by Jack Lynch
We were experiencing beautiful blue skies and calm seas, until one day I got a weather report that made the Captain look worried. He asked me to keep a careful check on all weather reports for a while. After a number of hours the weather started to change for the worse. Calm seas became rougher, and still rougher. A gale started to develop and soon we were in the middle of a storm. The ship was being seriously pounded and rolled a lot. Everything had to be battened down and shelves cleared. It was extremely difficult for me to hold my seating and eat. How the cook coped I don’t know but we always had our meals. For me, I did not mind too much as I had already been through worse in the Bay of Biscay, on my last voyage. Gradually the storm abated and we got back to normal. We had lost some time and now, hopefully, we would get back on schedule again.
On arrival in Suez, we had searchlights fitted and we again joined a convoy through the Canal, only this time we were on our way home. In Port Said we ditched the searchlight, dropped the pilot, and proceeded through the Mediterranean Sea for Bari, in Italy. From here we sailed into Naples. This was a beautiful city. I spent a fair amount of time looking around here and thought of Mammy who loved the song ‘Isle of Capri.’ The Isle could be seen off the coast. Sorrento was also close by and it was delightful. In Naples I bought a lovely music box for Mammy. Guess what it played? ‘It was in the Isle of Capri that I met her.’ I also bought Mother of Pearl souvenirs. In one shop, I saw a wonderful life-like wax doll, which looked like a baby sleeping. It was so human-like that I thought it was the owner’s baby. The doll’s chest rose and fell like a normal child breathing. It created a great impression on me. I was going to buy it but the owner said it had to be kept in a temperature controlled environment. No way could I guarantee this. I was quite sad leaving but the trip had been long and I was ready for some time off.
I sent a number of CQ (seek you) messages to anybody who might have messages or needed assistance or even a natter, and there was always someone who wanted a chat, so I often changed channels and nattered away. Strangely, in all my time at sea, I never had the good luck to chat to any Radio Officer I knew. Soon, Gibraltar came into sight and I knew we were close to home. I say home because at that time I classed any port in the UK as home, purely because I used to start or finish a voyage from somewhere there and Gibraltar was only a few days steaming from the UK.
After passing Gibraltar, our next worry was the Bay of Biscay. We were lucky this time. It was rough but it was still reasonable weather. Now we steamed up the Irish Sea to Birkenhead. I packed my bags and wondered if I would get leave in Liverpool. I would have to wait to find out.
I tried to raise Cork Harbour Radio (EJC) but to no avail. I signed off the ship on the 19th July, 1950 after a voyage of six months. I reported to the Marconi Depot in Liverpool and handed in all the relevant paperwork. I collected my salary and I was thrilled to get a warrant to go home for a break. I looked forward to seeing my family and Molly, as her birthday was coming up on July 27th.
There was great excitement when I got home. All my family were delighted to see me and I had the usual gifts for everybody. I had bought a lovely little pocket transistor radio in a leather case. I really loved it and it was state of the art. Daddy set his eye on it when he saw how lovely it was. He was mesmerised by the clarity of reception, and the light weight of it. He constantly used it and I think now that I should have let him have it as a present but, without thinking, I took it back to sea with me. I have always regretted this decision. He was always looking to see what other stuff I had - shaving creams, lotions etc. He tried them all. Even the clothes I wore were like a magnet to him. He would always be commenting on them. Once when we were in a public toilet I was closing my zip fly when he exclaimed; “Be careful boy, you could do yourself a serious injury with that thing.” I presume he meant the Zip!
On returning I had to change my name. Daddy and I were both known as Jack so daddy ‘in error’ had opened a few of my letters from girls. I told my friends to address any letters to John P. Lynch in future. Once I got a telegram from a girl in Liverpool addressed to Jack Lynch and daddy opened it. I had only been home for a few days at the time. It read; “Come back. Urgent must see you immediately Love, Pat.” Daddy nearly had chickens. Questions came at an alarming rate. “Is everything alright Boy?” “Why does she want to see you so urgently?” “She’s not in trouble is she?”
