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Thread: DHU Duffy

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    Default DHU Duffy

    I was one of only a very few DHUs that I met during my sea time. I broke up with my wife and was fortunate to have an uncle who was the branch secretary of the N.U.S . Three days later I joined the Port Hobart in the K.G.V docks in London. We coasted around UK discharging before signing deep sea articles and set out for New Zealand. We went out via the Panama canal ,crossing the Pacific ( as is usual ) to N.Z.,spending several weeks on the coast , extremely enjoyable back in those days. And returned via the Suez and Med . A virtual round the world trip for a first time seaman . It was very enjoyable, but at times hard because of my non experience

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    Default Re: DHU Duffy

    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Duffy View Post
    I was one of only a very few DHUs that I met during my sea time. I broke up with my wife and was fortunate to have an uncle who was the branch secretary of the N.U.S . Three days later I joined the Port Hobart in the K.G.V docks in London. We coasted around UK discharging before signing deep sea articles and set out for New Zealand. We went out via the Panama canal ,crossing the Pacific ( as is usual ) to N.Z.,spending several weeks on the coast , extremely enjoyable back in those days. And returned via the Suez and Med . A virtual round the world trip for a first time seaman . It was very enjoyable, but at times hard because of my non experience
    DHU was a hard place to be .....recall a great guy DHU who was hounded by the deck crew .....because he was paid not much less than a AB ......it was his good luck in my view ...but he sure had a hard time....he was ex RN submariner ......cappy

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    Default Re: DHU Duffy

    Must confess, i resented the rank of DSU, when i was an SOS, and having to have completed 18 months seatime to be an SOS, and a DHU came strait to sea on much more money. On the ship i was on a DHU could not work aloft, but a SOS could. But all that a lifetime ago Bill, but relive some of those magical times, and welcome to the site. kt
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    Default Re: DHU Duffy

    To my memories the DHU rating was brought out for ex national servicemen who were in their 20s and hardly boys anymore. It was there specifically there for the monetary increase for a probable married man. As to the manning of a ship at the time it had no legal status . The manning of a ship or the minimum manning required always for the deck referred to so many ABs , an AB could be made up of so many Ordinary or senior ordinary seamen and deck boys. The DHU counted for nothing originally , what it did later or today if still going ,don’t know. Like all systems it could be abused , and have also seen this done. JS
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    Default Re: DHU Duffy

    An old Thread here worth looking at !
    Cheers

    D.h.u. (merchant-navy.net)
    Senior Site Moderator-Member and Friend of this Website

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    Default Re: DHU Duffy

    Well I started out going to sea as a galley boy and after twelve months on the RFA Warden Tug decided that I could not hack catering and left the sea but was only on paper discharges so even though I paid my union fees was not registered with a discharge book. After being ashore for a while found out that there was a chance to get back to sea as a DHU which I grabbed with open arms. Yes there was resentment from mainly sos and jos crew and could fully understand their point of view but at the same time think that they enjoyed having someone to whinge about. Did mainly home trade for a while because my logic was to learn as quick as possible how to work on deck. Spent many more years as EDH and had no intention of going for my AB ticket. That to me was because I had never started out as a deck boy and worked my way up. So yes there was a stigma attached to being a DHU but nearly all I sailed with accepted me as someone capable of doing their work on deck. Can not ever recall not being allowed aloft or anywhere else why a DHU and still thankful to all that welcomed me as part of the crew even the sos and jos came round in the end lol. Maybe because I lived and still do with out any tickets hanging of me just what you see is what you get
    That's the way the mop flops.

    My thanks to Brian for this site.

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    Default Re: DHU Duffy

    Guys what is a DHU, I sailed mostly with GP crew and never heard the term.

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    Default Re: DHU Duffy

    Its a Deck Hand Uncertificated, i only served with the one guy, as posted previous, so i don't think there can have been many of them, but then there are not many of any MN seamen now it seems, kt
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    Default Re: DHU Duffy

    It was a British rating, Britain at one time all its merchant seamen were I would say the only ones who were graded. The ratings from the top were AB, EDH, SOS , JOS, Deck Boy . Apart from Deck Boy they all required recognised seatime. Most foreign vessels adult seamen would just sign on as sailor. Or the equivilant name in their own language. The above is of days of yore today , and yet they are only yesterday to most of us. Cheers JS
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    Default Re: DHU Duffy

    as i believe i posted before, i was SOS on the Baltic Trader, sailing from Hamburg to the Med, Hamburg was home port, i was on this ship for 15 months, young lady causing the resigning on after each 6 months, i decided to pay off as i had more than enough sea time to sit my EDH, the skipper said if i stayed he would sign me on as Sailor, almost AB money, which i did . Eventually after some months later signed off took my ticket, but by this time had enough time in to go straight to AB, so never did have EDH.
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