Winchester Castle grounding February 1936

[Errol Chandler]

Try thye E-Mail address given on the message the guy there may have details , or try Kew Records office , some guys here have access on subscription to some of the find my past stuff , I dont , otherwise it is pay for the credits there and take a plunge

I have done all that (some months ago) but the only record they have is a seaman's ID document issued on 16 December 1918, that ran through to October 1921 and lists 6 Union Castle vessels.
I paid for and have a copy of it. It is numbered 383619.
It is that of the person I am wanting details of.....the photograph confirms that.... although the name is given as Basil Clement Leeke LEARY-CHANDLER, but what puzzles me is the lack of anything at all after 1921.

His birth certificate is Clement Leslie CHANDLER.
All those extra names are a mystery....but I have established from various lines of enquiry that LEARY and CLEMENT are names that feature in his background decades before he was born.

He seems to have disappeared altogether from late 1921 and the only tentative clue is the name of the First officer on the Winchester Castle when it ran aground on February 16 1936.
I know he served on the Winchester Castle as a deck officer...my mother met him on that ship and their first child, my oldest brother, is named Chester as a result.
They married in February 1935, in East London, South Africa.
Chester was born in East London in December 1935 and so far as I was aware my father left the sea before the marriage and settled in East London where they had 6 children including me!
But now CHANDLER crops up as 1st Officer of the Winchester Castle as a witness at the Board of Inquiry in May 1936 into the grounding earlier that year, on February 16th 1936.

I just think the coincidence is too great and wonder what the truth is.....did my father continue at sea after marrying my mother?
If so why is there no seaman's ID document for him, even under any of the combinations of names he seems to have used?
No living relative has any answers to this.....but I firmly believe records must exist somewhere.

[Doc Vernon]

Hi Errol
A hard task ahead for you i know,however as he may have been at Sea in 1937 (this is just guesswork) have you looked at the Winchester Castle Entry at the NA Kew!
This is the Crew and Agreements for that time!

162489

1162489

1930

WINCHESTER CASTLE

20109

V1930

#772

Union-Castle Mail SS Co Ltd

If he was still at Sea and on the Winchester then the records will show that!
As said just a guess and hope it may just help!
Cheers

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[happy daze john in oz]

Rob you are correct, yes he was not exactly a bundle of laughs. Harold was his name if I recall correctly, and I know he went from Cheif officer to Master, not sure abour last commadore but could have been. He was at the best an oddity and yes all for the rules and regulations. Had me logged for returning to the ship late. Told him not my fault, all to do with a pair of frilly knickers and a bottle of Brandy, but he would not listen.

[robpage]

Mike Line put up a Thread under "Bridge Tours " last October , it seems that Chuckles found a sense of humour in his old age , worth reading John !

[Michael Selby]

I sailed in the Winchester Castle from 1959 - 1960 which was the end of her sea life. I took her to the breakers in Japan in October/November 1960. A fine and happy ship. Sad to see her go out of the Mail Service.
She was replaced by the Windsor Castle.

I am afraid I cannot help you with the grounding in February 1936, as this was just before my time.

Any further questions about her later voyages to the Cape, I'll be happy to help if possible.

[Chris Isaac]

John I cannot find teh thread but did you not put a story up about Chuckles Charnley and an incident over an Engineer with a Bush Baby . I also think someone else put up a Thread about him . I think he went on to be master of the Windsor and possibly the last Fleet Commadore wioth UCL , I sailed with him on the Pendennis , and Chuckles was not meant as a compliment , think his name was Harold , but that is a hazey memory . I think he was a bit of a stickler for observing company rules , even the petty ones .

I always found Capt Harold Charnley a very amiable man.
I sailed with him on Constance Bowater, Roslin Castle, Pendennis Castle and Windsor Castle.
I think the reason for us getting on well was because I used to play golf with him when time allowed.
He was the last Commodore of the fleet.
After retirement he lived in Durban and died by his own hand.

[robpage]

I always found Capt Harold Charnley a very amiable man.
.
After retirement he lived in Durban and died by his own hand.

that is really sad to hear , I have problems understanding how desperate soemone can be to do that , and wonder how in this modern world life can become so hard . I had upmost respect for him as a Captain , and te Pendennis was a very happy and sociable ship to be on .

[Hugh]

Errol,

"Can anyone give me information or a lead to finding out the full name of 1st Office CHANDLER ?"

The Chief Officer aboard WINCHESTER CASTLE was Arthur William Chandler who was on his first voyage on the ship. If you wish to check the crew agreements for 1936 they are held at the Maritime History Archives in Canada.
The official logbook for 1936 also survives. Details: Crew List Index Search Results

Regards
Hugh

[happy daze john in oz]

I had heard of huis demise some time back. From the comments here I can only assume h emellowed over time. My recolections of him as cheif officer on the Windsor around 1962/3 was a man with little or no humor and not too popular with the bosun or junior deck officers. But I do belive he was a good cheif and did his job very well.
I do not know the full stoty but at that time a Bob rae was officers stewrad in charge and he had a particualy close relationship with Charnley. Bob was gay but unles you knew you would never have known.

[robpage]

We were in Cape Town on Christmas day in 1971 and Captin Charnley invited all the officers to his cabin for a drink to celebrate Christmas , you got A drink . I expect he was instillng sober ways into the engineers at th time , we got ONE drink . I am sure that will amuse many non engineers ex the Lavender Hull mob , One Drink !!! I had a Christmas on Clan McTavish in 1967 and the Captain & Chief Engineer had a great demarkation , the Scottish guys got extra Christmas watches , the Sassenachs got extra New Year watches . It worked well , the Captain was Dereck DeFranca-Hedges and the Chief Engineer Peter Willson , we got a single Christmas drink off the Chief , a Half pint glass 50/50 Drambuie and Johnny Walker Black Label , you only needed one of those , it was the Chief's favorite , A Drambuie Shandy . The watches worked that we all did 6 on 6 off to accomadate the guys ether side of Hadrian's Wall