I could only smile and laugh. “Dad she just misses me, she’s lonely. No big secret. No shotgun wedding, don’t worry!” I continued; “Pat is the daughter of an Irish couple and is a nice friend but I have no intention of getting married or running away.” I’m sure that he was shook up but things quietened down when he saw I didn’t rush back to Liverpool. It’s a good job he was not with me during some of my trips. I wonder how he would have coped with some of the sights and escapades I witnessed.
Molly and I met numerous times while I was home. We were not yet fully committed to each other but I certainly did not try courting any other girl at home. It would be another seven years before we tied the knot. There was not much you could do in Cork around that time so we went for walks and went to the cinema. Time flew and soon enough another telegram arrived from Marconi and I had to return to their office in Liverpool for my instructions and details of my next ship and voyage.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Once again, after another period of waiting I was given my next assignment. This ship, the m.v. Lampania was my first tanker and was owned by the Anglo Saxon Petroleum Company AKA The Shell Co. She was built at Hawthorn Leslie Company’s shipyard in Tyneside, U.K. and she was scrapped in 1961. The Radio call-sign was GKDW
I signed on at Ellesmere Port on August 3rd, 1950. Stanlow is the name of the local Oil Refinery location and a well known destination for tankers. This time it was a nine week voyage from the UK to Europe and the Caribbean.
When I returned from home leave I reported to the Liverpool office and made arrangements to stay at Atlantic House until I was assigned to a ship. This could take days before a ship became available. Atlantic House was run by priests for seamen. It was a very comfortable place and I had my own room. I made it a point to stay there every time I waited to sign on or when I signed off ships in Liverpool. Since I had many trips to Liverpool I became well known to the priests and, fortunately to the girls who used to attend the dances that were held regularly in the hall. These dances were closely supervised, and no girl was permitted to go out with any of the seaman. I used to meet a girl from there most times when I was ashore. Her name was Mary and she was tall, dark, pretty and we got on very well. However our friendship never grew into anything serious.
Once, when I was staying in Atlantic House, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth ll and Prince Phillip visited the building. I was one of the seamen at the door, placed there as part of a welcoming guard of honour. She did her duty and then left. She just smiled as she came in and that was that. I was not really interested at the time. While I showed great respect to them I’m sure none of them even saw me, and I only stood at the door to make up numbers.
Around this time I was interested in football and supported the Everton Football team mainly because there were some Irish players in this team. Any chance I got I went to see them play at their home ground in Goodison Park- and on one occasion I watched them play their local rivals, Liverpool Football team. The atmosphere was electric and I came away exhausted having cheered and shouted throughout the game.
I had enjoyed my time in Liverpool but all good things come to an end and I got my new assignment and it was now time to sign on the Lampania and begin the first of a two part voyage. On boarding the tanker my first thought was that she was very clean and I noticed that she was very well painted, which was characteristic of all Shell Tankers, as I found out later. The smell of fuel oil was strong as I went aboard and into my cabin, to drop off my suitcase. If she was to go through the Suez Canal there is no doubt but that the British Tommies would have given a warm welcome to her. My previous tri
p through the Canal was evidence of their passion to be British. They would be very proud and would show in the usual cheering and waving as distinct from the ranting and raving shown to badly painted ships flying the Red Duster. With these thoughts in my mind I looked for my quarters which I found on the bridge near the Radio Room.
Next, I went to the Captain’s cabin, and was greeted by a tall man who shook my hand and we spoke generally for a while before I signed articles (a nautical term for signing a contract) on the ship. I felt comfortable with him. I noticed though that he stood very straight and walked stiffly. Later I found out he wore a corset because he had a back problem. It amazes me that I cannot to this day remember one solitary crewman, officer or sailor on board that ship. This was despite the fact I was on it for nine weeks. In retrospect I think this was due to the design of tankers. Whereas on cargo ships it was possible to mix with crewmembers on deck, which was well clear of the sea and had hatches to sit on, in tankers it was not feasible to wander around the lower deck and to get from one end to the other end of the ship it was necessary to go by ‘catwalk’- which is a long bridge, with safety hand rails - raised above deck This meant most of the time was spent on the boat deck or bridge.
