Thunderbox.

[Johnny Kieran]

Wish I hadn't started this now, but now we're here, back to the City Of Ely, a crap subject, for a crap ship.
We were breaking down nearly every day in the red sea and that kind of area, and would just wallow around for hours. We often saw sharks and other fish swimming around the stern end. Then someone spotted them fighting over the contents coming out of our toilet, paper and all. We got a great thrill out of nipping in for a quick dump, press the flusher, and race up the steps to watch it drop out into the sea. Nothing perverted about it, just to watch the sharks rolling and fighting over it, open their gobs and it was gone. The best one was Big Fat Joe from Northampton, he never got up fast enough to see it for himself, but all hands would gather aft if they knew he was about to use the toilet.
I suppose this happened all the time with the gash being tipped over the side from the galley as well, but we wouldn't see it due to it being left behind as the ship progressed ahead.

[Tony Taylor]

Wish I hadn't started this now, but now we're here, back to the City Of Ely, a crap subject, for a crap ship.
We were breaking down nearly every day in the red sea and that kind of area, and would just wallow around for hours. We often saw sharks and other fish swimming around the stern end. Then someone spotted them fighting over the contents coming out of our toilet, paper and all. We got a great thrill out of nipping in for a quick dump, press the flusher, and race up the steps to watch it drop out into the sea. Nothing perverted about it, just to watch the sharks rolling and fighting over it, open their gobs and it was gone. The best one was Big Fat Joe from Northampton, he never got up fast enough to see it for himself, but all hands would gather aft if they knew he was about to use the toilet.
I suppose this happened all the time with the gash being tipped over the side from the galley as well, but we wouldn't see it due to it being left behind as the ship progressed ahead.

Nice one, I witnessed a similar incident, only this was in the locks at Brunsbuttel, and the OBD went on to the deck of a freshly painted little fishing boat. The fishing boat skipper was apoplectic but the more he raged the more the boys went down for a dump.

[Rodney Mills]

My first ship after "graduation" from the prison ship Gravesend (aptly named) Sea school was the Port Jackson. I joined her on standby in Dry Dock, if I remember correctly, she was having her bum scraped. Anyway, there was a 'no use' the toilets in effect. Someone must have been taken short, because a pan full hit a dockie, chipping around the outlet. Most of the Dockie's wore a cheese-cut cap raggedy overcoat tied up with a rope or string. Part of Port Lines settlement with the dockie was a new coat. He wasted no time, up to Saville Row and bought a custom Crombie (sp) overcoat, probably in today's money about three thousand pounds or more. Bet Port line was chocked. It was the laugh of the docks and the Jackson.

Cheers, Rodney

[Keith Tindell]

I have posted on here before, i joined the Durham Trader on the Thames at the Tate and Lyle berth October 1962, we were discharging the last of the sugar from the previous trip to Cuba, all out board toilets had a sign on them and locked, not to be used as were discharging in to a barge . The next morning all hell broke out, someone had used the toilet, and had dumped straight in to the barge of sugar, no one owned up, obviously, and we did not find out how they had got in to the toilet. We were told the whole barge had been condemned , but i wonder !!. That was the trip i took that was supposed to be a return trip to Cuba for more sugar, but the Cuban crisis developed, and i came home 10 months later, but thats another story.

[James Curry]

I do remember one of the first things the dry dock did was to put plugs in place as soon as the dock was pumped out. It got interesting when it came time to remove the plugs from overboard disharges. Even deck scuppers were plugged and in the event of rain you had to ask yards permission to drain water away. A lot of ships had sewage holding tanks

[J Gowers]

My first trip was in 1974 and it was the Burmah Zircon which had come out of drydock, in Marsaille, a few days before I joined it. While it was in drydock the toilets were shut down and the overboard had a wooden plug put in it. I was told that once they were alongside and tied up a small boat came up to the overboard and a guy knocked out the plug, ofcourse someone had still been using the toilets so when the plug was knocked out the guy was covered in what came out and he was not to pleased.

[j.sabourn]

#36 .I was reminiscing the other day about the past so part of this reply might be a bit off subject for a brief moment in time , starting with my first trip in 1953 , and anchored off Panama awaiting transit through the Canal. Among all the dozens of ships also waiting nearly all of them flew the Red Ensign. This may sound corny but to a first trip16 year old this made me feel extremely proud . Jump 12 years and as mate on an ore carrier and having 4 or 5 older seafarers who had seen service during the war, come up to me and saying cheerio in advance saying they wouldn’t be back if the strike lasted more than 2 days , and the euphoria of 1953 disappeared ,as well as those seamen who as well as others never returned to a life on the Ocean Waves. As regards thunderboxes they did survive even to this day . Would imagine no one could construct them though like all those old seafarers who went out on a sour note, much against their own inclination . Maybe as well as their aversion to striking they also had feelings of what the future bore for British Shipping and jumped before they were pushed. Thunderboxes today , there must be a new concept for same somewhere , so they can be bought off the shelf , hosed down after use and re-used , where there’s money involved someone will figure it out. JS
PS Going up the Great Lakes in 1968 on ships which had never heard of septic tanks , and as the fresh water lakes were strictly monitored as to refuse overboard , we had to hire about 15 portable loos which ran off 24 volt batteries the same as a car battery. They each allowed 100 usages , and there were no overboard discharges allowed.
Glad I didn’t have the job of cleaning them out before returning to the camping shop where we hired them from. The Topaz as always drew the short straw. JS

[Doc Vernon]

Well JS
You do know that there are Portable Thunderboxes around, most all good Campers carry them, easy to use and to clean as well, as one just uses the special Tablets you put in them that eats all the crap! LOL
cHEERS

[j.sabourn]

Yes that’s what we had in 1968 , but they still had to be cleaned out after 100 goes. They were placed in all the bathrooms on the ship. The regular toilets were shut down . The water in the lakes in 1968 could just about be drunk straight from the lake in most places .Today ships have sewage tanks , make their own water , the same as in drydock the circulating water required for ER . Could be circulated from the after peak. JS

[Tony Taylor]

Yes that’s what we had in 1968 , but they still had to be cleaned out after 100 goes. They were placed in all the bathrooms on the ship. The regular toilets were shut down . The water in the lakes in 1968 could just about be drunk straight from the lake in most places .Today ships have sewage tanks , make their own water , the same as in drydock the circulating water required for ER . Could be circulated from the after peak. JS

who was responsible for keeping tally?