Im new to this site

[John Albert Evans]

Hello Brian,

Welcome to the site, I hope you find it as good as I do.
We joined the Merchand Navy around the same time January 1957. I was in the catering department.
I sailed on the Rippon in 1963 as second cook/baker.
All the best

John Evans

[Red Lead Ted]

Welcome aboard the good ship lollypop mate, Theres a good mix in the crew on this one if you ever get into trouble with the handle on the side of your p.c. or the acker macker valvue, or even get the shout steam on deck someone will help you out Regards Brian from Liverpool Terry.

[Ivan Cloherty]

Welcome aboard the good ship lollypop mate, Theres a good mix in the crew on this one if you ever get into trouble with the handle on the side of your p.c. or the acker macker valvue, or even get the shout steam on deck someone will help you out Regards Brian from Liverpool Terry.

Eh Terry lad, it's a long time since I shouted that down the engine room ladder, what a lot of memories that invokes on an old empire boat, 9 - 10 knots with a following wind and sea

[Red Lead Ted]

You got me thinking now ? i wonder who were the last big shipping company to make headway under steam. What i mean is i know my time in the Haines Treeboats early 70s were all steam. I Don't think i sailed under steam after that i was with Harrison's of Liverpool a few years. But i cant remember after 1971 sailing under steam surely they were all scrapped. Hang about looking through the book we got after 72 i was in a shell tanker the Achatina in 74 maybe they did go on longer. Was anyone under steam later than that with the shout steam on deck Regards lads Terry. surely Johny the Greek had them all by then.p.s Ivan just looked at your profile{ Please Send No Cowboys} Did you ever have the pleasure of the William Wainwright, I saw here abandoned off the Indian coast 1975 she was beached there that year and scrapped Terry.

[Tony Morcom]

SS Hardwicke Grange 1973~1974.

[Ivan Cloherty]

You got me thinking now ? i wonder who were the last big shipping company to make headway under steam. What i mean is i know my time in the Haines Treeboats early 70s were all steam. I Don't think i sailed under steam after that i was with Harrison's of Liverpool a few years. But i cant remember after 1971 sailing under steam surely they were all scrapped. Hang about looking through the book we got after 72 i was in a shell tanker the Achatina in 74 maybe they did go on longer. Was anyone under steam later than that with the shout steam on deck Regards lads Terry. surely Johny the Greek had them all by then.p.s Ivan just looked at your profile{ Please Send No Cowboys} Did you ever have the pleasure of the William Wainwright, I saw here abandoned off the Indian coast 1975 she was beached there that year and scrapped Terry.

No Terry, William Wheelright long after my time in PSNC,I left PSNC in 1958, could see that promotion in those days "was deadmens shoes" in that company, sailed with 3rd mates who had 1st mates tickets and 2nd mates with Masters tickets, what was the point! it escaped me!, but each to his own.Runs were fairly regular but I sailed with PSNC men who had known nothing but the WCSA for 30 years plus, I wanted to see the world. Saw it on one trip with Ropners 22 months away! but it was great.

Mind you the best coast for a young man was certainly the WCSA.

I was Supt with one company we still had a steamer running in the mid 70's, but as you say most were sold to the Greeks or the Maldive Shipping Company who ran about 50 ships most of them steam. The President of that company The Right Honourable Ali Maniku a Maldivian, whom I met in the 70'sin Dubai never took notes in a meeting, but could remember what every ship in his fleet had on board at any one time and when it was given to them, when sitting in a meeting with him and four of his ships in port (I was after the Agency) it got 4 requisition lists, as he was reading them he was saying they had that in xx whilst at xyz then cross it out. Never met anyone with amemory like his, not even Lesley Welch!

[Gulliver]

I never made any ‘Headway under steam,‘ but two of Bibby’s Motor Vessels the sisterships STAFFORDSHIRE and GLOUCESTERSHIRE which lasted until 1971-2 ,had Steam Winches and Windlass-hence the need for ‘Steam on Deck’ !
I was on the Staffordshire and well remember the clanking winches and sleepless nights in port whilst working cargo..Those ships had Burmese crews (with some white crew -3QM’s and a Carpenter.) and the Burmese deck crew would often come running into the accommodation when something broke down shouting “No steam,sahib,.no steam !”,whether it was powered by steam or not.!
I remember asking the quite elderly bosun one afternoon whether he was going ashore to meet a nice young girl,that evening and got the same reply-”No steam ,sahib-everything now half-past six ! “
I had to ponder the relevance of the specific time in his reply for a while before I was told to envisage the direction both hands of the clock would be pointing at 1830 hours….

For the Enthusiast :

STAFFORDSHIRE 8.827 grt ex Eastern Prince,ex Bardic. Blt.1950 by Vickers Armstrongs,High Walker. (Doxford engines). Acquired by Bibby’s in 64.. Sold 1971 after major engine failure and beached at Hong Kong breakers.

GLOUCESTERSHIRE 8,827 grt ex Cingalese Prince ex Gallic. Built 1950 as above. Acquired by Bibby’s in 63.Sold to Ribble Ltd of Liverpool in late 71 for delivery voyage to Whampoa breakers under the name Cresco.Broken up 72.
Both vessels thus ended the longtime Bibby Line involvement in the Burma trade .

“No more steam,sahib” !
　
　
Gulliver

[Tony Wilding]

My last steamship was twin screw , 2 triple expansion engines, 2 scotch boilers. Like 2 giant sewing machines. 1975 to 1977. After that all smelly noisy diesels. Yuk. The doxford was the best.

[Gulliver]

s.t. WILLIAM WHEELWRIGHT was built in 1960 by Harland & Wolff at Belfast with a tonnage of 31320grt, 47,838 dwt a length of 753ft 6in, a beam of 98ft 5in and a service speed of 16 knots. An oil tanker ,her registered owner was Pacific Maritime Services Ltd and she was chartered on a long term contract to Shell.

On 26th December (Boxing Day) 1975 she ran aground off Sinoe, south of Monrovia in Liberia whilst in ballast. Lost 5,131 barrels of fuel oil.She was refloated three days later and towed to Lisbon where examination revealed that she was beyond repair. Declared a Constructive Total Loss- and Returned to PSNC ownership.
In October 1976 she was towed to Santander where she was broken up by Recuperaciones Submarines S.A.

[Captain Kong]

I sailed on the William Wheelwright in 1961. A miserable ship, the Bosun was Big Buck Macallister.
When we joined in Tranmere the Spanish Coal Miners who took her out in 1960 from the Seamens Strike, got out, I got a load of fleas bites, they were manky andf lousy. did four months and got out fast.