Your first job at sea

[John Arton]

Irrespective of whether you did pre sea training or not or served an apprenticeship ashore, your first job at sea meant you invariably started at the bottom of the pile. My first job offered to me when I went to sea was as 5th officer on the Empress of England, how come you ask?
Well, on the 15th of September 1967 I presented myself to the offices of Canadian Pacific in the Liver buildings in Liverpool, not at the entrance overlooking the Mersey , that was posh for people booking passages on the white Empress's, but at an entrance down the side of the building, still a rather grand entrance, manned by a liveried doorman, who led me across the large entrance hall to a partly screened small meeting room where personnel officer, Mr. Alec Duncan was to interview me with hopefully being able to offer me a job as a deck cadet. The interview must have gone well, despite him being called away at times to attend other matters (indeed he was away for so long at one time he actually forgot I was there), eventually after about 45 minutes he offered me the post of deck cadet subject to passing the required medical, to be done then and there by the company doctor in house. The medical was a bit of a farce being consisting of reading the eye chart and colour slides, checking blood pressure whilst lying naked on the examination couch and being appraised by his secretary who pronounced "looks like he's not going to drop dead tomorrow" and been told I had passed the medical.
Returning to the meeting room Alec Duncan congratulated me, told me I had the job and asked when I could sail. It was agreed that I would return in two days time to be assigned to my first ship, meanwhile I was sent to get my discharge book and red i.d. card organised and then go to Greenberg's to get kitted out with my uniform.
So 2 days later I was back in Liverpool to pick up my documents, collect my uniform, jacket, battle dress jacket, dress white uniform, trousers, uniform cap, even wet weather gear, all packed into a huge suitcase, again supplied by Greenberg and presented myself back at the Canadian Pacific offices. This time the doorman directed me down to the personnel offices Which were situated in the basement, passed storage rooms and the printing press room. The personnel office was a room filled with a long desk with pigeon hole shelves above stuffed full of papers. Mr. Duncan, on seeing me, scrabbled around on the desk and came up with a piece of paper, exclaiming " got just the job you wanted, get yourself down to Canada dock to join the Empress of England as 4 the mate". Sorry I said, I don't think I can take that job, why not, he asked, you have been wanting a job on the empress's for ages. Sorry I said but I've never been to sea before. What, he says, your not Mr xxx, no I said, I'm Mr arton, the deck cadet you interviewed 2 days ago. Sorry he said scrabbling around for another piece of paper, I've got you down to join one of our newest ships. What is it, I asked, it's a tanker, just berthing at Tranmere. So huge suitcase in hand off I went. After struggling up the gangway, minutes later I was in a boilersuit charging up and down the deck and pump Room of the Lord Mount Stephen, attempting to keep up with a super fit chief officer, swinging valves under his direction.
And so began the next 41 years of my life.
Rgds
J.A.

[Keith Adams]

Hi John, At the time of your Canadian Pacific interview it wasn’t unusual for all mates, including the 4th and 5th, to have aMaster’s License, so you had me hooked right to the end of your narrative thinking you were going to say you went as 5th on an Empress. In 1956, hoping to get 3rd Mate on a Beaver boat, they signed me up and put me aboard the BRITAIN as 5th. Didn’t realize at that moment that I would only be earning 2 thirds watch keeping time. You mentioned GREENBERGS outfitters. When i learn how, i will post a photo of their silk advertising banner i still have. The border shows most of the Liverpool HQ house flags. I will post my first day aboard ship as a poorly paid seafarer later. Cheers !

[j.sabourn]

I remember a friend of mine telling me a story about being sent from the pool to join I think it was the well known Green Goddess either in Liverpool or London.First he had to present himself at their office for interview which he did accompanied with all his baggage.First they wanted to know what his father did for a living to which his reply was, my father is not here for a job.It went on in this vein , they finally gave him instructions to catch various tubes to the docks so it must have been London . Another war of words to get them to pay for a taxi.Finally arriving at the vessel he was approached by a tailor there to measure him up for number Tens etc. he said ok as long as they were paying , they weren’t so he never got. He spent 4 days there ,not allowed on deck during daylight hours as didn’t have a cap and had third mates braid on uniform , spent those 4 days down the freezer rooms and such places . They finally transferred him to one of their cargo ships where his braid and face were more acceptable his original posting on the liner was 4th mate. So an easy way to promotion liner style was to arrive with the wrong braid .. JS

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Hi John.
My first job wasn't as dramatic as yours, after three months training I found myself looking out of the messroom porthole washing dishes.
Des

[j.sabourn]

Hope you took your time with the dishes Des, otherwise the bosun may of had you out with the basso tin polishing that same port. JS

[John Arton]

I eventually did get to sail on a white Empress, not the England but the Canada.
This happened in 1971 when I was 3rd mate on the Beaverpine.
I had joined the Beaver pond in Bremen where we loaded general cargo, mostly cases of German beer, then more general in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Let Havre all for discharge in Haiti, Dominica, Puerto Rico, Nassau then up to Baltimore to load grain for sharpness and Belfast, after which she was laid up in Liverpool. I was transferred to the Empress of Canada sailing as 5th mate.
So from correcting List of Lights, standing cargo watches in port attempting to prevent Haitian stevedores helping themselves to cargo brand goods, drawing up cargo plans etc. I went to doing night rounds at 0200 with the master at arms, preventing rape of a female passenger by a fellow passenger, settling disputes in the crew pig and whistle when they refused to allow the engineers waiter to wear his pink dress there, escorting passengers, both first and tourist, on bridge tours and sneaking my purserette girlfriend into my cabin.
All very different, paid off that ship actually knackered.
Rgds
J.A.

[Tony Taylor]

I dont actually recall the first task I was given, but I do remember vividly the forst thoughts that went through my mind.
On opening the door from the engineers changing room into the top of the engine room, to be hit with a blast of hot air then stepping through and looking down at the maze of pipes running here and there and everywhere it seemed, the involuntary thought was "what the feck have I let myself in for"
This was in July in Hamburg, three weeks later I was to find out what real heat was in Puerto Miranda doing a boiler shut down.

[j.sabourn]

Think I have already put in somewhere already, first ship joined in Avonmouth, one of the ABs said who are you ? , I said the new apprentice , he said it’s ABs we need not BAs. I was quite chuffed at the time as thought he meant
Bachelors of Art, it was sometime in the future I found out different. My first job going down the Bristol Channel bound for Belfast with part cargo of grain to discharge was assisting the bosun putting a wire splice in a wire on the deck vice, and holding the strands clear of the actual splice for him to put the spike in. The bosun had two cauliflower ears and a well broken nose and was an ex pugilist . He walked sideways as well as was punch drunk. He tore away with this spike and it came out of the lay and caught me in the eyebrow and there was blood everywhere .He thought he had taken my eye out , but I was lucky ,he managed to stop the bleeding and I said nothing to anyone . But I was always careful of keeping out of his way whenever he had a spike in his hand. One lives and survives by past experiences . JS

[Des Taff Jenkins]

John A.
I always thought that Sharpness could only take coasters, I must have been mistaken, what tonnage was the Beaver Pond?
Des

- - - Updated - - -

Hi John
I thought you were an inquisitive person and I was right.
Des

[happy daze john in oz]

My very first task as a bell boy in the tourist gallop was scrubbing the vinyl flooring in the dinning room.
Hands and knees back then with a scrubbing brush and bucket of water, not what I had anticipated.