by Mike Hall R693816

It was Monday 11th August 1958. I was at home in Maidstone with my parents and sister, on a nice sunny day, when the postman arrived with a letter for me. it was instructions to report to the royal group Docks in London for my first ship to sea.

It was only a few months before that I received instructions and a rail warrant to report to the National Sea Training School in Sharpness. after the six weeks training and nearly a week off, I was on my way to my big adventure. My father decided he would take me to the royal group Docks in London in the family car via the Woolwich ferry, with my sister. My mum stayed at home. it was a pleasant journey, even though I was a bit nervous, as I did not know what to expect. it quite exciting going on the Woolwich ferry, I knew that I would be on a bigger vessel quite soon. on arriving at the dock gates, dad asked the policeman where we should go, and as we drove into the docks, there she was right in front of us alongside the Royal Albert, dry dock, the Tyrone of the avenue Shipping Company. Dad was able to drive the car onto the dockside. along the side of the ship, then with my small suitcase, me, my dad and my sister made it up the gangway to the main deck, where the watchman led us to the Chief Stewards cabin. after a few introductions, I was taken to my shared cabin (with the galley boy). I was the new pantry boy. after getting changed I went back to the Chief Steward’s cabin, where I said goodbye to my dad and sister – it would be over eleven months before I saw them again. I went to the gangway and saw them off the ship, and waved goodbye. I was still excited so there were not really any tears shed. 

I then reported to the pantry, where I was instructed on my job functions, mainly washing up, some food preparation, learning how to cut grapefruit and to do fancy patterns in tomatoes and cucumbers, also keeping the area around me clean and tidy. Sometimes I had to clean the Engineers alleyway and toilets. all in all everything seemed to be alright.

In the afternoon, I went to my cabin to finish the unpacking and I was given a little time to explore the ship. I found the carpenters shop in the bow and had a brief chat with the carpenter. He came from Rochester which is not far from where I lived. I would visit him a few more times during the voyage. I then made my way aft where I found out the sailors lived here, with the engine room greasers/firemen. I was invited to their cabins and told not to be shy, and I could come back anytime I wanted. I would be in that area quite a bit as the crew recreation room was on the main deck above their accommodation. it was in the recreation room over the coming months, that I learnt to play rummy and cribbage.

My cabin was at the mid-section under the main deck. The cabin consisted of two bunks, a settee and two wooden lockers with a chest of drawers which had a slide out desktop, for writing, together with a chair. There was even a rug on the floor, which caused some problems when the sea was rough. For example when entering our cabin and putting one foot on the rug I was launched towards the hull side, sometimes with a hefty bump. The air conditioning was a metal scoop placed in the porthole to catch the wind as the ship moved forward, which then in turn came into the cabin.

As I was part of the catering department, and as I have said before, our accommodation was below the main deck, the entrance was a flight of stairs next to the galley bakery. at the bottom of the stairs was our mess room, consisting of a table and bench seats one side and chairs the other. There was also an area for making toast and for washing up – a kind of mini kitchen.

Next were the toilets, these consisted of two sinks, two toilet pans, two showers and a large sink for doing our laundry. The next room was for the Chief Cook and opposite his cabin was a shared cabin for the Second Cook and the Second Steward. The next cabin was for two assistant stewards and the last cabin was for the two boys (my cabin). Furniture-wise all the cabins were basically the same as ours.

On one occasion whilst I was in one of the toilets, I noticed an eye ball through one of the old rivet holes. I got up to have a look, but by the time I had opened the door, they had fled. I mentioned the incident later when I was back at work in the pantry, but it was dismissed as if it did not happen. The next time I used the toilet I took a pencil with me, and if the eye appeared I was going to poke it with my pencil.

About a week later the eye appeared and I got the person concerned. When I returned to the pantry to start work again .I found that the Second Steward had one of his eyes covered. He said he had got something in it. Nothing was ever said about this incident and the eye never appeared at the hole again.

