I'm ex Royal Navy is that OK.

[exhausted]

Hello there
Joined mainly to help me keep up to date with postings about Everard ships and Sirron diesels.
I served my time in the RN as an Electrical CPO and spent time on the surface and under the sea and have helped to track and stalk many a merchant ship unknown to their master and crew. It was always interesting to listen to the propellor noise as some of them made their way across the oceans. Noisy old engines and broken or chipped props, other times pure and sweet. Only for excersise though you understand, sometimes we would track a ship for days.
My father was an old Royal Navy pre and wartime regular but after the war he joined the Newbury Diesel Co as a test engineer testing Sirron two stroke reversing diesels and the high speed four strokes. This company based at Newbury was a wholly owned subsidiary of FT Everard& sons shipping and recently I have been researching the Diesel Company for a historical website, hence my interest.
I haven't had much time to look through posts but hope to listen to the Mercahnt Navy even if I can't add much to the discussions.
Thanks guys (and gals)

[Hugh]

Hello and welcome,
You will fit in here all right - they welcomed me.

Enjoy the site.

Regards
Hugh ex RN

[Doc Vernon]

Hi (name please) as Hugh says you and all are Welcome here!



Hi
Would just like to give you a warm Welcome to this very good site!
Here you will find lots of info,a good Crew here and with luck also find a few old Shipmates! (Even from the RN perhaps)
So sit back grab a Tinny,relax and just enjoy the trip!
Hope we will have you here for a long time! Have a happy stay!

Cheers

Sounds like a very interesting Job you had there,only once in my life did i get aboard a Sub,and boy with that little space to hang around,that definately wasnt for me! haha!
They say it takes a special type of person to be a Sum Mariner??

Vernon (castleman)

[Neil Morton]

Welcome, there is no need to contribute to be a part of this mostly happy band, lots of info and laughs. If my Uncle Bill had had his way I'd of been RN, but I snuck off to Leadenhall St., and beat him to the punch

[Keith at Tregenna]

Been to sleep: Woke, but going back to kip.

Initially welcome, please see above.

Reads: Just visiting? - You don't have to be Merchant Navy to be a member.
just an interest in the British Merchant Navy is OK.
Click the Register link and sign on

Catch up soon.

K.

BACK TO NOD, ZZZ's etc

Exhausted?

[happy daze john in oz]

Welcome, there is no need to contribute to be a part of this mostly happy band, lots of info and laughs. If my Uncle Bill had had his way I'd of been RN, but I snuck off to Leadenhall St., and beat him to the punch

Neil you never told us you were into boxing!

[Ivan Cloherty]

[
AS the guys have said, welcome to the site and your post has already given us a different perspective, so keep the stories coming, we welcome fresh outlooks and comments.

Sirron Diesels, we always knew them as Newbury diesels, always seemed to be reliable (according to the engineers), but for some reason Everards always seemed to fit one engine size less than they should have done which meant the engine couldn't push the ships along at their design speed, the 1950's Yellow Perils were notably underpowered and so slow that as navigators we were steering four points off the course line just to maintain the course when in strong currents, it must have given other ships a quandry when wondering if we were going to alter course for them, or stand on depending on situation, still like everything else, you learned to cope.

Grab a tinny and relax with some young guys and some very old codgers

Ivan

[exhausted]

I have heard that a lot about Everard ships and the engine sizes. There were some rule about what kit they had to carry if the vessel was over a certain tonnage and also factored in with that came engine horsepower. If the formula worked out to put the vessel out of the lower range one of the key elements was a requirement for a navigational radar set. The story goes that the comment made by the owners was "Pointless having radar, none of our skippers know how to use it." which I thought was a bit unkind. What they really meant was they were too mean to spend a few bob on essentials.

Just a story about a submarine encounter with a merchantman on one of the old T boats I was on.
We were out in the deep ocean and had been tracking on our sonar this old noisy but quite big merchantman for a day while we waited for the surface Navy ships to join us for excersise. Anyway, middle of the night, no moon, pitch black, the merchant ship had his radar off and was plodding along. Our skipper came into the control room. "Periscope depth, let's have a look at him". A wry smile, "It looks like there's only one person on the bridge, let's have a bit of fun"
What he did was surface unseen about 1,000 yards on the vessels starboard side, Sent the signalman up the fin with an aldis, flashed him and said "Who are you" then with that, we dived. Skipper watched through the periscope and all hell set loose on the bridge as of course there was nothing there but there were at least 5 or 6 people trying to see another ship with their searchlight. We left him for about an hour then came up on his port side and did the same with another quick dive.
I would have liked to have been in the pub when they got back to the UK to hear the stories of the Mary Deare or some other ghost ship.

[Keith at Tregenna]

THE NAVAL PRAYER

O eternal Lord God, who alone spreads out the heavens; who ruleth the raging of the sea, and who has compassed the waters with bounds until day and night come to an end: be pleased to receive in thy almighty and most gracious protection, the persons of thy servants and the Fleet in which they serve.

Preserve them from the dangers of the sea, and from the violence of the enemy, that they may be a safeguard to our gracious Sovereign Lady, Queen Elizabeth and her Commonwealth, and security for such as pass on the seas upon their lawful occasion, that the inhabitants of our islands may, in peace and quietness, serve thee, our god, and that they may return to, and enjoy, the blessings of the land, with the fruits of our labours and with thankful remembrance of thy mercies, to the praise and glory of thy holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Thought you may appreciate this, from the Merchant Navy Association (Wales) Barry Branch Order of service 2011. They attempt to encompass and remember all:

Further included:

A PRAYER FOR THE ROYAL AIRFORCE

We commend to God’s fatherly protection all those who serve in the Royal Air Force.

Uplift and support them in their endeavours that they may be a safeguard to our most Gracious Sovereign Lady Queen Elizabeth; and a sure defence to our homeland.

Help them to do their duty with honour and integrity, and that they may prove to be worthy successors to those who made the Supreme Sacrifice and did nobly save their day and generation. Amen.

Mentions throughout are a tribute to the Dem's Gunners and more.

Combined Services were and are needed for our Island and our Green and Pleasent Land.

K.

[Ivan Cloherty]

Hi Exhausted, nice story, on some ships you were lucky to find anyone on the bridge

Everards tonnage

There was a general requirement for all ships over 1599.99 tons gross to carry a radio operator, you would be surprised how many ships had a GRT of 1595

Carrying an R/O as well as his expense, meant providing accommodation and renting more sophisticated radio equipment, it also affected the deck manning requirement, so sometimes two extra bodies meant bigger lifeboats as well, don't recall any regulations about engine power, but I stand to be corrected on that, radar was never compulsory on any ship.

Many companies did not provide radar on their ships as the "old superintendents" believed it caused "radar assisted collisions" the most notable company being Blue Star Line. In the 50's having become the proud possessor of a Radar Ticket I did find before the course, I in common with most others of that era were indeed using the radar incorrectly, the guys who already had their certificates of competency were not obliged to go for the radar course (I could be wrong on this), but whilst at sea I did find those who didn't have a radar ticket willing took advice from those who did, there were a few stubborn ones who wouldn't. remember when I got my "True Motion" certificate joining a ship where the company had installed two new state of the art true motion radars and the master would not allow them to be used in true motion as he only knew relative motion, and he didn't understand that properly and he was not an old man, just being in his late forties, so the companies were not always to blame.

You must remember that in the early days of radar the equipment for Merchant Ships was not the same calibre as the RN equipment, there were political reasons for this apart from technology as in the Cold War period a lot of western bloc ships were trading to the Soviet union who were way behind in commercial radar technology in those days
Ivan