by Jack Lynch
She flew to London, then got the train to Harwich and arrived via the Hook of Holland. There she boarded another train to Rotterdam. My poor darling was all alone, could not speak Dutch, but coped magnificently. She did have a scare when she was trying to contact the shipping agent in Rotterdam, found the office was closed, and could not contact anyone. She must have looked lost, because a small elderly priest asked her, in English, what her problem was. She explained to him about meeting me, and that her contact was not available. He asked her to follow him, and that he had a sister living close by, who would help her. Molly without fear followed him, and he took her suitcase and carried it for her. After going through a number of small back streets, Molly began to fear that this man might not be a priest, and that he had ulterior motives for helping her. She tried to think of a way out when they arrived at a small house and an elderly lady came to the door. She listened to the priest and smiled, took Molly by the hand, and put her up for the night. In the morning she phoned the Rotterdam office and an agent came to pick Molly up, and told her my ship was not due until late that night. Those lovely Dutch people who helped Molly will always stay in my memory. Molly later told me that the ship’s agent tried to take advantage of her but she defended herself with dignity, telling him she would tell me. Just as well it was some time later, before I heard about this!
When our ship arrived at the berth in Rotterdam it was about ten p.m and very cold. I stood on the bridge as we came alongside the quay. The ship was not carrying any cargo so it was riding high, and the wharf was way below us as we tied up. As I looked down from the bridge of the ship I saw this forlorn slip of a girl standing alone, with her suitcase, and looking up at me as we drew alongside. She looked cold and my heart went out to her. I called her name and she waved back. What a brave girl I had married. I was so proud of her and more so when I ran down the gangway I hugged and kissed her, before bringing her to my cabin. When all had calmed down and the other more experienced wives of officers had arrived, we all set to introducing ourselves to each other. Captain Catlender was very good to Molly and made her feel at home. She too, liked him and I was pleased that everything looked to be going well.
We did not have much time in Rotterdam before we set off for our next port, Hamburg. Molly liked to spend time on the Bridge, looking out, enjoying the sea, and taking in all the activity onboard. I was on duty in the Radio room for much of the trip but luckily it did not take long, and it was lovely having Molls aboard. I was quite friendly with a Maltese engineer who was familiar with the night-life in Hamburg so one night we took him up on his offer to take us ashore to a nightclub he recommended. I had never been to one before, and Molly certainly had not even known this life existed. To our surprise, when we arrived, it turned out to be less of a nightclub and more of a nude woman show. Poor Molly did not know where to put her face. Girls came out on stage in their birthday suits and danced around the floor. What really got Molly was when one girl, who had a feather duster, kept dusting another girl ‘downstairs’. Molly buried her head in my back in embarrassment and eventually we had to leave because Molly could not take any more. It sure was an experience for both of us.
We went ashore a couple of times more on that stopover and we enjoyed each other’s company before the time came for us to say our goodbyes as all the wives were going home. Fortunately, two of them were going by train to the Hook of Holland, so Molly had company for some of her return journey. From there Molly went on to London, where she stayed for a while with her sister, Anne. Being Sunday when she arrived there they decided to go to Mass. Instead of going to Westminster Cathedral, a first time for Anne too, they ended up in Westminster Abbey. It took them some time to realise their mistake and they had a good laugh about it. From London, Molly travelled home and continued to stay with her mother while I was at sea. My ship carried on and we sailed back to Houston in Texas, where the ship was again laid up, due to lack of cargo. On the 24th January, 1958, I flew home again, on full pay, to await further developments. It was great to be with Molly again, and we made most of our time together. I never again sailed on the Albert G. Brown, and have only now found out what happened to her.
July 2005; I have just located the following on the internet and it brings back good memories, but still leaves me sad at the ending of the AGB:
History of Albert G. Brown.
1943. September 3rd Keel was laid.
1943. October 18th ship launched.
1943. November, Built by Delta Shipbuilding
Corporation, New Orleans, Louisiana.
1943. Operated by American Trading and Production
Corporation, Baltimore, Maryland.
1948. Owned by; Bernuth Lembcke Company,
New York.
1954. Owned by; Torres Shipping Company,
Liberian Flag (Bernuth Lembcke Co. New York).
1960. Scrapped Hirao, Japan.
Sad! I remember somebody once said that ships that are scrapped could end up as razor blades. I wonder…
For five months I drew full pay whilst remaining at home. It was fantastic and felt wonderful to have so much time to enjoy with my new wife. During this time, Molly and I stayed in Cork for some of the time. We also travelled around, went to London, and visited various other places. All in all we had a great time. We spent some time at home in Harbour Row with mammy, daddy and the rest of the family, which I really enjoyed.
