Discharge book converted to excel

[Ken Norton]

Suppose the route I took was regarded by some as going up the hawse pipe, (deck to engine) but as you have said John it matters not. the only thing that matters is capability of doing a good job with competence. There are always those that will scorn and thankfully there are always those that will appreciate. Perhaps though it is the hardest of routes, who knows.

[Ken Norton]

My great grandfather was a skipper on the "old windbags" went to sea at eleven and retired in his late sixtys. Wish we could have had a chat I think he could have told a tale or two. He told my grandmother that I was going to be a sailor, she never told me until after I went to sea as she did not want me to go. There you go.

[cappy]

###one thing i dont like but of course it was for all that generation .....the pensions they had or had not were worth nix ....my granda after a life at sea in sailing vessels and steamers ...had to go over to the north side of shields and take up firewatching on the venus the leda and another vessel they were norwegian mail boats fred olsen if i remember and .....he was then old and tired and coughing in the morning air on the ferry coming over to the south side till dizzy......at least a semblance of a pension is available today...they were hard times .....cappy

[Keith Tindell]

They were hard times, people moaning about the NHS, in those days if you were ill, pay for the Doctor, medication etc, that is where the old wives tales came from for home remedies, most of us born before 1948, would have meant charges for the parents when giving birth. Most villages had a women who would help in childbirth, untrained of course. The people of that generation just got on with it, kt

[cappy]

They were hard times, people moaning about the NHS, in those days if you were ill, pay for the Doctor, medication etc, that is where the old wives tales came from for home remedies, most of us born before 1948, would have meant charges for the parents when giving birth. Most villages had a women who would help in childbirth, untrained of course. The people of that generation just got on with it, kt

###keith that is interesting as pat had our ist child at her mums house ....it cost to go into hospital .....she was three days in labour ...jeez that was a worrying time for all concerned .........by the time we had the second one we made sure we got a private clinic ....of course most on the site will know my views ...today there are too many expecting now the cradle to grave benefits... and generations who have got away with paying nothing in ...just taking out .....at last that seems to be slowing down.......cappy

[j.sabourn]

#24... In 1948 I sat the grading exam or better known today as the 11 plus. I had no intention of even attempting to pass as knew my parents couldn’t afford the uniform and other bits and pieces. So was first out of the exam room after ticking ad lib the various boxes alongside questions. Austerity today and austerity then were two total different things. Most youngsters of that era and that part of the world I lived in then their futures were laid out for them , coal mines, shipyards, fishing fleets, or MN, or the many side industry’s leading from. What happened ? Today people talk about a different type of austerity, ours was repaying war debts. The uk had a bright future then what happened to it ? Everyone seems to get in debt and seems to be the accepted thing. Governments borrow billions on the strength of possible rises in the economy which is not going to happen as you no longer have industries to capitalise such, in the past couple of decades all I’ve seen is money going abroad out of the uk coffers. At least coming out of Europe will adjust the purse strings on those disbursement’s. Getting back into the Black is going to be a struggle all the way though once again , into the breach dear friends. JS

[Keith Tindell]

At that time we were all in the same boat, i remember the only time we had chicken was xmas dinner, chickens that Mum brought up from day old chicks, she sold all but one ,which was ours, now, most kids will only eat the breast of chicken !!!. We were not hard done by as a family, but we didn't have a car, tv etc, just a radio with an accumulator, which i had to take down to the garage from time to time to get charged. It wasn't a hard life, we were all the same, it was just that, life in the 40s, kt

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[Matt Lindsay]

Thank you John

[Des Taff Jenkins]

I was born in 1932 so saw in the depression, then the war and it's aftermath. but there was one thing that should have been done and that is Britain making hay out of winning for the second time in a generation a war against Germany that cost Britain dearly in lives, they should have, like the Russians taken all the factories ships and anything not nailed down back to Britain, never mind the bullshit that we are above that sort of thing, as now they are below everything. They are even subject to a German telling them what the can retrieve from the fiasco that is Brexit, Great Britain I think not.
Cheers Des

[j.sabourn]

#29 They made such a fuss for propoganda purposes during and after the war about the Norwegian leader Quisling. Methinks Britain had many quislings among its officials after the war, maybe they should also have gone to spec savers as an excuse for their extreme short sightedness. It has turned out today as a. Complete betrayal of what people fought and won for. Today there are not many left of that era on either side , if Britain can remember then so can the opposing sides which also has been passed on to the next generation. I see the whole lot of the Brexit issue as many on both sides remembering and many who want pay back time for losing. Should never have reached the levels it did. Those. Quislings that took us there will never have to answer for it. Who in their right mind would ever sign away even if only partially a countries self right to self govern itself. JS,,,