The Tyrone was tied up at the royal Albert Dry Dock, where she had just had her bottom painted. Whilst in this area, I took several photos and also strolled around the dock area looking at all the old ships, some I saw looked a bit more modern than the one I was on but I did not mind. My wages for this trip was £12-17s-6d a month of which I sent an allotment of £2 a month home.

oO Saturday 22nd August we the crew and the officers all signed on, and we set sail as a light ship, on Monday 24th August, traversing the docks, assisted by two tugs into the lock and out into the river. I did not see much of this as I was working as it was lunch time. But I did manage to sneak out now and again to see where we were. The dock pilot changed at Gravesend, where we picked up the river pilot, who disembarked in the English Channel. Then we were on our way to Newfoundland. once we were at sea, the Walker’s Patent Log was put to use. This was an age old device, which streams a 65 fathom line astern. at the end of which is a bronze 18 inch long stream lined rotator, with curved fins, so designed that its revolutions, caused by the ships movement forward, through the water, measured the distance travelled.

This was then transferred and read on a special clock fitted to the ships rail. This would then transmit electronically to a similar clock on the bridge. it was as accurate a measure of our progress and speed through the water as could be attained. This item was used every time the ship left a port.

Sat. Nav. was not yet available, so the old fashion sextant had to be put to use, when plotting a course using the stars as guidance, where they transferred the details to the daily chart.

I was working normally one day, when all of a sudden the alarm bells started to ring all over the ship. it was a fire/lifeboat drill, to make sure everything worked correctly in case of an emergency. Everyone had to attend except the following – one on the bridge, one in the galley and one in the engine room.

We had to gather at our respective lifeboat stations, that were previously allocated to and our names called out, with an answer of “here”.

It was then that the fire hoses were unrolled and the taps turned on to see if they worked. Some of the hoses had holes, so the water sprayed everywhere. They were then replaced with new ones from the ships stores.

It was then the turn of the lifeboats, the one that I was at, had been painted a few times and where the paint had run down the boat, it had set too hard to the release chocks, and we could not remove the lifeboat. Everyone else at the other three lifeboats, had got theirs outboard and partially lowered. We however were still trying to move ours, but in the end had to give up.

After the drill was completed and all the other boats were put back on their chocks, it was the turn of all the deck crew to spend time in chipping the paint away from our boat to make the boat movable, before we got to Newfoundland.

Somewhere near the coast I celebrated my sixteenth birthday, opening my cards and presents I brought from home with me. it was at this time I was introduced to the cabin party, where anyone and everyone would come in for a drink, and if there was none when they arrived, someone would go to their cabin and get some more.

The captain would always inspect the ship every Sunday morning, including everyone’s cabin to ensure they were kept clean. He would wear white gloves to check for cleanliness, and not once was I caught out by him. Some other cabins he did get his gloves dirty. I have always wondered, who the person was, to inspect his cabin.

It was an eight day crossing to Corner Brook Newfoundland where we arrived on Monday 1st September. We picked up the pilot who took the ship to our berth, right alongside the Bowater paper mill. This is where we were to load reels of newsprint, for Auckland and Wellington in New Zealand. The mill was situated on the Humber river. We were to be here for nine days, and it was my first time in a foreign country. Trips ashore were to the local coffee bars. it must have looked odd, a British Seaman in a coffee bar on my own, with a small cake celebrating my sixteenth birthday, listening to the juke box etc. I did not frequent the pubs in those days, because drinking was not my thing, but that would change as the voyage progressed. Whilst here I bought a Souvenir china ash tray, this is still in use today, also I bought a pennant. I also bought pennants from all the other ports in America and new Zealand, but these unfortunately were not stored very well at home and they became mouldy and disintegrated. I do however have a photo of them, when they were on display in my cabin on this ship.

Once partly loaded we were on our way, leaving the port on Tuesday 9th September to venture down the St. Lawrence Seaway to Quebec, arriving on Thursday 11th September to load general cargo and departing on Friday 12th September to Trios reveres (three rivers) arriving and leaving on the same day, for a load of tractors. Finally we arrived at Montreal on Saturday 13th September to load general cargo as we did at the previous two ports.

