Anyone knows who penned this poem?

[David Beeston]

Passing Ships

The days of my youth have long since gone by,
But the memories flood back with a smile, or a sigh,
They speed through my mind like birds in full flight,
And they are all just like ships that pass in the night,

Some memories I have are like dreams in my sleep,
And I know forever those dreams I will keep.
They are all just like stars that are shining so bright,
But they are still just like ships that passed in the night,

I go back to the years when I first went to sea,
And I was so young, so happy so free,
I thought that this life for me was just right,
Now those years are like ships that pass in the night,

My first trip was a nightmare I did nothing but throw up,
But it taught me the speed that I had to grow up,
The ship tossed and rolled against the waves might,
With no help from the other ships that passed in the night,

But those years on the ships I soon learned to adore,
So many new places for me to explore.
There were big shoals of Dolphins what a wonderful sight,
Now they are all just like ships that pass in the night,

The lands that I visited I saw more and more,
Of man’s different cultures on a far distant shore,
But no matter how hard or desperate their plight,
We were just on a ship that passed in the night.

Any place in the world was our port of call,
In countries so great or ever so small,
No matter if black, no matter if white,
We were still just a ship that passed in the night,

Each ship that we joined we would soon make new friends,
Never to see them again when that voyage ends.
It was somehow accepted that it was so right,
That we were all ships that passed in the night,

But the best days of all, especially for me,
Were the days that we spent out there on the sea,
The hours spent alone looking out for a light,
So we could stay clear of that ship in the night.

Comrades ashore they go you forget,
But out there at sea I’ll never regret,
Now I’ll always remember my nautical friends,
And the adventures we shared, whatever life sends.
No truer words said can pass through my lips
I loved all those nights that passed on those ships.


Brings a lump to the throat.

[David Beeston]

THE LEGEND OF THE MILLION TONNE TANKER


A group of yards along the Tyne,
Decided they, would all combine,
To pool their skills, And then, perhaps,
United, they would beat the Japs.

The early Spring of '98,
Saw all these brains behind one gate,
By August, their endeavour's won,
A tanker of a million ton.

This order set the Tyne alight,
The future now looked very bright,
And so they booked the City Hall,
To hold a Celebration Ball.

The 'Ball' was quite a grand affair,
And everyone one of note was there,
And members of the working class,
Rubbed shoulders with the real top brass.

A merry night was had by all,
At Swan's Amalgamation ball,
But all good things must end, it's true,
And there was still, a big job to do.

Production soon got under way,
And the keel was laid by 'Guy Fawkes Day',
A mighty keel of six inch plate,
It stretched from Swan's to Walkergate

The 'Longy Butts' were ten feet high,
And made the toughest Caulkers cry,
And Platers worked within the sheds,
On 'Tie-Plates' big as Wing Bulkheads.

The Stagers all wore parachutes,
And rubber suckers on their boots,
One Counter, name of Bobby Corbett,
Fell off the mast - he's still in orbit!

The journey to the After-Peak,
Took all of half, a working week.
And though the workers had to hike,
Each Gaffer had a Motorbike.

The Centre-Tanks were such a height,
The Upper Decks were out of sight.
And up among the Beams and Struts,
Two helicopters, checked the Butts.

Inside the Bulbous-Bow one day,
Two Foremen Welders lost their way,
I must report with deep regret,
For all I know they're still there yet.

The human mind could scarcely grip,
The magnitude of this great ship.
This miracle of Tyneside skill,
Was, for the Japs, a bitter pill.

It wasn't just the Japanese,
That Swan and Hunter failed to please,
Before the Launching Celebrations,
The Town would need some alterations.

The Council sat in grim debate,
And hammered out the Township's fate.
They talked all day of sweat and toil,
At night, they burned the midnight oil.

Across the map, they drew a mark,
From Carrville Road to Wallsend Park,
The Drag-Chains from this giant ship,
Would run right through this fated strip.

The Mayor arose, and sad of voice,
Said "Gentlemen, we have no choice,
Though we all love our dear old Town,
We'll have to pull, half of it down."

The "Memorial", and the Masonic Hall,
And Woolworths too, will have to fall,
"The Ship", "The Penny Wet", as well,
And even "Simpson's Grand Hotel".

The morning sky, the sun was greeting,
When Wallsend Council, left their meeting,
The Civic Heads were bowed with fears,
And Civic cheeks were wet with tears.

But, hope forever, springs eternal,
For there in that same mornings "Journal",
Was news that gladdened every eye,
And, in the next verse, I will tell you why.

The news on pages one, and two,
Came like a bolt, out of the blue.
The ship built by, the great combine,
Was two feet wider, than the Tyne.

The Council all began to sing,
The Mayor danced, a Highland Fling,
And passers-by turned round to stare,
As Civic 'duts' tossed in the air.

The Councils' cup, of joy was full,
But elsewhere hopes were very dull.
The heads of 'Swan and Hunter Group',
Were well and truly in the soup.

The brains assembled in their lair,
Sir John himself was in the Chair,
"The problem, gentlemen", - I quote,
"Is how to get our ship afloat"

They sat all day, and made their plans,
And ended with, a show of hands.
Their scheme, though born, of desperation,
Resolved, a tricky situ-ation.

On Monday, June, the twenty - third,
The most amazing Launch occurred,
They turned the berth the other way,
And launched the ship at Whitley Bay

It thundered past the "Rising Sun",
This giant of, a million ton,
"High Farm Estate", and "Biggs's Main"
Will never be, the same again.

