BBC 4 Documentary Sailors,Ships,& Steveadores.

[Chris Gundry]

I dont know if anybody saw this Documentary last week on BBC channel 4 But I found it very interesting. It was about the Docks of Liverpool, London and Cardiff in the 1950's and 1960's. I was at sea from 1960 untill late 1964 and then whent ashore and got a job a a lorry driver for a local meat haulage firm,and so in both occupations I was in and around these docks ,Especially London's Victoria and Alberts docks and Liverpool, and also Avonmouth. I have joined and payed off from ships in both Avonmouth and Cardiff and also loaded frozen meat onto lorrys from them , so I found this documentary very interesting and it brought back many happy memories.
Happy Days Chris Gundry
R730309

[Bryan Ashton]

I also saw this and it brought back many memories of the 60's.
I joined my 1st ship in November 1964 at 16 years old, The Hurunui, NZ Shipping and the views of the docks brought back memories. I also sailed into Liverpool once in 1965 on the Temple Main after a 6 month round the world trip.

It makes you sad to see how thing were and how they are now. All the ships gone, dockers gone and even the Merchant Navy as we knew it .. gone.

[Keith Tindell]

Yes, all gone, but we must be grateful we were part of it, and due to this site can keep the memories going. One wonders how history will record our era, probably just glossed over. The world now is not the same as we knew it, 6 weeks to OZ, now 18hrs by aircraft, a condensed world.

[Bill Morrison]

Post#3. Well Keith, that was the Merchant Navy we knew. Think a hundred or so years before when wind was the power that drove sailing ships, seventy plus days to Aussie then along came steam kettles and cut the time by half. Those old seamen held on for as long as it was possible, the grain races finish in 1939 (WW2) finished it.
They are now held in high regard, books, films, biographies. One never knows seamen of our time might be seen in a similar way.
Bill.