Being a young lad as I said before I was not into beer, although we did get a ration on board ship, which were two cans per day. I would go ashore like a tourist visiting as many attractions as I could. Before I knew it we were on our way again, sailing for New York on Tuesday 16th September arriving at New York on Sunday 21st September. on the way in I was able to see the Statue of Liberty at fairly close quarters. We were to be here for seven days. again trips ashore consisted of all the popular places including, Times Square, Fifth avenue and watching the numerous yellow cabs darting around everywhere. also several visits to the Seaman’s Church institute on 25th street, where they would offer home from home facilities for seamen from all over the world. Here you could get a good hot drink and a meal. There were also facilities for playing darts, snooker and cards etc. or you could just sit in the lounge and relax, and read the local newspapers and magazines.

I made several visits here. again money was tight, as I had not been on the ship long enough to earn much, although we were allowed an advance on our coming wages. all too soon the pilot was on board and we were on our way, having loaded more general cargo for New Zealand, out of the dock area and down the river passing New Jersey and the Statue of Liberty again and out to sea, on Saturday 27th September.

On our way to the Panama Canal, we made a cursory stop at Philadelphia on Sunday 28th September, passing all those massive shipyards, where ships of all kinds were under construction. We left again later in the day. on Monday 29th September we arrived at Hampton roads, loading more general cargo, I could not understand where they were putting it all, and more trips ashore, for me mostly sightseeing and long walks. We left here on Wednesday 1st October for Savannah arriving there the next day. as we made our way to the docks, we saw the nuclear powered cargo ship Savannah, she was painted all white, with odd coloured circles on her side, she did not have a funnel, just exhaust vents aft. She was in the process of being fitted out. it is claimed the first Savannah was the first steam ship to cross the Atlantic.

Again we were soon on our way, leaving port on Saturday 4th October. This was our last port for loading and we had some cargo lashed to the main deck, a couple of lorries and a bus, as there was no more room in the five holds. Even the dunnage hold was full of wood. I would find out why at a later date.

After an uneventful voyage, skirting the Caribbean, we were soon looking out to sea trying to spot land, and as if by magic, there it was on the horizon. We were arriving at Colon, the entrance to the Panama Canal on Thursday 9th October. We had to wait there for some time, so that those ships that were coming the other way had cleared. This was a daytime transit. it was to take all day and we waited for our turn to transit the canal. at the start, the massive lock gates were opened to let the Tyrone in, stopping the engines, and we gently drifted inside, with the help of two tugs. The gates closed and the water started to cascade into the lock. The ship slowly rose until the deck came level with the top of the lock, we then caught sight of the mules that were to pull us into the second lock, huge diesel electric locomotives, which ran on a toothed track to assist them in climbing the steep gradients up the side of the next lock. I wonder how many people over the years were conned into saving the left over bread for the mules. No I did not as I already knew the mules were electric engines! Finally we exited the third lock and motored into Gatun Lake, the largest artificial body of water in the world. Some of us that were still on deck watched as the canal gradually began to narrow and I wondered how many ships had used the canal since the first transit on 15th August 1914. We passed several ships going the other way and giving their crews a cursory wave, we made steady progress. Eventually the canal began to widen and we entered the Miraflores Lake. We entered the Pedro Miguel locks, going through the locks again pulled by the electric mules and finally we reached Balboa, at the other end of the canal. Having disembarked our pilot, what a lovely job he has?

We were soon on our way across the Pacific ocean, which was to last three weeks, with nothing to see but the sea and the occasional ship in the distance. We were doing a steady 12 knots. The weather was now hot and sunny and one of the crew’s jobs, was to erect the ships swimming pool on the after deck. The pool was an oblong affair, made with heavy wooden planks these were the planks from the dunnage hold into which a waterproof canvas liner was fitted. Then the pool was filled with sea water.

The pool was to stay on the after deck throughout the rest of the voyage, only to be emptied when we got to colder climes and refilled when we got back into the warmer climes. it was only dismantled when we were nearing England at the end of the voyage.

The crossing the line ceremony did not happen, I was expecting it, as there were two new boys on the ship. Thankfully we were saved from the disgusting dunking of water and muck, that usually happens during this ceremony. Perhaps King Neptune was busy on another ship that day. it was about this time that I noticed that the water went down the plug hole, in the opposite direction.

