Soap issue while on board

[Doug Hardie]

I remember being issued with a cake of Carbolic and buttermilk soap every week while away deep sea. The soap was not the kindest to our delicate skin so most people used their personal supply.
I and several others used to save it up and used it to pay for Taxis & Garries in India and Pakistan. The taxi drivers were very happy with the kmarrangement as they must have had a good market for the goods.I think the average rate was 4 to 6 bars per fare. I am sure others would have used this system of barter in these days .
Doug

[Julian Norman]

I remember swapping a bar of soap for a huge tin of cashew nuts in Maputo (formerly Laurenco Marques) in Mozambique in 1977, but it was Lux soap.

[Tony Taylor]

I remember swapping a bar of soap for a huge tin of cashew nuts in Maputo (formerly Laurenco Marques) in Mozambique in 1977, but it was Lux soap.

that was a rare luxury, usually buttermilk soap.

[Tony Taylor]

In 1970, up the Pladju river in Indonesia, we got a very large brown paper bag of lychees for two bars of buttermilk soap, two bars of Sunlight dhoby soap got a big bucket of giant prawns. One AB got a leg over in a canoe for soap but am not sure how many bars. His audience (rest of crew) got a show for free.

[happy daze john in oz]

Buttermilk soap, what were you a bunch of whimps?
Good old carbolic was good enough.
But the best rate of exchange was in Las Palmas, any silver for smokes, tea pot for about 600.

[John Arton]

Bars of soap seems to have been a common currency in many places worldwide. Lux or Dove seemed to get the best exchange rate.
When paying off Indian crew it amazed me how much of their soap and tea issues they had managed to save up to fly home with along with boxes of rags filched from the rags from the ships rag supply.
Cannot recall ever getting carbolic soap onboard but always had blocks of hard yellow soap which we used to scrub our dungarees with to soften and fade them..
From cadet onwards always received two bars of soap at every linen change.
Rgds
J.A

[Graham Payne]

Best Soap onboard, was on the "Beaveroak" C.P Ships .
It was "Astral Cream"
The Ship smelled like a Brothel.

[Gordon Steel]

We had Lux soap plus soft Carbolocene on a deep sea coaster and the North Africans used to go daft for the lux soap and it was amazing what you could get for a couple of bars plus a blanket!!!!

[John Gill]

#8. Yes, it WAS amazing what you could get in N Africa.For an item of my bedding in Tripoli i ended up with a visit to Dr Ross's establishment in Canning Place

[happy daze john in oz]

#9, Oh yes the gifts came thick and fast in those days.
So generous some of the locals, give you things you never thought of, or heard of.