Royal Mail Lines - 1936 - Canary Islands

[Mark Davies]

Hello everyone. First of all, I myself have not served. My father went to see as an apprentice in 1949, for Royal Mail. Aboard the Asturias in '54 he contracted polio but survived after hospitalisation in Rio. In the late 50s, while serving on the Durango, he met a young girl travelling from her home town of Puerto de la Cruz in Tenerife to the UK. She spoke no English and was horribly seasick! My Dad kind of looked out for her. That girl was my Mum!
Anyway, I am an author and I am writing a book set in July 1936. Although it's a work of fiction, it is around actual events. I need to put my lead character on a ship from Tenerife (preferably) or Las Palmas, in the Canaries, to be taken back to the UK. I HAVE tried to web search but I'm not really having much luck. I'm looking for a ship that would have stopped in Tenerife (or Las Palmas). Rather than a passenger ship I'm looking for a cargo ship primarily but that would also take passengers, of course. It would have been nice to have used the Durango but she was built in 53 I believe. Basically, I suppose I'd like any help in tracking down similar vessels, just those that operated in 1936.
Any help, or suggestions of places I might look, would be very welcome.
Thank you.

[Doc Vernon]

Hello Mark
Welcome to the site!
The following Site has a list of various Ships,especially the UCL (Click on C in top list) mostly Passenger,but there are also those that were Cargo/Passenger Ships!
Of course there were other Companies that sailed those Routes as well!
Have a look through them! May keep you busy! LOL
Hope this may be of some help!
Good luck!
Cheers

Maritime Timetable Images - Archives

[Frederick Lacey]

Hi mark, this is some of what was happening in Tenerife in 1936.

Fred. http://www.kateharpleylibrary.net/b8gvcp

[cappy]

Hi mark, this is some of what was happening in Tenerife in 1936.

Fred. http://www.kateharpleylibrary.net/b8gvcp

theres nix coming on that site fred regards cappy

[Doc Vernon]

Now that page wont open Fred!?
Cheers

[Doc Vernon]

Kate Sharpley Library

Open this then go to Places then on to Canary Islands

[cappy]

hi mark wlcome aboard there are one or two older ones than me on the site who may be able to help ........one is a very old hand the the name j sabourn ......he is probably in his hammock now......he will be offline because he lives in oz .....he has been there since his sailing vessel got in difficulty before the 1st world war......it is said he was a cabin boy on noahs ark......i dont believe it but he could have been an apprentice on the same........if he gives you any good info send a bottle of rum to the site addressed to cappy ......he wont mind ........he may use terms like shiver me timbers and pass me spyglass ......if he mentions the apple barrel.......you should beat a hasty retreat .......happy xmas to you and him ........his old mate cappy

[Frederick Lacey]

Hi Doc, thanks for that, can't understand why the original didn't go through,
thought it might be interesting as to what was happening in Tenerife at that time,
am surprise that shipping didn't want to stay away from the area, Fred.

[Mark Davies]

Thanks a lot. Really. I know there will have been no end of other companies stopping off en route etc. I think I was just starting with RML on account of my Dad's connection.
I'm going to check out that site, see where it gets me.

[j.sabourn]

#7 Ref the Canarys, in 1936 would probably still have been a lot of coal burning ships around, so may of been also a coaling station , know a lot of ships call in for bunkers so probably have had a lot of ships frequently visiting. Would not have to be a regular runner. I am surprised cappy hasn't asked his parrot for more information. The story behind Treasure Island Robert Louis Stevenson went to him to Ghost write his novel, that's why Capt. Flint appears in the story so much as was really cappys parrot. During the period you mention most cargo vessels if they had spare accommodation could carry passengers up to 12 I believe without a passenger certificate and a doctor, a good example once again of this is cappy who travelled on various coal burning ships as a passenger.. Joking aside you can probably take any name of any ship or make one up that sounds right if you are writing a novel. As a matter of interest to us on site, wonder if there are any coal bunkering stations left in the world. All the best with your novel. JS PS Cappy signed on these coal burning vessels, he only thought he was a passenger, hence the first bosun he sailed with came out with the saying, where do you think you are, on your Daddies yacht. That saying is now immortal. Cheers JS