I remember the first part of my voyage was to the Island of Curacao, which is part of the Netherlands, Antilles. We had left Ellesmere Port a few days after I had signed on in August 3rd 1950. As we came down the Irish Sea the weather was quite calm and we made good time. The usual sea traffic was all the way down the coasts and when we emerged into the Atlantic things looked good. We had beautiful sunshine and luck was with me when I called and got a response from EJC (Cork Harbour Radio) and I sent a message to Molly. During the trip I spent a lot of time writing letters to home and to Molly. I would have to wait until we got to Curacao before I hoped to get a letter or to post what I had written.
During the voyage across the Atlantic I remembered the pictures I saw in the cinemas about ships being torpedoed and sunk during the war. I could now feel a little bit of the sailors’ fear and frustration when left in the sea to fend for themselves. Horizon to horizon there was not another ship in sight. I thought of ships in the past I had read or heard about that had got into to difficulties with no one to help them. The stories of crew members severely injured and having to listen to their mates in agony in the remote isolation of the sea really got to me. The added fear of night and stormy weather battering them made the experience more frightening than one could imagine. I tried not to dwell too long on these thoughts. As we carried on I read some Mickey Spillane books and spent a lot of time on deck watching the occasional ship pass in the opposite direction and enjoying the beautiful sunsets and sea changes from green to azure blue
In the Caribbean Sea I loved to watch the dolphins swimming and criss-crossing in front of the ship’s bow. They were so graceful and fast in every movement they made. There were lots of turtles around as well, and they just seemed to float along on the sea, and under the sunny sky. It was common to see them mating, and I was told that they stayed mating for days on end and just let the sea take them where ever it wanted. It was so peaceful that I could have been tempted to emigrate to one of the islands. On later voyages in this same area I enjoyed the same beautiful sights as well as pelicans and gulls diving and swooping for fish. While I watched the birds I was particularly impressed by the pelican which always came up from under the sea with big fish thrashing in his large beak and pouch a little poem I learned sprang to mind;
After a reasonable and fast crossing we arrived at our destination – the Oil Refinery in Curacao. This is the largest of the Netherlands Antilles Islands and lies between Aruba and Bonaire off the coast of northern Venezuela. When we tied up at the jetty amid shouting and lots of other noises a shore gang boarded to connect the oil pipes to our ship. In very little time this was accomplished and oil started to flow into the ship’s tanks. Various officials came aboard to inspect and clear the ship and crew. Customs only visited the Captain’s cabin. Amicable discussions must have taken place as we did not have visits or searches in our cabins. Likewise the immigration cleared us in record time. The Shipping Agent arrived and delivered our mail and collected what we had to send home.
While this was happening I took off to go ashore but due to time restraints I did not have any real time to browse for long. However, I did manage to get some of the usual items; Cushion covers, ornaments and chocolates. The oil soon filled our tanks and it was time to take off for home. I had now experienced the difference in time taken to load general cargo versus liquid cargo; turnaround for a tanker is much, much quicker than for a general cargo ship.
Tanks full, we collected our Pilot and prepared to leave port. Our orders were to deliver the cargo to Stanlow, in Ellesmere Port. When we left and when the Pilot disembarked I took up station and sent my departure and destination messages to the local and U.K. Radio stations. Since I was well out of medium radio range from the U.K I went on to shortwave radio and had some difficulty raising Portishead Radio. Eventually after I tried on different frequencies I eventually got an answer and was informed that they had a message for my ship. The message was for one of the crew and I gave it to him. He was ‘over the moon’ as it was great news for him. Soon he was bragging that he was a dad!
