Christmas away.

[Frederick Lacey]

Now that Christmas is here, I got to thinking about the Christmases I spent away at sea, but for the life of me
I can't remember any of them, probably because being in catering I was to busy making sure other crew and
passengers were getting themselves stuffed with food and booze to remember everything, had a look at my
discharge book to try and reactivate the little grey cells.
Joined Gravesend Sea School, 28-12-1949, so must have had New Year there.
Christmas 1950. on "Port Victor" Fgn.
1951. on "Port Adelaide" Fgn,
1952. on "Port Adelaide" Fgn.
1953. on "Port Napier" Fgn.
1954. on "Port Macquarie. Ht.
1955. on "Port Napier" Fgn.
1956. on Beaverglen" Fgn.
1957. on "Beaverdell" Fgn.
1958. on "Beaverdell" Fgn.
1959. at home left after 10years.

Strange, lots of memories but Christmas time seems a no no, and I wasn't blotto either.

Fred.
R525985.

[Captain Kong]

This is one Christmas I remember, 1956, homeward bound from Australia calling in at Dunkirk in froggy france, from my story of a voyage of the `Dunedin Star` in Seafaring stories page 24.
...........
We sailed then for Dunkirk and into a cold weather and storms across the Bay of Biscay, mooring in Dunkirk in a blizzard two days before Christmas Eve ………………….………………….....
.I forgot to mention of when we left Melbourne for homeward bound.
A young Fireman, George Jones of Liverpool had a brother Jimmy living in Melbourne and on leaving he said he wanted to go back to Liverpool so George stowed him away.
We found out a couple of days later when I went to Georges cabin and found Jimmy.
At first it was OK then when it became time for the weekly accommodation inspections when the Captain, Chief Steward, Chief Engineer came around, it was a work of art shuffling Jimmy around so he wasn’t seen, from one cabin to another and in one locker to another.
One night Jimmy had a seizure and collapsed on the deck in George`s cabin, he was shaking violently then fell quiet, we thought he had died.
He eventually recovered and told George he was epileptic. George went mad over this, he said he would never have stowed him away if he had known. We even discussed what we would do if Jimmy died during one of these fits, we decided we wouldn’t call the Captain but just slide Jimmy over the wall into the sea and say nothing.
Jimmy was beginning to be quite a nuisance and giving George a lot of stress, five or six weeks of this is a long time to hide someone.
In Dunkirk on Christmas Eve, Jimmy borrowed money off George and went ashore, got quite legless, fell out of a bar and discovered a hole in the road with workmen’s` tools and a wheelbarrow, he got the wheelbarrow full of tools and was galloping all over Dunkirk with it before the Gendarmes lifted him and locked him up. George on hearing this had to hide for two days as he was supposed to be in gaol, so he had a lousy Christmas.
The Police notified the Captain that one of his men, Jones, was in gaol and so on Boxing Day he went to the gaol and paid the fine and took Jimmy, the Stowaway, back to the ship. The Captain thinking Jimmy was George logged him two days pay for being adrift and then charged him the return taxi fare and the fine off the Police. It cost George half a month’s wages, George was going demented over his stupid brother.
He was becoming ill over his behaviour.
When the ship arrived in Hull just before New Year, George got a sub for Jimmy’s train fare to Liverpool and got rid of him. Then George who was really looking quite bad asked the Captain if he could see a doctor, the captain said `No, you just want to go home for the New Year instead of going to London, the final port of discharge as per articles`.
On New Years Eve George collapsed in his cabin, we told the Captain and I went ashore to a phone box and called for an ambulance. They came and took him to hospital.
Three weeks later I was in Liverpool and I bumped into Jimmy, “How’s your George” I asked. Jimmy replied, “He died on New Years day in the hospital”.
George was 22 years old. If he had seen a doctor when he wanted one, would he have still been alive? Very sad, after five months George went home in a coffin.
I digress.
……………..
We went ashore in Dunkirk, two days before Christmas, it was freezing and deep in snow. We were drinking in Yvette’s bar and got friends with a couple of American seamen, one called Frisco who was a little guy and the other was a big fat slob called Boston.
They were throwing their money around like confetti and as long as they kept on paying Tom and I kept on drinking, a very good arrangement we thought.
We were drinking and dancing with Yvette’s` girls on Xmas Eve and Yvette said that if we brought a couple of turkeys on Xmas Day when the bar was closed we would have a big party there with free booze.
We said we would bring Frisco and Boston, as they were the biggest turkeys that we knew.
Later on as we were all getting bevied, Frisco was shouting that he wanted to go to midnight mass at Dunkirk Cathedral.
So we carried on drinking and at 4 am on Christmas Day we all decided to go to Midnight Mass. Frisco got a very large sombrero off the wall in the bar, put it on his head and staggered out into the snow, he looked like a drunken mushroom. It was freezing and snowing and the four of us were staggering up the road and we had to call in a couple of bars to warm up and then we came to the Louis XIV Club and Boston went in and the doorman threw him out, he went in again shouting, "I am a United States Citizen ya gotta let me in, these other bums are Limies keep `em out". The doorman threw him out again.
Boston screamed "I could have got in there but for you Limy bums" so with that I thumped him and we were rolling about in the snow and I was sat on his chest battering him when he shouted " I surrender". I let him get up and said " Us Limy bums don’t like being insulted, don’t do it again". We staggered on through the snow towards the cathedral.
We got there for Midnight Mass at six a.m. just as the service was about to start.
At the entrance was a font with the holy water in and another font with money in and Frisco grabbed a handful of money and blessed himself with it and Tom twisted his arm and made him put it back.
We sat at the back of the cathedral, I whispered to Frisco, " Take that stupid sombrero off your head" " Hell no," he shouted, " Some one might steal it".
The Bishop was speaking in Latin through a microphone. Frisco stood up and started walking down the aisle to the front, still wearing the big sombrero, " Hey shout up will ya, we can’t hear what you’re talking about at the back”.
With that I said `come on Tom let’s get out of here`.
We just got outside when we were followed by Frisco and Boston being thrown out by half a dozen Frenchmen. Frisco was shouting, " I’ve been thrown out of better places than this."
We staggered on through the snow to the dock.
We arrived at the American ship, the `HOWARD T ANDREWS` a Liberty ship and Frisco invited us on board for breakfast. In the mess room Boston introduced us to the American sailors as two Limy bums that they had found, I was going to thump him again when I could smell the breakfast in the galley.
A big black mess man towered over me, " Wadda ya want, eggs, two, four, six? easy over, sunnyside up or what. ham ?, two, four, six, or what.?
" Err six of everything please " Tom and I said.
We got six eggs, six huge slices of ham with fries, tomatoes beans and toast. the biggest breakfast I had ever seen.
After breakfast Tom and I left and said we would see them in Yvette’s bar later in the day with our turkeys.
We got aboard the Dunedin Star and the sailors were just getting their breakfast of one egg and one thin slice of bacon, we gave ours to the lads.
The Galley boy came into the mess room so Tom said to him “ Get us a couple of Turkeys this afternoon" the Boy replied there was only one turkey on board and that was for the Officers Xmas dinner.
" What no turkey for the sailors?" so he said there is a chicken for the sailors. " It must be a bloody big chicken to feed all the sailors,” I said. " Get us that one then "
" I can’t " said the Galley boy. Tom said "Just leave it by the port in the galley and leave the rest to us. "
We got our heads down until 1pm and got ready to go ashore, we walked past the galley port and there was a small chicken on a plate. I leaned through and passed the chicken to Tom who wrapped it in a paper and we ran down the gangway and up the road to Yvette’s bar.
We were sat there with a drink when Boston and Frisco came in with two large cooked turkeys. Boston sat down with us and said " Where’s ya turkeys Limies"? I pointed to the newspaper with the chicken in. " Well goddamn, a few scraps for the dog " and then he threw it on the floor and Yvette’s Alsatian dog dived on it and scoffed the lot.
I jumped up and said " You fat Yankee ba*tard" and was going to thump him again when Yvette jumped in between. It’s OK there is plenty of turkey for us all and the drinks are on the house, and all the girls are yours for free.
Well we had a great party with the girls all night and two days later we got back to the ship.
The Captain had Tom and I on the bridge to be logged for being adrift for two days. We were fined two days pay and forfeit two days pay, then we were questioned about a missing chicken, we said we had never tasted chicken for months, we hadn’t, but Yvette’s dog had.
The bastards, the ship had 15,000 tons of meat from Australia on board and we were starving. they could have bought dozens of chickens with the four days wages each they had taken off us.
The following day we sailed for Hull........................... for New Year....................
Cheers
Brian.

