Where were you on your 21st Birthday?

[Steve Kelly]

We docked at New Westminster, British Columbia at lunchtime on my 21st. Went ashore with a couple of mates only to discover that Canada was ’dry’ on Sunday. Ended up in the Bacchus Steakhouse - they were very accommodating - we ordered our steaks and started drinking beer and wine. The food eventually arrived after a couple of hours. Brilliant party!
SK

[Noel Guina]

I was sparks on a BI cargo ship SS Ormara and we steaned into Colombo harbour. Went ashore to the GOH and had a few. Pretty tame really. Noel G.

[Phillip Loades]

My 21st birthday was on the Overseas Ambassador, I was a junior engineer, and we were crossing the Mediterranean from dry dock in Malta to Ras - es - Sider in Libya.....I was given the afternoon 4-8 watch off....And had to buy everyone a drink in the bar......Oh to do it all over again......

[Peter Thomson]

Had my 21st sweating it out in the Bonny River in NIgeria on a Shell 'H' Boat (Harvella). The old man claimed he was the son of Captain DOve of the Africa Shell that was captured by the Graf Spee during the war and immortalised in the movie.

[Harvey Stanger]

Spent my 21st in dry dock North Shields. As I lived locally, smuggled a case of beer ashore for few drinks with friends. Pretty tame, but it passed the time.

[Ken Atkinson]

In contrast to all those drunken 21st Birthdays-

It was said that from the Persian Gulf the “Shatt-al Arab waterway is the arsehole of the world and that Basra is one hundred miles up it”. Fifty miles further up is the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers reputed to be the location of the “Garden of Eden”. With a lack of air-conditioning or breeze from the ship’s progress we had a choice between sleeping on deck and being bitten by bugs or resting in your cabin with a towel on the pillow to soak up the sweat. The grain cargo had been covered with planks to restrict it from shifting and as we removed them, they were piled on the deck. The local marsh Arabs approached in their boats to ask for some of the dunnage which we dropped in the river so they could build their huts. I went into town once but there were few cars and little to interest as it was still quite primitive.
On completion of discharge, we moved downriver the Iraqi pilot descending the starboard side while the Iranian ascended the port. We then moored alongside the bunkering berth at Abadan on the Iranian side of the Shatt-al-Arab. From here we could see the traffic of a vibrant city embracing the West compared to Basra. Here I saw the bloated body of a child floating past and while reporting the sight the local authorities thought it of little interest as life was cheap. Near the mouth of the waterway was a ramp with several hovercraft. On each side for about one hundred yards were crops, trees and houses and beyond that desert.

Once again, we dropped down to Australia celebrating my twenty first with soft drinks as we had emptied the bond by this time. Australia to load grain for Alexandria in Egypt taking the long way round as the Suez Canal was closed.

[Richard Winchester]

We were at anchor off Istanbul the old man stood my morning watch and 2/O and mate my night watch

[Mark Sewell]

You were lucky frank; I had just emigrated to New Zealand and was working for NZ shipping and was going to get married when i got called up for national service but they let me off evidently at 21 I was to old, "Lucky me I got married". I would have been better off in the army or better still staying at sea. 12 months later she cleaned me out and shot through. Happy 21st Mark.

[Martin Dalziel]

My 21st was spent at The British Club in Bahrain. I was on my first trip as a Junior Eng onboard MV Baluchistan a cargo/passenger boat with Strick Line, and we were tramping around Gulf ports dropping off our UK cargo. The 2nd Eng gave me and other Junior the day off to celebrate and we had a great day drinking beer and cooling off around the pool (it was summer and 40+) along with two deck cadets and 3rd mate. Happy days!

[Terry Calpin]

Left the Merchant Navy (dont ask my why) so had to go in the Army for my National service, in the West Yorkshire regment, got caught up in the Suez crisis in 1956, only two of us had our 21st birthday there, Me and a Lieutant
Moorhouse, but sadly he was killed. I never got a party. Terry Calpin York.