joining age

[Frank Mattocks]

Anyone remember what the minimum joining age was in the 1960's?

[j.sabourn]

16 if referring to F.G. Articles. Below18 were considered a young person on the agreement
The RN 15 and was classed as a boy seaman, as to actually being a seagoing sailor would have to ask a RN matelot. As to MN if you attended a recognised pre sea school for 12 months got a recognised remission of 6 months for the 4 years required for the deck certificate of 2 mate. mininum age for holding a 2 mates cert. 20 years of age. When putting your papers in for 2 mate to sit the examination , unlike these objects causing mayhem at universitys , you would not be acceptable. The same should happen today to our so called captains of politics and industry of the future. The answer is so simple is hard to believe we have to witness what we see on tv screens. Cheers JS
PS for a RN matelot I believe his 22 years service for receiving a service pension started from the age of 18. So in actual fact it was or is 25 years service, this though is what I believe and a RN matelot may advise different.
JS.

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Hi Frank.
It depended on how desperate the skipper was to sail, There are records of boys of 14 joining ships during the war, also on the Thames boys as young as 12 where sailing those red sail barges with their fathers, But the age one was accepted in a MN sea school was 16, but I was fifteen and a half when I went to the Vindi sea school, they may have been short of volunteers LoL.
Des

[j.sabourn]

I sailed with one of those people who started off as the boy on a Thames barge. Think his father was the skipper , that was the usual manning of such Skipper and Boy. JS

[Johnny Kieran]

It was fifteen and a half for joining the Vindy.

[Graham Payne]

Joined T.S.Indefatigable at 14yrs 6 months of age, left when I was 16 and sent to join "Oronsay as a Deck Boy.
Had the 6 month remission so became J.O.S. at 16yrs 3 months

[j.sabourn]

#6 A mate of mine he was under 20 when he passed for 2 mate , just by a couple of months but had to get special permission to sit for second mate. He passed the same time as me but the certificate was not issued till he was 20. Mine the same thing happened to me even though I was 20 so just sailed on the issued receipt for the certificate called the Pink Slip. May of been my fault as wasn’t around for very long , but think the certificate was stamped with the date you received from the mercantile marine office and not the date on passing the exam. At that time both of us were fixed to go with Butterfield and Swires as they supplied you with a free sextant . However I backed out as had just met the wife in 1957 and don’t think she would have hung around while I was sporting myself in Hong Kong for two years. I have asked a couple of times if anyone knew this friend who did grab the free sextant , his name was Leo McGowan from South Gosforth, the next time I saw him was when he got his masters in the UK in the early 60s he was only 24 then.He was sailing with cert. of rank as second mate with a seconds mates ticket and got extra reduction of sea time for that, his mates he took in Hong Kong. At the time we remet in Newcastle he had an apartment in Hong Kong and another one in Sydney as was working on one of their liners on that run. Never seen or heard from him since . Cheers JS.

[john mc dermott]

I was able to join at 15and a half through the official shipping federation channels in 1965.

[Steve Colclough]

#6 A mate of mine he was under 20 when he passed for 2 mate , just by a couple of months but had to get special permission to sit for second mate. He passed the same time as me but the certificate was not issued till he was 20. Mine the same thing happened to me even though I was 20 so just sailed on the issued receipt for the certificate called the Pink Slip. May of been my fault as wasn’t around for very long , but think the certificate was stamped with the date you received from the mercantile marine office and not the date on passing the exam. At that time both of us were fixed to go with Butterfield and Swires as they supplied you with a free sextant . However I backed out as had just met the wife in 1957 and don’t think she would have hung around while I was sporting myself in Hong Kong for two years. I have asked a couple of times if anyone knew this friend who did grab the free sextant , his name was Leo McGowan from South Gosforth, the next time I saw him was when he got his masters in the UK in the early 60s he was only 24 then.He was sailing with cert. of rank as second mate with a seconds mates ticket and got extra reduction of sea time for that, his mates he took in Hong Kong. At the time we remet in Newcastle he had an apartment in Hong Kong and another one in Sydney as was working on one of their liners on that run. Never seen or heard from him since . Cheers JS.

I got my second mates in 1982 (March) having joined as deck cadet in 1978 (Sept) it’s a long time ago but the two things I remember were most of the course were about 18 at the start of their Cadetship and if you passed your second mates you needed 24 months actual see time to hold it? It also took 12 months at Nautical College so with leave etc it was about 4 years all in. Not sure how young you could start a Cadetship but you needed 5 O levels so I got mine at 16 1/2 I think??? Can’t remember any 16 or 17 year olds on the course 👍

[j.sabourn]

Most people of my era didn’t have O levels. When I had passed for second mates, like most younger ones of the day wondered what all the hard work re studying was the use of ashore. Myself applied to a teachers training College more out of interest than anything else. The reply I got back was they would accept a second mates certificate as the equivalent of 2 O levels, very kind of them I am sure. Cheers JS