[cappy]

scrooge

[Keith Tindell]

totally agree Leratty, bloody glad its over. On another post the guys were saying the officers served the crew dinner!!, can honestly say it never happened to me, skipper dishing out a tot was the best we got. KT

[cappy]

me niether kt ....cappy

[Captain Kong]

I only saw that once and that was on the EMPRESS OF FRANCE in St. John New Brunswick all hands in the passengers saloon.
every other ship it was just another work day.
In the Gulf States we had to wait until after we had sailed after Christmas down into the Indian Ocean go off the shipping lanes and then stop engines and then start the party, but Bridge watches still maintained.
Cheers
Brian.

[Des Taff Jenkins]

HI All.
Like many of you I don't recall Xmas at sea, the only one which I still have pictures of was in Antwerp while on the Harrison boat Harperly in 1952.
Cheers Des


redc.gif

[Doc Vernon]

As not very long at Sea only spent one Xmas on the Stirling Castle 1958 into 1959.
But must say one of the nicest Trips I had.
Lots of frivolity on Board and really a good spread put on for all passengers, and Crew.
Cheers

[j.sabourn]

The only real cheer got from a ship via a shipowner was on ships in the North Sea run by Harrisons of Glasgow. Received a bonus of 3 days pay for Xmas and 3 days pay at New year, if at sea. About the only genuine owners I saw in the offshore in Europe. Unfortuanetly did not have the business acumen to compete in that particular shipping market where it was survival of the fittest. The ships in particular were the Johnshaven, Sandhaven, Burnshaven. For those who like to find out ships history and their fate, believe these 3 were sold to North star an Aberdeen company which had mainly old converted trawlers for doing the same job. Originally built for Harrisons as straight supply vessels, to my mind were ideal for the latter job that was expected of them. JS