Orient Line

[Leslie Gray]

I was in the Orcades June 1955 to March 1956.Served as Oiler,Orient Lines Rating of Fireman.Anybody else out there who served at the time.:rolleyes

[Richard Quartermaine]

Thanks Leslie for getting me to Suva, Fiji. I left the Merchant Navy in 1953 and went to Toronto, Canada. I decided in 1955 to go home to Sydney and after delivering a Ford convertible from Detroit to Los Angeles took the train to San Francisco. My sister was living in Lautoka, Fiji so I had a ticket on the Orcades from Frisco to Suva, Fiji via Honolulu in November 1955.
Here is a picture of the Orcades with my sister Yvonne and you were either on it or ashore in Suva when it was taken.
It was a great trip. I had been to Suva the year before as Skipper's Tiger on the SS Gothic.
This is a great website and we look forward to hearing about your trips.

By the way, I see you are from Lincolnshire. I married my Margaret in 1957 and in 1959 took on a job in Suva. We were there until 1968 and the godparents of our daughter and son were British Civil Servants (Fiji was then a Crown Colony). They are George and Jesse Smith and whilst George passed away some years ago, Jessie is a bright 90 year young living in Lincoln and we are constantly in touch on the Net.

All the best.
Richard Q

[Bill Reith]

Hi Leslie
I was on the ORCADES 5/11/54--14/3/55. My discharge book has me down as an engineers messroom steward-not the best job on the ship,but hey Iwas still seeing the world!!
If my memory serves me right,that was when she did her first Pacific Cruise to Fiji,Honolulu,SanFrancisco etc, Werent we the lucky ones !
Allthe best.
Bill Reith

[Leslie Gray]

Hi Richard.Nice to hear from you,and yes it was a good trip. we were on a World Cruise,that took us four months to complete.I am now living in Scunthorpe.Lincs.so I am only about 25 miles from Linoln.After the Orcades I was mostly in Tankers,but left the MN in 1958 to get married,and then work ashore.All the Best.Les Gray.R540311.

[Bill Reith]

Hi Lesley,
I did one trip on the " ORCADES' 5/11/54-14/3/55. My discharge book lists me as an engineers messroom steward-not the best job on the ship!! If my memory serves me right, that was when the ship did her first Pacific Cruise to Fiji-Honolulu-San Francisco and Vancouver-weren,t we the lucky ones!!!
All the best.
Bill Reith

[Leslie Gray]

Hi Bill.As you say we were certainly the lucky ones.That was one wonderful trip,and I got ashore in just about all of ports of call.We had o great time in San Francisco,I managed to be in a restaurant there,and was sitting just a table away from Jane Mansfield,she was quite a star at the time.It looked as if we were going to be a bit late back on board after that,and a local police officer gave my mate and myself a lift back in his police car,but I couldn't get him to put the siren on.All the Best.R540311.Les.

[Stuart Henderson]

Hi Bill.As you say we were certainly the lucky ones.That was one wonderful trip,and I got ashore in just about all of ports of call.We had o great time in San Francisco,I managed to be in a restaurant there,and was sitting just a table away from Jane Mansfield,she was quite a star at the time.It looked as if we were going to be a bit late back on board after that,and a local police officer gave my mate and myself a lift back in his police car,but I couldn't get him to put the siren on.All the Best.R540311.Les.

Hi Leslie,
When I read your entry jumped up and checked my list of ships sailed on as I sailed on Orcades in the fifties as 1st class waiter I see. It was a Meddie cruise I recall but see the dates were April to june 1954 so a bit earlier. In those days I was mostly doing one trip one ship to see the world which I did and stayed at sea thirty years.
Stuart H

[Leslie Gray]

Hi Stuart.When I joined Orcades in June 55,it was for aMed. cruise,but when I found out that the next one was to be a World cruise I couldn't resist the chance,and it turned out to be a great trip.All the Best.Les.

[Stuart Henderson]

Hi Stuart.When I joined Orcades in June 55,it was for aMed. cruise,but when I found out that the next one was to be a World cruise I couldn't resist the chance,and it turned out to be a great trip.All the Best.Les.

Great to hear Les, thats what its all bout. Memories of great times.
Best wishes
Stuart H