A steady ship routine was maintained plodding across the ocean on our own. it was on one of these days that we had another lifeboat drill, which this time for us was a success. We managed to launch our lifeboat. The seaman had done a grand job of removing all the paint from around the bottom of our boat. it was later in the voyage that the boat was tested in the water in a harbour and all was found to be acceptable no leaks.

I often stood at the ships railings looking out to sea, watching nothing really. I still have this fascination for the sea. if we visit the coast nowadays, I often look out to sea, thinking of the far off places and the many seamen, still at work on fewer ships than in my day. Those were the days.

It was about a week before we were due to arrive in Auckland, that I noticed the second cook making some strange looking puddings. I asked what he was doing, and his reply was that he was making the Christmas puddings, ready for Christmas Day. They were made early so that the spirits, poured into them could be soaked up easily and mature. They were then left in a safe area of the small bakery, until they were ready to be cooked for Christmas Day.

Soon land was sighted, and on Friday 31st October we were about to arrive at Auckland, New Zealand. To me this was the other side of the world. With the pilot on board and assisted by the tug Aucklander, now a restaurant, we were soon at our berth at Queens Wharf. almost immediately, unloading was started. We were to be here for nine days, with many visits ashore to the Albert Park, Queen Street, Odeon cinema and the post office to send letters home. it was also interesting to watch the building of the Auckland harbour bridge. Whilst here I went shopping for some new clothes, and as far as I can remember I bought some white shirts, T shirts plus some more underwear. I also bought a smart jacket and trousers.

Almost next to our wharf was the ferry building, where we could get a ferry across to Devonport in twenty minutes. This was a good way of seeing the whole of the harbour, also the building of the new harbour bridge. Weekends and time off were spent sunbathing on deck.

During our stay in Auckland it was the 5th November fireworks. What a spectacular sight, with all the locals having their own firework displays. Thoughts of home came to mind.

We the catering staff arranged to have a whole day off between us, covering each other. My day was a Sunday, Wow! Big deal, there was not a lot open, but I did go ashore and made the most of my time off. great, most of the shops were shut, and not many other places were open, so I made my way to the marina to watch the boats. Whilst here on another period of time off I bought a sheepskin rug, this is still in use today at my parent’s house. I also bought a wooden plate decorated with coloured fragments of glass which has long gone missing.

It was now Saturday 8th November and we were about to sail for Wellington, I had heard this was the capital of New Zealand, and it certainly looked like it. We arrived here on Monday 10th November berthing at Lambton Quay, and with the stevedores onboard, unloading was started. We were to be here for ten days, which gave me plenty of time to visit all the popular places ashore, for instance, the Kelburn Cable Car which takes you up to the Botanical gardens. also a ride on the trams in and out of the city, the government Building and the ever popular railway Station to see the massive great engines that they used.

The view we had from the ship included the other side of oriental Bay, the Te-Ora waterfront. Time ashore for drinking in the pubs ceased at 6pm. So the procedure was to buy as many bottles that you could carry and have a party outside, or back on the ship, cheers!!!!

on one weekend I was invited to a girl’s sixteenth birthday party. Her name was Anne. How the visit came about I cannot remember, but it was in the area known as Upper Hutt. I and another seaman from the ship and a relative of the family travelled in a taxi to her place. Her parents were very friendly and welcomed me with open arms, I had quite a good time, and when the party was ending, I kissed the girl goodbye and was asked if I would like to stay on, of course I said yes. Later on I had a taxi ride back to the ship.

The next day I was busy at work and, in the afternoon as I was finishing work for the day, I was informed that there was someone to see me. it was Anne this young lady whose party I had attended the night before. She wanted to go out with me again. I saw quite a bit of her during my stay in New Zealand, and she showed me quite a bit of the country.

All too soon it was sailing time. We left on Thursday 20th November for Lyttleton in the south island, arriving on Friday 21st November. What a nice place this was. Lyttleton had approx. seven public houses and most of our crew managed to get themselves barred from them all. To get to Christchurch, the main town, we all got on the local train, which would go through a large tunnel, once in town there were many places to visit. Not being here for long, I did not have time to visit them all.

