It was Monday the 20th of November 1967,and I had been working on the M.V. Surrey, which was just up the dock system from this ship the S.S. Dorset with my suitcase I made it up the gang plank and reported to the watchman at the top. He directed me to the chief stewards cabin so that I could report for duty. I was the new steward’s boy, and my area of work was the saloon pantry.

The pantry was adjacent to the galley. The galley had a separate butcher’s and baker’s area. The pantry is where all the food was served for the officers and engineers who dined in the main dining saloon. The remaining crew members had their own areas to eat in, as did we the catering staff. After reporting to the chief steward I was escorted to my cabin. This was on the main deck and it was a double berth. In it were bunks, wardrobes, chest of drawers and a chair. We had decent flooring which was lino. The main alleyways were of lino as well, and it was my job to keep these clean. I had to get on my hands and knees and scrub from the aft end of the ship right up to the galley door. These alleyways also had wood panelling, which had to be cleaned with vinegar to remove the salt, on a regular basis.

We were signed on, all 54 of us on Monday 24th November. I was to be earning £23.00 per month on this voyage. Our cargo for the outward voyage consisted of wines, spirits, beers, engineering products, fabrics, machinery, car parts and from the USA, news print.

We set sail on Monday 27th November 1967 from Liverpool and then traversing the docks assisted by two tugs into the locks out into the river. I did not see much of this as I was working, but I did manage to sneak out now and again to see where we were. We were on our way to Avonmouth, arriving there on Tuesday 28th November to load more general cargo of all kinds and leaving on Friday 1st December.

We then made our way around the coast towards the Royal Group Docks in London, arriving there on Sunday 3rd December. More general cargo was put in the holds and there was plenty of room to spare for more cargo. Once all the loading was finished and we had a new crew on board. Again it was now a crew of 57. We left London on the Friday 15th December with a pilot on board, who was there to guide us out of the docks and down the river towards Gravesend. This was where he would get off the Dorset and another pilot would get on board. This pilot was there to take us down the rest of the river and into the English Channel. This was where he would get off and he would be taken to the main pilot ship, which was anchored in the English Channel. Once he was off we were on our way towards Canada.

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 streamlined rotator with curved fins, so designed that its revolutions caused by the ships movement forward through the water and 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 port.

Satnav was not yet available, so the old fashion sextant had to be put to use when plotting a course using charts and the stars as guidance.

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 one on the bridge, one in the galley and one in the engine room. We had to gather at our respective lifeboat station that we were previously allocated to and our names called out with an answer of “here”. It was then the fire hoses were unrolled and the taps turned on to see if they worked or leaked. Then it was the turn of the lifeboats of which we had four on this ship. Three had the capacity of 47 and one had the capacity of 43, this one was less because it had an engine.

The procedure for lowering the boats was that someone removed the front chocks that held the boat secure and then two of the crew started to hand wind the boat gear. This allowed the boat to advance towards the side of the ship. Once it was at the side of the ship, the boat was lowered to deck level, where some of the crew boarded the boat.

Once the officer in charge was satisfied that everyone had completed the procedure correctly we started to rewind the boats back on board. Once in place the front chocks were secured and the area left in a tidy condition.

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. I was not once caught out by him!

In some of the other cabins he did get his gloves dirty.

Also on a Sunday, an officer gave a small church service in the main saloon, for those who wished to attend.

It was an eight day crossing to St. John, New Brunswick, Canada where we arrived on Christmas Eve. We picked up the pilot who took us to our berth where we celebrated Christmas and the New Year. Attached to the forward main mast was a Christmas tree, undecorated and in the main saloon was a decorated Christmas tree. Some of the general cargo was offloaded and more taken on board. There were many times ashore during this period I remember thinking how cold it was, just like someone grabbing hold of your ears and squeezing them hard. The hospitality of the local people was great. Some good times were had. One of the shops was like a cowboy town hardware store and sold everything.

Once partly loaded we were on our way, leaving the port on Tuesday 2nd January 1968.