No Architect could ever cure,
The damage done, to Shiremoor,
And all agreed, it was a pity,
The Drag-Chains wrecked, the "Spanish City"

The backwash, from when it hit the sea,
Drowned fifty pigs at Peterlee,
The BBC reported panic,
When giant crabs invaded Alnwick.

At last the giant Super-Tanker,
In sixty fathoms, lay at anchor,
A massive structure painted grey.
Lay brooding over, Whitley Bay.

Three shifts of Fitters, toiled like slaves,
As this great monster rode the waves,
Completing in one busy year,
The engines, and, the steering gear.

The happy day arrived at last,
When, pennants flying from the mast,
The giant ship got under way,
And left the shore, off Whitley Bay.

But trouble, seemed to dog this ship,
For early on, her maiden trip,
She turned to Port, just off Penzance,
And dislocated half of France.

Chirac, who seemed, a trifle vexed,
To Blair, he said, "Whatever next?"
"Your ship has caused great complications,
I'm off to tell, the United Nations".

A block vote by the Bamboo Curtain,
And the Tankers fate, was sealed for certain,
In spite of Tony Blair's vain pleas,
They banned her from the seven seas.

Mid scenes of grief, and deep emotion,
They anchored her in, the Arctic Ocean,
And there, in that far Northern clime,
She's doing penance for her crime.

Though Politicians fought her case,
They couldn't save the tankers face.
In spite of all their flowery words,
She's now a sanctuary for the birds.

Out there, beneath the Arctic skies,
A part of France's Coastline lies,
And traces too, you can be sure,
Of Biggs's Main and Shiremoor.

[Don Rafferty]

This one maybe: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=v...igh%2C&f=false

[robpage]

Oceans Apart: The Journal of A Seaman
By Michael John Kenn

I believe he is an ex Gravesend man

[Captain Kong]

Hows this............................

THE LAP OF HONOUR. by Kong.
.
I went to the Vindi when I was a lad
where conditions were hard and the food was bad
but I walked through those gates as tall as a man
off to my first ship bound for Japan.
.
Now I have retired and saved up my cash
once more round the world I am going to dash.
To Mombasa and Java and out to Cathay
to see all my old girl friends once more on the way.
.
Mimi`s still waiting for me Ive been told
I would like to see her before she gets old.
then on to see Dedeh in Tanjong Patak
and fly on a jumbo to Hong Kongs Kai Tak.
.
I`ll go back to Tahiti down in the South Seas
to see my Wahini in the warm sunny breeze.
Then on to see Maggie in New Zealands Hawkes Bay
and have a beer in Ma Gleasons back on the way.
.
I will do a Lap of Honour round the Australian Coast
to see all the girls who loved me the most.
From Thursady Island round to Sydney and Perth
they were the loveliest girls on earth.

I`ll go and see Sheila and then Mary Lou
and call upon Sally in Wooloomooloo
Then go up to Townesville to see Mary O`Keefe
where we walked hand in hand by the Great Barrier Reef.
.
When I think of those nights by a blue lagoon
loving my girl beneath a tropical moon.
and those happy times we both shared.
My Mary is waiting for me, so Ive heard.
.
On then to Honolulu and then Frisco Bay.
Up to Vancouver and down to L.A.
I`ll jump on a Greyhound across to Hoboken
to see my Jenny whose heart I had broken.
.
In Manhattans Times Square and 42nd Street
there must be some girls left that I used to meet.
I would be sad if I looked around
and none of my girls where there to be found.
.
So off I will go to old Mexico
to see my Juanita down in Tampico.
then across to see Molly in Montego Bay
and go up the Blue Mountains where we used to play.
.
On then to Rio, Montevideo and B.A.
to May Sullivans Bar where I used to stay
there Rosita, Paquita and also Maria
on then to Santos and round to Bahia,
.
Then when I return home again
back to Boltons dark and dismal rain
all my memories will always stay
they are something that no one can take away
.
I will be thinking now that I will get a shock
on my memory trip to turn back the clock
things wont be the same time has move on
the young girls I once loved have grown old and are gone.
..
and now that I am coming to the end of my time.
I must get my memories down into Rhyme.
For when you are young life is all magic
but when you old life become tragic.
.
But there is still some life in this old dog yet
and more excitement for me to get
So I will be heading off into the sun
to have more adventures and plenty of fun.
.
And then one day when I am old and grey
my life used up and its time to pay
on my face will be a smile
I will just be a thinking, its all been worth while.
Brian Aspinall.

[cappy]

that was pretty good brian ......but it is a sad thought also ....my old mate who was a port line engineer always taks about going back to kiwi to see his 1st proper love who was 8 or 9 years 0lder than him ......she will be 91 now if she is still here ...when I remind him he gets really bleedin ratty......ps I remind him every week regards nice to be back aboard again regards cappy

[gray_marian]

Cappy glad to see you back!

Re #6 'bleedin ratty'.....priceless

[Keith at Tregenna]

Passing Ships

Brings a lump to the throat.

RE: Anyone knows who penned this poem?

taxi poet: (22 03 48 / Teesside) Lays a claim to it ?

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/passing-ships/

[Keith Tindell]

Most of the young ladies i met at sea were not suitable to take home and meet Mum, in fact the phrase most of them used was *f*** me for love, and give me money as a souvenir * KT

[robpage]

RE post 8 , Se post 43 , I believe that author is named there