Soon it was time to leave, it was here that my cabin mate, the galley boy, decided to jump ship for a young girl, someone he had met on a previous voyage. Several times the ships horn was sounded, this was the signal that the ship was about to sail, and all the crew who were still ashore were reminded to board at once. The captain decided to wait several hours more in case he decided to return to the ship. We never did hear any more about him, and to this day, I still do not know what happened to him. This was Tuesday 25th November, and as we pulled out of the small harbour we passed the many Union Steam Ships that plied the local waters. it was about this time, I was helping out in the galley now and again, until a replacement galley boy/person, could be found. as far as I remember a replacement was never found and we the catering staff, just muddled along helping each other out when we could. in my spare time after the galley boy left, I had the job of packing all his things into his suitcase, and taking them to the Chief Steward’s cabin.

We were now on our way to the Scottish area of New Zealand, Dunedin, arriving there on Wednesday 26th November. again I remember short trips ashore, but we were not here for very long, only three days. I did manage a walk to the local gardens. We sailed on Saturday 29th November, for the little port of Bluff, where only two ships could tie up at this time. We arrived the next day Sunday 30^th November and left on Tuesday 2nd December. There is not much I remember about Bluff, only that it was a small place, the nearest large town being Invercargill. Bluff was the last port for unloading. we were about to return to Wellington, arriving there on Thursday 4th December to load cargo for the States and Canada. it was here that I made contact with Anne my young lady friend, and we spent a lot of time together, and I made another visit to the Botanical gardens. There was a fantastic view from up there. also a few visits to the bars (I was learning) in the day time, and parties ashore or on other English ships in the harbour in the evenings.

We left Wellington on Saturday 13th December for a new place to visit, Napier. This place reminded me of Hastings in England. We arrived there on Sunday 14th December.

As this was the height of summer, lots of people were on the beach in the early evenings, soaking up the sun, so we joined them and had impromptu parties. Several visits were made into the town and to the statue of Pania, which is on the sea front.

We were due to leave on Thursday 18th December for our last port on the coast, Auckland arriving there on Saturday 20th December. We were to be there for Christmas. imagine sunbathing on deck on Christmas Day. The usual decorated tree was in the main saloon and another atop the main mast. Many of the crew got drunk, but we the catering staff had to stay sober to cook and serve the meals.

I was out on deck near to the galley rubbish dustbins, when a large seagull came down and put his feet under the handle of the dustbin lid ,and lifted the lid off, so that it could get to the foodstuffs inside. I did take a photo of this, but the film was destroyed by the ship’s captain.

The reason for this was, I had taken some photos of the captain and the officers in the dining saloon who were celebrating Christmas Day, some of them however were a little tipsy, and afterwards objected to having their photos taken, although they were alright about it at the time.

So I was called to the Captain’s cabin with my camera. on arrival the captain said he was going to have to destroy the film in my camera. I however pleaded with him not to do it, as I had some unusual photos and I would not be able to get them again. I also explained I could get the film developed and give him the photos and the negatives, but he was not going to change his mind.

He opened my camera and pulled out the film, which destroyed it. He did however reimburse me the cost of the film and some more. at the time I do not think I was too bothered, but I am now, because apart from the seagull photo, I cannot remember what else I had on that film. a lot of the pictures were from the voyage we had just done.

As usual in port we made tea time that day and Boxing Day a buffet, so that we could have some time off to celebrate. all too soon Christmas was over and we were looking forward to the New Year. alas we were to sail before then, eventually sailing on Tuesday 30th December, heading for the States.

We had a fairly uneventful crossing and of course celebrated the New Year at sea, which was not very special. Some of us celebrated in our cabins, but not much drink was passed, as it was normal business in the morning for everyone. after almost three weeks at sea, we were nearing the coast of Central America and the Panama Canal. We arrived there on Tuesday 20th January and had a fairly smooth transit of the canal arriving at Cristobal late in the evening.