Our next port of call was Philadelphia arriving there on Thursday 4th January and loading commenced straight away. More trips were made ashore for various reasons, such as sightseeing and drinking the local booze. We left there on Monday 8th January for our next port of call, New York.

We arrived at New York on Tuesday 9th January where the loading of the ship took over a week. A lot of spare time was spent ashore seeing all the sights possible, including Times Square and the Seamen’s Mission. It was here that I took several photos. I also went on a coach sightseeing to see all the main places. We left New York on Wednesday 17th January bound for Hampton Roads. In this area are two ports that we visited on the same day to load more cargo. The first port was Newport News and the second port was Norfolk. We arrived there on Friday 19th January and left the same day. We were heading to our last USA port, Savannah.

We arrived in Savannah on Sunday 21st January.We didn’t have much time ashore as we were only there for one night and left the next day once all the cargo had been stowed safely. We were on our way to Australia. It was on our way to Panama that I celebrated my seventeenth birthday on Thursday 25th January and a party was held in my cabin with a few of my mates.

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 26th January. This would be a night time transit of the canal. We waited for our turn to transit the canal and at the start the massive lock gates were opened to let the Dorset in. Stopping the engines, 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. These are 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! Finally we exited the third lock and steamed into Gatun Lake, the largest artificial body of water in the world. Some of us that were still on deck watcheing 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 as we made steady progress. Eventually the canal began to widen and we entered the Miraflores Lake before 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 on 27th January.

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. Also as much time as possible was spent lying on deck sun bathing. Sometimes I spent time on deck at night because it was too hot to sleep in my own cabin.

The crossing of the line ceremony did not happen although I was expecting it,

As there were new boys on the ship, thankfully we were saved from the disgusting dunking of water and muck which is what usually happens during this ceremony. It was about this time that I noticed that the water went down the plug hole in the opposite direction. Soon land was sighted – we were about to arrive at Brisbane, Australia.

The date was Saturday 17th February. Once we were tied up unloading commenced. We were here for only a few days, but I did manage to get ashore for some sightseeing.

We left Brisbane on Tuesday 20th February.

Our next port of call was Sydney where we arrived on Thursday 22nd January and we were to be here for a whole week for more unloading of the cargo. Again I made my usual trips ashore for various reasons such as sightseeing and frequenting the local drinking places. We left there on 29th January.

Our next port of call was Melbourne arriving there on Saturday 2nd March for another long period of unloading and more trips ashore for more sightseeing etc. We left there on 8th March then were then on our way to Adelaide. We arrived at Adelaide on 10th March. Again I had to go ashore with the lads where we visited a few bars and had one too many and probably staggered back to the ship. Some of my time ashore was spent sightseeing. We left on 14th March then we were on our way to Port Pirie where we were only docked for one day. Our last port for unloading was Hobart in Tasmania. We arrived here on 19th March where unloading commenced and once that was finished and the holds cleaned out we started to load a cargo of apples and frozen beef carcasses for the UK. Again I made more trips ashore and nearly every day was a sunny day. We left there on Wednesday 27th March and arrived back in the port of Melbourne on 29th March. We were to spend a long time there for loading, again more apples and beef, along with frozen butter. Many trips again were made ashore until the money ran out. We finally left there on Tuesday 9th April with Easter over and gone. Our next port of call and our last in Australia was Adelaide. We arrived there on 11th April only staying for a short while with again more trips ashore for the usual things. Whilst we were ashore, more apples, beef and butter were being put down in the holds until the stevedores could get no more in and we left on 16th April. We were on our way home.

Our final call on the way home was at Durban in South Africa. We arrived there on 1st May and left the next day. This is where we had the ship refuelled then it was a steady voyage up the coast of Africa. We were hoping not to be a statistic of the Skeleton Coast where over time ships have broken down and drifted ashore. Many of these stranded ships now lie miles inland. On past the Canary Islands then crossing the bay of Biscay and into the Irish Sea and on to Liverpool arriving on 21st May.

Once tied up we were able to sign off and when the relief crew came on board I was able to leave the ship. Making my way to Lime Street station for the train to London and home. When I arrived home, the very first question I was asked, was, “when are you going back?”