot]

My first job was Deck Boy on the Orient Line, Orsova. The worst part of it was washing down passengers vomit, and there was quite a bit of that. There were four of us to a cabin. One boy in my cabin was a real bully, but he soon got his come-upance. This was 1956. In those days, if you signed on for a second trip, your were 'promoted' to J.O.S. whether you had the time in or not. Looking back I think I should have stayed on there for longer, but I joined the Port Line and found myself on a cockroach infected ship, something I never saw on the Orsova.

Rick Wilmot
R654537

[j.sabourn]

#29 your lucky James unless Cappy has not seen yet. He had to do it by hand . he’s got muscles like Popeye he reckons. JS

[Lewis]

Cabin Boy ESSO Woolston essowoolston1.jpg

[Denis O'Shea]

#33, John sailed with a 2nd eng who was a right bronzy merchant always out on deck, one day a kroo boy walking past him commented Mr 2nd eng you try very hard to be African. Rgds Den

[j.sabourn]

Denis was discharging General in Capetown once and at one of the holds the whole gang of stevedores all of them had African features but were a ghastly white , on making enquires there is a whole tribe of the same somewhere. This must have gone back thousands of years. We are what we are when born and have no say in the matter. Colour of skin is only that and signifies nothing, it only means something to those who want to use it to suit their own ends. The Africans I saw looked like albinos. But seemed more subdued than the normal happy go lucky of their more fortuanate brethren. Cheers JS

[happy daze john in oz]

Many times in good old Cape T\own and only ever saw the non white style of workers on the docks.
But many of the crew who had time were often on deck attempting to get the same color.
Maybe wanted to drink in the non white bars ashore.

[michael hooper]

i left the vindi in 1954 first ship was the athlone castle as deck boy i was the peggies peggy couldnt get lower than that.