Merchant Navy Memories - Ships Sailed on and remembered
This picture of the Reynolds going past the Opera House was taken the day Argentina invaded the Falklands, it was also the 50th anniversary of the harbour bridge coming up and there was parties every where. We spent five weeks on a layby berth waiting to load coal for Japan. First bar every night was the Orient bar where the passenger ships used to tie up and then up to Kings Cross for tattoos and whatever.
Another grand sight. The ORIANA in Sydney Harbour Norman Brice
FROM BILLY McGEE
They say you remember your first ship more than the rest, well my first ship was the M/V Reynolds a 30,000dwt bulk carrier owned by Fred Bolton's of London.
I joined her in my home port of Middlesbrough on the 24th of March 1981 after waiting over 3 months on Middlesbrough pool after leaving Gravesend in the December 1980. I walk aboard on the morning discharge book in hand, a little nervous but excited about what lay ahead as I was told we were sailing to Montreal, (my first foreign country). After signing on I met the Bosun, a man called Jimmy Brown from London who turned out to be a right B*****d. I handed over my City & Guilds part two book which was issued at Gravesend and was to be filled in by the Bosun on the forth coming trip. This was subsequently tossed over the side with the remarks "forget what you learned at sea school, it all starts here" and "don't ever come looking for me if I want you I will find you decky"
The Bosun called me decky all the time I sailed with him, I don't think he ever knew my name was Billy. The first day I spent finding my way round the ship and having all the old hands pull my leg.
The following day as I stood outside my cabin waiting to turn too looking every bit the sailor I could. I was given my first job by Jimmy which was to clean out the communal toilets & showers, which I had to do every day first thing on a morning, "welcome to the merchant navy" one of the AB's said as he walked past.
We loaded a cargo of steel beams and coils for various ports in the Great Lakes. After ten days we were made ready for sea and sailed early evening.
To my embarrassment my parents turned up to wave me off, for which I got more leg pulling over. I will never forget that feeling inside as the ship pulled away from the quayside. The usual jobs of washing down the ship followed and life quickly fell into a routine, and then we cleared the Channel straight into an Atlantic gale force nine and my worst nightmare came true...seasickness. My god what have I let myself in for.
For the next four days, I did nothing but throw up constantly until I had no lining left on my stomach and was bringing up blood. Everyone thought it was hilarious and I still had to clean out the toilets on the mornings, the Bosun would then drag me up the deck to the fo'csle where the smell of fish oil, paint & thinners made me even worse. On one of the days, some of the steel coils in number six hatch broke free and we were all sent down with a bag of wedges and a hammer each to stop the cargo shifting. I don't know if I was sick with fear or the seasickness. One thing I did know was my career at sea was going to be a short one. Finally, after four days, the weather calmed and I was still alive. I never got over seasickness in all the 12 years I was at sea but never to that degree again.
My first ever port of call was Montreal and with $100 dollars in my pocket was soon introduced to the world of shed 52 I think they called it. The first bar and strip joint I had ever set foot in. I was only 17 but wedged between to hairy arse AB’s they guided me past the doormen into a whole new world. After four days we sailed up into all the Great Lakes, part discharging until we ended up in a place in Lake Superior called Duluth where we loaded grain for the Continent. As soon as the gangway was down 15 local Indian girls were up the gangway before the safety net was on and proceeded to drink solid for the next four days. I later found out that Bolton’s ships were regular runners up the Great Lakes and the girls always knew when the ships were due.
They told me they liked British seamen because even though we had little money they would always get a beer. They used to rob some of the foreign ships and sailors blind but never us. I got to know some of them quite well as I ended up doing this run for nearly three years until an incident with a stolen pick up in Vancouver, a broken leg, $1000 fine and missing the ship in Santos (but that’s another story).