Our next port was to be Charleston, arriving there on Monday 26th January and leaving on Tuesday 27th January. I do not remember anything about this place, even looking in books nothing comes to mind. our next port was Philadelphia arriving Thursday 29th January and several trips were made ashore. For me it was sightseeing and we left on Monday 2nd February, setting sail for New York. We arrived there on Tuesday 3rd February in a heavy snow storm. There was snow as far as the eye could see. Thank heavens for radiators in our cabins. Loading in this weather did not take long, and we were off again on Friday 6th February, going to Boston, the tea party place. We arrived at Boston on Saturday 7th February. This pretty area was known as New England, and we docked near to the city centre. a couple of visits were made ashore on sightseeing trips and into the city for window shopping. Leaving here on Tuesday 10th February, our last port for unloading was St. John in New Brunswick, where we arrived there on Friday 13th February and left on Monday 16th February. again nothing comes to mind about this place.

We were now returning to New York to start loading, not for home, but for New Zealand again. We arrived in New York on Wednesday 18th February and were to be here for some time. Whilst here I had a ride on the subway system from New Jersey to New York and back. it’s called a subway system, but a lot of it runs overhead. We started to load general cargo in the Manhattan area, moving to New Jersey later. Whilst at this port the snow started to melt, and there I bought some more clothes – Wrangler jeans were very popular at this time and they were very hardy. all too soon loading was finished and we left on Saturday 28th February for three more ports that we had been to before, Philadelphia, Newport News, and Savannah arriving there Friday 6th March and leaving on Saturday 7th March. Five days later we arrived at Cristobel, ready to transit the Panama Canal for the third time. We left Balboa at the other end of the canal the same day heading for Auckland.

Another three week crossing at a steady twelve knots, and another lifeboat drill. We arrived at Auckland on Thursday 2nd April. again I had the fortunate pleasure of just stepping off the ship, out of the gates and there we were back in the city.

Whilst we were in Auckland the Shaw Savill passenger liner Southern Cross, came into port on her world cruise. With a mate, we went on board this ship to have a look around, as tourists. it seemed very modern after the ship we were on, which was a tramp ship.

All too soon it was leaving day. We sailed on Wednesday 8th April arriving at Wellington on Friday 10th April to unload the majority of the general cargo. Where did they put all those tractors and farm implements? once again I met up with Anne, my lady friend, where we were able to enjoy each other’s company. We made another trip on the Kelburn Cable Car just in case it would be my last visit here, but we would be back once more to load for England. We also made several trips into the city. We sailed on Thursday 16th April for Lyttleton, arriving there on Friday 17th April. We were only there for three days, sailing on Monday 20th April. We then sailed back to Auckland to start our loading for England, arriving in Auckland on Wednesday 22nd April. We started to load meat at this port.

We heard through the grapevine that the galley boy had been picked up, but he did not rejoin the ship. after that, until this day I do not know what happened to him. Perhaps he managed to stay in New Zealand with his girl and settled down. I do remember he came from the Colchester area. it was whilst we were here in Auckland, that preparations were being made for the grand opening of the harbour bridge. This event was to happen during May sometime.

We left Auckland on Friday 24th April arriving at Wellington on Sunday 26th April to load meat and butter again. I was to call on Anne my young lady friend, who was quite happy to see me. However due to my absence, she had taken up with a local lad and was quite happy. We did go out together a couple of times for old times sake, without her new boyfriend. it was here that some of our crew got into a bust up with the crew of the passenger ship Captain Cook. To get their own back our crew, in the middle of the night painted a slogan of some kind on the side of their ship. all hell let loose the next morning and of course our crew denied knowing anything about it, and they never did find out who did it.

It was here we picked up a passenger, a middle aged seaman who was taken ill on another ship and needed to get home. at times he helped out in the galley. I had a few more trips ashore, taking a sightseeing bus around the city. also I made another trip on the Cable Car. This was to be my last visit to Wellington and I have never been back. I also had a nice long day with my girlfriend. We sailed from there for the last time on Thursday 30th April and off to Lyttleton again, where we arrived on Friday 1st May. We were to be here for a week loading all sorts of cargo and meat from railway wagons alongside the ship.

