Anybody old enough to have served on British Rail Ferries (Dover)

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Originally Posted by Lewis McColl

Surely that is wrong , as late as 1969 she was the first Dover BR vessel to be driven by Diesel engines!!!!!!

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I would not be to sure Lewis , TSS DOVER was 1965 , TSS Maid of Kent , TSS Caledonian Princess , All steam twin screw , I don't know about Harwich but on the South Coast they liked steamers , one reason I went there with 2nds Steam to get steam time and home at night

I am not disputing it , I am just amazed that she was the first British rail ferry that was a Motor Ship and as late as 1969. Coast Lines were running Motor ships from as far back as 1929.

In all difference to British Royal Marine management in Eversholt Street at London I don't think they were the most advanced far ahead people in the world . Especially in those times I would say though that all the steamers were very similar an absolutely Dream Machines for the Lovers of turbine propel machinery with gentle boilers

Rob, as they say if it ain't broke why fix it .

The technology hadn't moved on from the 1950s but that's where I like to be . You get up in the morning have breakfast and by the time you got to the main platform the fourth engineer had nobody got the engines warming up so all you had to do was answer the Telegraph and give it some welly it was a gentleman's job . You had very little problems with the boilers absolutely zero problems with the engines and a generators used to tick away like sewing machines. I sailed on the maid of Kent as well as the Normannia , caesarea and Sania the Caledonian princess all definitely a steam dream except for if you were a third engineer the boiler room on the normannia was a pressurised one nice and cool as long as nobody opened both doors of the airlock

As a new member to this site i was surprised to find this message as surely there must be many of us still around who worked on these vessels.
I spent the first 3 months of my merchant navy life on the British Rail ferries from 29th June 1964 till 23rd September as Steward's boy before leaving to go deep sea. My uncle Ted Bodiam was i believe Bosun for many years. As a 16 year old it was exciting times especially when you got an overnight stay in France. I found out what real excitement was after i left and went deep sea for the next 6-7 years. It was a truly different age and one you never forget or stop thinking of with great happiness. When i have visited Dover in the last few years i feel nothing but deep sadness about what's happened to my old home town.

hi Malcolm
I never sailed on the old B.R Ferries but new a few of the lads that you might have known ,Ginger Nutt, Ezzy (Eric Thursby), Pissy Sam , Ricky Ricaboni ,Last I heard of Ezzy he was in Folkestone. I had a Saturday out with him and ricky at the Folkestone trawler race day, a few years ago now.

Hi Malcom
I sailed on the old Sheperton train ferry 1963 when it came to the Stranraer Larne run as a relief ferry to cover dry dock.
Capt officers and some crew were from the Dover crew and the remainder made up with crew of the ferry in dry dock. I rember one of the Stwds was from Greenock but was living down south and was a permanent member of crew.

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Originally Posted by Bob Dunkley

hi Malcolm
I never sailed on the old B.R Ferries but new a few of the lads that you might have known ,Ginger Nutt, Ezzy (Eric Thursby), Pissy Sam , Ricky Ricaboni ,Last I heard of Ezzy he was in Folkestone. I had a Saturday out with him and ricky at the Folkestone trawler race day, a few years ago now.

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I see "pissy Sam" now and again in Wetherspoons in Dover.

ok Trader nice to know that he is alive and kicking .I don't know what happened to ezzy I knew him as (odd job) as well from when I was with him on the Arawa .Ginger Nutt I saw working in a garage stacking shelves ,about 10 yrs ago . and another one ,I just remembered who I think was on the Ferries was Rodger Trivett ,and ezzy always talked about J.C..Any case thanks for the info.