With a new dad onboard and with the ship low in the sea - which overlapped the deck in rough weather - we headed back for Liverpool. Again the Irish coast came into view and the loud radio signals from the local Coast Stations were a welcome experience. I had no luck this time trying to raise Cork Harbour Radio and so we continued up the Irish Sea to pick up our pilot at Liverpool. With the correct tide conditions we tied up at Stanlow Oil Refinery and went through the normal official business. I had sent my final messages and was now ready to sign off as this trip was finished. First of all I collected my mail which had been delivered and sat back to enjoy reading the latest news from all at home. It was September 23rd 1950 when I signed off but Marconi requested that I re-sign for the next voyage and I was glad to do so as it was to be a short voyage to Europe and back. I re-signed on the same day September 23rd 1950. I posted more letters home and I went ashore for some exercise and browsing around as there was no home leave this trip. In the meantime there was more ship’s business to be conducted before we could begin the next part of our voyage.
The Steward arranged for food and other essentials to be delivered and a few new crewmembers were signed on to replace some who had left, including the new dad. We took bunkers (fuel) onboard and when the tide was suitable and everything was ready the Pilot came aboard and we left Liverpool to enter the Irish Sea again. We came entered the English Channel, headed for our next destination which was Rotterdam, Holland. This is a large port with a lot of Industries, including Petrol Chemical Refinery and is used by ships of all nationalities. With the aid of a Pilot we tied up and went through the official inspections and safety checks. The dockers here were experts and had us connected, loaded and disconnected in record time. Soon we had the Pilot back onboard and we headed out into the North Sea bound for Stanlow, in Ellesmere Port. The ship sailed into the English Channel and back into the Irish Sea. This time the weather was foul and the decks, which were low in the water, became almost submerged. It was frightening, and not having previously been on tankers at first it worried me a lot. The only way to move on the ship was by the catwalk. However, it was only a phase and I soon got the feel for it.
Again we arrived and picked up the Pilot at Liverpool and went into Ellesmere Port where we tied up at Stanlow Oil Refinery where we discharged our cargo and headed downriver to Birkenhead, Liverpool. I signed off on October 11th 1950. I shook hands with the Captain. In the Marconi office I had to report in and await a new ship. Fortunately, I got some more leave and went home for a few days and enjoyed the usual excitement and relaxation with my family and Molly prior to joining my next ship destined for I knew not where.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
My fifth voyage took place o
n another tanker, the m.v. President Brand. Her original name was Egg Harbour and in 1948 she was renamed President Brand. As she was registered in Capetown, South Africa she flew the South African flag.
I signed on this ship at Ellesmere Port, Lancashire on October 27th, 1950 for what was to be my fourth deep sea voyage to the Persian Gulf.
This ship was a WWII T2 Tanker and the biggest ship I was to sail on so far. She looked like a monster to me when I first saw her though by today’s standards she would be classed as medium. They were built in the USA, in the 1940’s during the war, and were the workhorses of the convoys, shipping oil to the UK and Russia. President Brand was built in April 1943. The lifespan lasted well into the 1960’s.
My cabin was a good size with its own toilet and shower facilities. There was a comfortable bunk with good wardrobe space. Again the cabin was located close to the Radio Room and near the ship’s bridge. In the Radio Room the RCA equipment was of a type I had not experienced so far. It looked classy and it did not take me long to figure out the whole setup. I did notice a shortage of some spares for radio replacement parts and put in a requisition for these and they were delivered before we sailed. All else appeared fine so I waited to go on watch when we weighed anchor and dropped the Pilot as we left Liverpool.
I was surprised to see the South African flag flying but the owners must have had a contract with Marconi for the supply of Radio Officers otherwise I would not have been aboard. It was a nice trip, which took us down through the calm of the Bay of Biscay, onto Gibraltar, and then into the Mediterranean. So far the weather was quite good all the way but now we started to get some strong sunshine and it was lovely to see the ship cutting through the calm blue sea. There were various glimpses of land on each side as we headed for Port Said, to go through the Suez Canal.