Then I got the call to go to South Shields, in England, to help commission another tanker that the Company had purchased and life was to keep moving on again. There were more sad goodbyes and promises to write as I packed my bags and got ready to leave for another unknown duration.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
As I headed off to my eleventh deep sea voyage, this time on board the s.s Adellen to USA, Aruba, Curacao and Venezuela, It was June 13th 1958 when I put pen to paper and signed on and I learned I would be joining the crew from the Albert G. Brown. It was good to meet old friends again, including Captain Vice, and when we were all signed on in South Shields and sailed to Newport, Monmouthshire, in Wales, where the ship was to be totally overhauled. This would be a long stay again in port. The ship had previously been British owned and all the fittings and supply lines were also British. However, it was now owned by the Torres Shipping Company (Bernuth Lembcke Co. New York.) The Chief Engineer took great delight in replacing all British fittings with American equipment.
This turned out to be a momentous time in my life as it was around this time that Molly became pregnant. I remember when I phoned home she told me that she felt she was going to have a baby, and waited for my reaction. I don’t know what she expected, but I was overjoyed. Within a few days I came home on the Innisfallen for a week and the second I saw her I picked her up and hugged her with delight. Then, I thought I might hurt the baby so I calmed down and placed her gingerly back on the ground! Both our families were delighted and we had a big celebration. Molly seemed to bloom more and more as the days went by. After a week or so I had to return to the ship for completion of commissioning.
Back on board it was all hands on deck. As well as having the engines and operating systems inspected, torn apart, and then reinstalled, the Chief Engineer continued to replace all electrical wires and fittings with American replacements. Finally, the day came to take our ship out of dock and go for trials. We moved slowly up the river, and as speed was increased the engines froze, and shut down. We needed assistance. There was no way we would be able to get underway under our own steam. The Captain came to me and asked me to get an urgent message off to the agents, asking for tug assistance. As we were under pilot control, and had not left port, I was technically not on duty. Nevertheless, I switched on the transmitter, and started to send the message to Seaforth radio, which was the closest medium wave station. Alas, nothing was happening. The aerial was grounded somewhere, and since we were not leaving port I had not felt it necessary to check before we left the dock. After a quick look at the aerial, I realised th
at the only place something was wrong was within the steel box, which housed the down lead, via the insulator to the Radio Room. To access the inside meant that about twenty-five steel nuts would have to be removed, and repairs would have to be carried out to the aerial. This would take too long, so I had only one option and hoped that it would work. I advised the Captain of the problem and he was up the wall. With his consent, I began to put into action my plan. I switched to short-wave radio, on 8 m/cs and tried for Portishead Radio, GKN, which was only a few miles away. I hoped that the signal would get through using the short section of aerial between the transmitter and the isolated section to the main aerial. Out went my call to Portishead, and I could not believe it when they came straight back to me and confirmed I had got my message off OK. Soon after, a tug arrived and took us in tow back to the dock. Further repairs were carried out, and as I suspected the aerial problem was within the isolating box. It turned out that welding had taken place on the box, and the heat had melted the solder at the internal connection, causing the aerial wire to fall off, and become grounded. When this was repaired everything was fine. I was pleased I had managed to sort the problem but not as pleased as the Captain!
After the remaining repairs were completed further trials proved successful and we headed out to sea. We were bound for Vita, Cuba, where we loaded Molasses, and took it to Jacksonville, Florida. We had another short trip to Curacao, and Venezuela and back to Jacksonville before the ship was again laid up and I signed off on December 10th, 1958. This time again, I got home on full pay and standby. It was a lucky and exciting time as I awaited a very special arrival.
I had been in frequent contact with Molly all this time, either by ship’s telegram or letters so though I had been hearing all the exciting news and developments concerning the pregnancy, coming home and seeing it for myself was very special. We both looked forward to seeing each other and when I did arrive home it was terrific. I could not believe my eyes when I saw Molly this time. She had been working around the house, getting things ready for my return and did not expect me home so early so was not dolled up as she liked to be. To me, she looked radiant. The changes, though, were astonishing. Her once slim waist now showed the change which occurred over the past eight months. There nestled inside, was our first baby, and the thrill of feeling the movement of this baby was wonderful. Was that a bum or a leg which just moved? It was a great guessing game! We spent hours going for long leisurely walks and talking all about the exciting future ahead of us. We wondered about the baby’s sex and planned the coming years ahead with excitement.
Molly’s sister, Doreen, was also pregnant at the same time and I was pleased that Molly had someone else to discuss all the intricacies of her new found condition with. It was January 1959 when Molly started getting her contractions. Her Ma kept monitoring the times and frequencies of them whilst I kept asking if it was time to get a taxi to the hospital as I was eager to leave and get to the relative safety of the medical establishment. I was getting quite nervous, as the contractions became more and more frequent. We had realised that labour had started earlier that night when we were in bed and Molly had given a yelp as all of a sudden the waters burst. Ma arrived into the room, while I fussed about wondering what to do. Ma took over completely. She told Molly that it would loosen her up for the birth if she walked to the Nursing Home which was reasonably close by. It was about two a.m on a cold January morning, when we started out from the house and walked slowly up Summerhill. Molly was in between her Ma and me, and was very brave chatting and smiling all the while. I, on the other hand, was a bundle of nerves. When we reached the Nursing home we were pleased to discover that Molly had a lovely room to herself. The lady in charge said there was no point in us waiting all night as she felt Molly was not quite ready to deliver the baby so she suggested that we go home.
