My first ship

[Colin Wood]

Joined my first ship, the Pacific Imported, a sam boat, in Cardiff July 1953. As soon as I got on board was sent down no 4 to tally cars, still in full uniform. About 1900, Die Dear came down and said "sorry, we forgot you, come up and we will find you some food in duty mess". I then met the other 2 cadets, Senior was Split Pin Brinkworth and I shared a cabin with Sammy Seal.

About 0300 we were called out as donkeyman had gone to sleep and boiler had filled with coldwater and Jennies had stopped. Red a lot of dunnage into furnace and by torch light and got enough steam to start the steam generator.

The releaving mate was Jack 'Slug' Tye, top shipmate. We still had a large deck cargo of baulks of pine for Glasgow and superintendent said, it is in perfect condition, make sure it gets to Glasgow like that.
Some time during the night, the 3/E pumped up the fuel and somehow got the valves wrong and pumped the hot oil into the filling line. The blank in the filling line in starboard alleyway was not tightened up so acted a spray plate, spraying the hot fuel into a full gail, and having hot black bunker c sprayed all over the ship. The starboard life boats had a couple of inches of oil in the bilges.

WE anchored off the 'Tail of Bank' and drums of kero were ferried out and all hands, even the stewards were turned too washing the oil off. When we berthed, to the mates great relief, the Dock engineer was delighted with the cargo as it was all for use on the wharf and was to be coated with creosote anyway.

When we got to LA and were boarded by yank immigration, one of the greasers was taken ashore for interrogation , he was of Latvian descent and had been forced to sail on a Russian ship during the war When he eventually was brought back on board, don't know what had happened but he tried to hang himself from No 4 derricks.

[Captain Kong]

apart from all that, it was a good trip.

[David Williams]

My first ship was the British Pioneer out from Swansea,
only a cabin boy,but didnt I feel important.
Dave Williams

[Stan Carter]

my first ship in 1955 was the British Builder, also out of Swansea. a good mixed crew that looked out for first tripper deck boy. went to some very interesting places that people pay good money to see.
regards, stan

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Hi Stan.
My last ship was the British Builder sent up from Swansea with deck crew to join her in Newcastle 8th Nov 55, left her in South Shields 20 Sep 56, went to work in the ICI in Middlesbrough for a few months, then on the coast waiting to leave for NZ.
Cheers Des

[thomas michael]

Thanks for that Charles.



Cheers
Brian

hi capt kong
saw the same thing in freetown when a bum boat tried to make off with the soap and cigarettes and one of the lads threw a couple of shackles down into the boat but hit the guy on the head, after that we went ashore and I was genuinely surprised to see there was a leper colony there, mind you after spending the night with a couple of jungle bunnies I was scared for weeks in case I had the same, and I checked it every day to make sure it had not dropped
off.
tom

[Colin Wood]

Dead right

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Dead right

Or very close to it maybe.
Des

[happy daze john in oz]

My first ship was the British Pioneer out from Swansea,
only a cabin boy,but didnt I feel important.
Dave Williams

Dave, consider yourself lucky, cabin boy.

Had that been on a UCL you may have had a different feeling.