Month trips

[j.sabourn]

#8 WeIl the British seafarers would be safe as their numbers would not even appear on the graph JS.

[j.sabourn]

Robert don’t take too much notice of your fathers discharges you can’t judge your own father on those. Most masters did not want to give a bad discharge in any case , as that would make work for them when on leave as having to account for them at the BSF. And was easier to not put in book . Then you had the opposite personality who may have had a kink to prove his own feeling of power and hand out ad lib. It was a good thing when they did away with them. Your father was the same man as all men , who may have had his own personal problems and chose his own way of life , whether right or wrong , it was his life and he lived it as we all do. JS

[Graham Shaw]

Robert.As I'm sure you will know and feel by now,we are one great close-knit fraternity in the Merchant Navy,just like the Armed Forces.
Just as on this site,we may not know each other personally,but where one of the wider ex- Merchant Navy men and women is involved,whether WW 1,WW2 or 'our ' era of post WW2 to the sad declining years of it,then all of us will feel kinship with people like your Dad and will understand his life,his joys,his foibles,as we have seen it ourselves or can understand where he was coming from. He wasn't at all bad I'm sure and maybe it's time to stop being analytical!.I think you are doing a great job in piecing together his career and facets of it.
I often wish I could have understood my own father's life,he was a policeman, who like many of us had his own -I hesitate to call them-demons-,but that is a word we use when we don't really know what to call them.Let's just call them life's milestones.

My siblings have realised we will never know 'the man' so to speak,but are reassured to know that we were cared for and loved by him and protected. That's true of most fathers isn't it?
Very appropriately this is Father's Day today!

Cheers!
Graham

[Robert George Young]

Graham,

Dad was dad.
I liked him.
Probably would have liked him more if he had talked to me more.

I love this research, it gives me pleasure
Just this week. I had a phone call from a man in Portugal
He said his dad was friends with my dad from school in Isle of Man in 20’s and 30’s
He also said he has school photo.

He said he was in Royal Navy with dad
Bombed in an Alexandria brothel and it took two days to dig them out in 1941
They missed ship because of it and dad was given 90 days in Jerusalem detention centre.

Also said they were in their MN life friends with Terry Thomas and Robert Newton before they were actors and they were involved in smuggling in Gibraltar with them. They used to laugh Terry Thomas never spoke like that when they knew him.
Also few more stories that had goose bumps running down my back.

Every piece of information I receive, especially from this forum make me like and admire dad more.

[cappy]

Robert your dad was a man amongst men .....im sure you are now proud of him .....give yourself a pat on the back for your understanding of him now .......be proud he was one of our band of brothers we salute them all ...R683532

[J Gowers]

Robert I went to sea in the early 70s with Denholms and although we signed on 2 year articles we never did 2 years, at the time 6 months trips were normal and we could be joining and leaving anywhere in the World this came down to about 4 months when I left them 10 years later. But it did depends on the ships run and ports sometmes you got off earlier and sometimes later. The longest trip I did was 6 1/2 months.
I never heard of anyone staying on a ship for two years in the 70/80s even Indian , chinese crews etc did not do that at that time or at least not on the ships I sailed on.
If your dad had been a really bad boy he would not have had VG in the book and even if he was he was still your dad.
Maybe the ships were crap and he wanted off I did two weeks on a ship , joined in Canada and asked to get off in London after handing in 48 hours notice of wanting off in the next UK port, which was London.
Got to admit there were a few times when I was a sea I was not an angel but most seafarers can say that.

[Doc Vernon]

Like many have said, Bob thee were the good times and the bad, boy! i can vouch for that, i dont know why i never had any DR's entered in my Book, just lucky i guess with some of the things i got up to , both n Board and ashore!
As for the Grog, well enough said i reckon on that as most all of us older Lads here i am sure had our fair share! Some worse than others, i was one of the some . LOL
As for your dear Dad, there could and more than likely would have been many reasons for his Indulging, and his fast on off of various Ships, one will never know i guess as it was a hectic time those Years ans lots of things happened! I know too well about some of what you talk of, as my dear Dad also went through a lot in his Life! I cannot say why i indulged quite heavily in the Grog and Smokes, possible a bit to do with my life events of the past, and possibly trying to keep up with Harry! ???
Now thankfully completely Free from both !! And feel so much better for it too!!
But as i have said somewhere before, no matter what happened in past Years, even then and to this day i loved my Dad with my whole Heart , as too my dear Mum, their troubles were many but in the end thank the Lord all was forgiven and forgotten. They were apart for many Years, but i know each passed on knowing that there was no anomosity between them!

Its a difficult life and time for many Bob, and i am sure there are many that have similar Stories!
Cheers and keep up the good work on your research!
Cheers

[happy daze john in oz]

For many of us during the 60's getting into trouble was almost like a sport.
Many attempting to out do others.
Drinking was one where often it was a race to see how could consume the most in the shortest time, then the search for the ladies.

But it was all done in good fun, cannot recall any real fights or problems with most of the crews.
We fell into two camps, those who were married or in some serious relationship and did not wish to be involved.
Then the rest of us who considered having a good time our right.
We made bloody good use of that right, even if at time sit was wrong, taking chances which when we look back were either dangerous or just plain bloody stupid.

[cappy]

Remember reading years ago that the top occupations of alcoholics was 1 merchant seamen, 2 journalists 3 building workers.
Don't know what the list would be now.
Regards Michael

Well michael could it be 1retired merchant seamen 2retired journalists 3 retired building workers ......lol cappy

[j.sabourn]

#19 Do you refer to yourself Cappy, Bill and Ben, and my old man and his two mates . ? JS