Ma and I walked back to the house, after saying our goodbyes to Molly, and promised to come back up in the morning. We had a cup of tea and a cigarette, and then went to our beds. Eventually, I fell asleep. I awoke early in the morning with a mixture of excitement and trepidation wondering what the news would be. As we did not have a phone in the house we had no idea what was going on in the nursing home. So, after waiting for a while more, and a couple of cups of tea later, we headed back up the nursing home, with me praying that it was all over, to find out to our delight that Molly had given birth to our first baby.
A smiling maternity nurse met us, and told us that Molly had a beautiful baby girl, who was born in the early hours of the morning, soon after we had left the home. We hurried into see them both. Molly was sitting up in bed in the room, looking radiant, and smiling from ear to ear, I immediately went to her as the new Gran went to the cot where the baby was asleep. I kissed Molly, hugged her, and told her how proud and relieved I was to be a father for the first time. In the cot beside her was a lovely, rosy-cheeked baby, who was trying to get some sleep, despite all the excitement around her. I picked her up gently with awe. She was a little gem, and I hugged and kissed her, and welcomed her into the family, and into the world. I felt so proud. Molly was laughing at my antics, as I looked at the tiny fingers and tiny toes, marvelling at this wonderful gift from God. I put the baby back into the cot and held Molly’s hand. She told me that she kept counting the baby’s fingers and toes to make sure all were where they should be.
The room was bright, and there was a lovely fire in the grate. Molly looked so relaxed, and said the few hours of sleep she got after the birth was the nicest sleep she had ever had. She was to get those sleeps on three more occasions! However, there were many other nights later, during the rearing of our children, that were far from nights of pleasant sleep as we were kept up feeding them, changing nappies, and helping them with teething and other illnesses. It was worth it all.
When Molly finally came home with our baby, there was great excitement. Donald and Paddy were over the moon. Donald was to become her chief protector when I was not around and he loved playing with her. We took our little baby to Cobh to visit my family and there was a lot of commotion when we arrived at home. Daddy and Mammy were thrilled, as were my sisters. Anthony sent his best wishes from the USA. Daddy used to drive me up the wall by calling the baby “Lovely Girl,” over and over. It was always in a singsong manner. He loved her, and it was his way of expressing this love for her. Another admirer that she had was a dog called Sparky who loved to sit and guard the pram. Nobody, except family, was allowed near the baby, her watch dog. Sparky, growled and barked to frighten people away from our precious new treasure.
We now had to think of a name for our baby and it did not take too long to decide on Ann, in honour of Molly’s mother. Marie was added as a second name, though there was no relative who bore this name, it was just that Molly liked it to go with Ann. So our first baby was to be called Ann Marie Lynch.
We bought a lovely high pram, and Molly loved to dress Ann up and keep her in spotlessly clean baby clothes and walk her through Cork city, meeting her friends, who stopped to admire baby Ann. We kept taking photos on a regular basis. Soon enough, as is the Irish way, the day for the christening arrived, and of course relatives and friends congregated at St. Patrick’s Church, where Molly and I had been married, to welcome our daughter Ann who looked lovely in the christening gown, which was a family heirloom, and had been used in the christenings of all her side of the family, including Molly herself. Ann behaved very well, and did not cry or make noises, even when the cold water was poured on her head. Ann’s Godparents were her Uncle Donald and Aunt Anne Chapman (née Kiely). Both families attended this special occasion and we all retired to Molly’s house for tea and cakes after. It was a wonderful day and a special time, however, it was after this lovely occasion that things began to change in the house.
Everything was going well enough except I was finding it difficult to accept Ma’s ways, and I felt she tried to take over a lot. She was often issuing orders to me and, since she had three sons who had to obey her every whim
, she felt I too should do the same. However, I too had a strong will and was not used to being humiliated and bullied. Anyway, the long and the short of it was that one day, whilst in the kitchen having tea, I asked Molly if there was a clean shirt for me to change into for the following day. Ma interrupted and started to give out to me.
I got up from the table and left the kitchen. There was dead silence from all remaining and I felt sorry for Molly being stuck in between us but I was not going to be subjected to this kind of treatment. I called for Molly then and told her I was leaving the house, and would never step foot inside the door again, not until I got a genuine apology, and even then that I did not expect to sleep there again.
I asked Molly if she was willing to come and live in Cobh with me, until we got settled in a home of our own. Poor Molly was torn between her mother and me but said she would come with me. I think Ma believed that I would be back in a day or two, but I told Molly to tell her that I would have a removal van at the house the following day to collect our things. The shock on Ma’s face, and on Donald’s, when we moved out was something I remember to this day. Things were easier living with my family in Cobh. We settled in quickly and enjoyed being a family. During this period baby Ann was able to sit up, and Molly used to sit her on a blanket outside the house, and Sparky would sit close to her so she could reach out and touch him. He was so patient towards her and he would occasionally lick her little face and she would gurgle and laugh with delight. A beautiful sound!