I paid off the Reynolds after nearly four months with £300 pound in my pocket and a lot more worldly wise than four months earlier. I was glad to be home but soon got fed up. After my 28 days leave was up I signed back on the pool in Middlesbrough waiting for my next ship. After getting nothing after a month I rang Bolton’s up asking if they had any work and I ended up joining the Reynolds again. This time I went away for seven months. We did the great Lakes run again until they shut down in the winter freeze. I had my 18th birthday in Lake Superior outward bound. I was now about to be introduced to the Far East and what a time that turned out to be. Billy McGee M.N. 1980-1992
SIMON (LOCKYER) SAYS . . . .
First a brief biography;
Born at a very early age in 1951 in Shaftsbury , England(weight unknown but I’ve added to it considerably over the years).
Academic progress;
Oct 1955 International School Jeanene D’Arc, Le Vesinet France
Feb 1959 BFES, Hereford, Germany
May 1959 St Gorran School. Gillian, England
May 1961 Aethelmar School, Fiveheads, England
Sept 1962 Truro Secondary Modern, England
Jan 1963 Heamoor Secondary Modern, Penzance, England
Mar 1963 Ashton Park Secondary Modern, Bristol, England
April 1963 Western Mere Secondary Modern, Breaston, England
April 1964 Shaftsbury Secondary Modern, Shaftsbury, England
Sept 1964 Briar Gate Secondary Modern, Wilsthorpe, England
Jan 1965 Started naval training at T.S Arethusa ,Nr Upnor, Essex
( some of you may have heard of it.)
I have a close association with the Vindi Boys because I eventually sailed with a lot of them. Great lads.
I finished up as a Coxswain on the Sea Princess and served on the RFA Retainer, m.v Harmattan, s.s Cicero, m.v Baltic Venture, m.v Heathergate, s.s Orcades, s.s Oriana m.v Framptondyke, m.v Baltic Valiant and m.v Sea Princess.
A lot of my stories can be seen on
Stories
I served on the Cicero as Ordinary Seaman in the late 1960’s and a photo of the crew at the time is on Scrapbook Page2. They were a great bunch of lads. The guy in front was ex British SAS railroaded out with ulcers. From the stories he told us I wondered how many more developed ulcers.
Times were hard for us Deckies as the ship had wooden hatch boards, 12 derricks and one Jumbo. Sometimes we carried up to 12 passengers.
The deck crew lived down aft and none of the luxuries like washing machines or TV like they have at sea these days. The food was pretty good though.
We did six-week trips from West India Docks (London) to the Mediterranean ports that included Tobruk, Benghazi, Tripoli, Beirut, Greek Islands and Cyprus.In March 1967 I joined the RFA “Retainer” in Singapore and we went to Aden during the crisis there. We also called in at Mombasa, Seychelles and Hong Kong. This all came under the Official Secrets Act as this was an ammunition ship based in Sembawang at the old ammunition base on the Island off Singapore.
In July 1968 I joined the m.v Harmattan, a tramp belonging to Harrisons of London-one of the oldest British companies then in existence and not to be confused with Harrisons of Liverepool.
We started the trip in Rotterdam and went on communist Chinese charter. We were one of the very few Europeans to visit China during the cultural revolution when Mao was in his glory days.
We went up the Chinese coast, then light ship to Vancouver where I returned to England following an illness (see press cutting on Scrapbook Page 2).
We could not go through Suez because of restrictions on any company trading with
China The ship was also ‘buzzed’ by South African aircraft whilst going round the Cape.
In March 1969 I joined the s.s Cicero of Wilson Line of Hull. This was an interesting ship as it had old up and down steam engine derricks plus Jumbo, and doubling up gear of course. Wooden hatch boards to boot.
The motley crew can be seen on Scrapbook Page 2.
In July 1969 I joined the m.v. Baltic Venture of the United Baltic Shipping Corporation going from Surrey Docks (London) to Finland, Helsinki, Kotka etc. We went through the Kiel Canal every two weeks and on occasion got iced in on the Finnish coast, But the money was good for those days.
Simon Lockyer
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