It was while we were in this port, on the 7th May, that a small New Zealand coaster the Holmburn, berthed on the same quay opposite to us caught fire in her accommodation. This claimed the lives of two of her crew. The Captain, Mr Derek Crabtree and the Chief Steward, Mr A Hempstalk. it was found that they could not escape the blaze, due to the flames and smoke. it was stated later that if their portholes had been a bit larger, they could have escaped through them. it was later recommended that portholes on ships and coasters should be of a certain size, to allow for people to escape if need be. However the portholes on ships and coasters have never changed in size. I made several trips ashore looking for my old cabin mate, but to no avail.

In the docks I would often sit on the sea wall, watching the ships go by and once more it was sailing time Friday 8th May. The next day Saturday 9th May we arrived for the first time at Timaru, where we were to load apples. We spent three days loading apples. Where did they all come from? I know where some of them went! a couple of trips ashore, again as the docks were right near the town, so trips out were quite easy.

We sailed from there Tuesday 12th May for Dunedin arriving on Wednesday 13th May. I again made some trips ashore visiting some old haunts. We left on Friday 15th May, to our last port on the New Zealand coast, Bluff where we arrived on Saturday 16th May. There we loaded more meat mainly lamb of course, until we were full to overflowing. When no more could be put into the holds, we were on our way home, leaving on Tuesday 19th May. on leaving Bluff we made our way across the Indian ocean towards the Suez Canal. We arrived at the red Sea port of Aden on Saturday 13th May and before we could get our anchor down, the bum boats were alongside, trying to sell their wares. The sellers would come onboard and set up stalls to display their wares. This is where I bought a souvenir camel and a small miniature camera, which did work, however when I got home I found I could only buy the film required where I bought the camera. Not a lot of good, therefore this camera has long gone. My daughters used it in their toy box for many years after.

We sailed from here the same day after taking on fuel from a small tanker alongside. Before we left a very large searchlight was brought on board, This was affixed to the bow, so that it could light up the Suez Canal, so that we could see where we were going.

We then proceeded up the red Sea to Suez, arriving on Thursday 18th June. it was here that the searchlight was tested ready for our transit of the canal. Mooring boats, then rowed by oars were picked up and put on board along with their crews. These boats were then used when reaching the passing point, they were lowered to the water and assisted in tying the ship to the buoys. These boats were also used when anchoring in the great Bitter Lake. We had to wait here to form a convoy of ships and to allow the ships coming the other way to clear, before we could go through. The main section of the canal was very narrow. all the passages on the canal were at a speed of 7.5 knots.

We reached Port Said the other end of the Canal on Saturday 20th June. once clear of the canal and into the Mediterranean we sailed for Genoa, arriving there on Thursday 25th June. a couple of trips were made ashore just to have a look around, and we sailed on Sunday 28th June for home.

On our way we passed close enough to the rock of Gibraltar for some photos, then crossing the Bay of Biscay and into the Irish Sea and to Liverpool arriving on Monday 6th July.

Once tied up, we were able to sign off. My wage pay off was £89-8s-3d. I had spent a total of £40-1s-9d during the voyage. When the shore crew came on board, we were able to leave the ship. I made my way to Lime Street Station by taxi and then boarded the train to London. The train ride was over four hours and there were a few of the crew on board, several of whom got quite drunk, but I do not think there was any trouble. it was just good humoured fun. once in London, I had to make my way across London by using the Underground system to Charing Cross, where I was to get the train home to Maidstone. as I had a bit of money in my pocket, I had a taxi ride to the front door.

I was greeted with open arms. My family knew I was on my way but not quite sure when. No sooner had I got in, two things happened. Mum went through all my clothes, to check to see if they were clean. They were because as you know, I had been doing it quite well myself. and the other was, “when you going back?”

I was at home for approximately one month, and it was whilst I was at home I decided to buy myself an acoustic guitar which I managed to convert to electric (now I have a proper electric guitar). I also bought myself a set of knives for use on subsequent ships, these I still have today and most are in constant use in the kitchen at home. These knives came with a twenty five year guarantee and they have now been around for double that period.

Before long I was on my way again on another ship to other places.

Whilst at home I was given a welcome home party by my parents. a lot of the neighbours were there, young and old.