Far East Odyssey

[John Pruden]

rob here in Liverpool bf was always known as the welsh navy lots of welsh men sailed with the company? clan sounds a scotish word I don't know I never heard of the scotish navy?jp cappy have you been outed?jp

[j.sabourn]

Cappy says he was in the Geordie Navy. He was shanghaid one night from the Ferry Boat Inn when doing his rounds. JS

[cappy]

Cappy says he was in the Geordie Navy. He was shanghaid one night from the Ferry Boat Inn when doing his rounds. JS

yes john your right there the .......woke up next morning with a bad head no wallet .........astrange tingle in me whotsit and a woman with a wooden leg next to me .....on the other side of her was an engineer called job or bob or something like that ...he said he was only polishing her leg ......funny how people have different names for it......but there you are .....

[dugie mc nab]

I had experience of a seaman's strike in the 50's when I was second mate coasting a Bluie from Liverpool to Glasgow.
The Company rounded up a number of former bosuns and lamptrimmers who were out to pasture and they were the deck crew. It was pandemonium down aft!!!!! No one would take orders from anyone else - "Put on the stopper, Bert!!!" Bert wouldn't because he was a bosun and the man at the drumhead on the rope was a lamptrimmer.
However we made it eventually.
Dugie

- - - Updated - - -

Modern medicine seems to have cured the Channels these days - seamen don't seem to get them any more - but maybe they are not seamen!!! (we old have beens are prejudiced always talking about what WE did and how we did it!!!)
Dugie

[Ivan Cloherty]

- - - Updated - - -

Modern medicine seems to have cured the Channels these days - seamen don't seem to get them any more - but maybe they are not seamen!!! (we old have beens are prejudiced always talking about what WE did and how we did it!!!)
Dugie

I don't think the modern seaman has a notion what the 'Channels' are Dugie, they don't have to sign 24 month Articles like we did and after a long time away if you docked in Rotterdam and not the UK, the company was still entitled to keep you aboard and send you out again without the chance of a pay-off, what was the reverse of 'The Channels' when you saw Lands End disappearing over the horizon having been so near yet so far.

We talk about our past because we had a lot more seamanlike duties, anything from 10 to 24 sticks to rig and maintain, plus a couple of jumbos, hatch tarps to repair, lifeboat covers to make, winch and reel covers to make, vent covers to make, dunnage to lay, spar ceiling to rig and unrig depending on cargo, ropes to splice, wires to splice, logs to stream, lead line soundings to take, and then the chipping and painting, stages to rig, jacobs ladders to climb, vents to trim in atrocious weather conditions, the owners didn't have to provide gyms to keep us fit, work made us some of the fittest and strongest around lb for lb (or kg for kg if you're modern), we never had chance to accumulate a beer belly, all the beer we supped was soon worked off, and being on smaller ships by today's standards we were bounced around a lot more keeping us on our toes and stabilisers were things that kids had on their bikes. We were seamen, even though some bosuns would tell us we'd never be a seaman as long as we a hole in our a+se

[Trader]

LOU leading seamen in bf... they were company men some stayed on the same ship for years and when finished with deep sea went to the shore gang it was sort of a job for life thing? bf was called the welsh navy pity they never moved with the times?jp

On my first Blue Funnel ship the "Bellerophon" out of 17 on deck 10 were from North Wales including the Bosun. 6 of those were called "Jones"---John, Tegwyn, Hughie, Theo, Glynn and Dai. The rest were Merseysiders and I was the only Mancunian.

As I said in a previous post I never came across Leading Seaman, a lot of them were contract men which meant they got a months pay around Christmas. I was only there 4 years so I didn't qualify for a contract, I forget how many years you had to do before you got a contract. Most of them were Welsh speaking but never spoke it when there were non-Welsh speakers in their company.

Alec.

[Captain Kong]

Hi Alec,
There were no Leading Seamen on the Euryades, just six ABs and Three OSs, a Lampy and a Bosun.
But when I joined the Melampus for the Maiden Voyage in June/July 1960 they had a crowd of ABs OS and then three Leading Seamen, they were the day workers.plus Lampy and Bosun.
All company Welsh men of course. They thought they were Senior to ABs. glad I walked off didnt fancy doing four months with them.
Cheers
Brian.

[Red Lead Ted]

What a fantastic poem Dugald, brings back a lot of memories of a Blu Flu voyage like that.
Enjoyed it.
Thanks for that.
Brian

Brian, Are you on the magic roundabout again Whose {DUGALD}

---------- Post added at 10:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:25 PM ----------

BRILLIANT, Piece of literature Dug Terry.

[Captain Kong]

Are you on the magic roundabout again ? Terry.
.
Hi Terry Sometimes I think I must be on the Magic Mushrooms.
Cheers
Brian