BLUE FUNNEL: GETTING STARTED CONTINUED

Thought I should say a little more about that first Blue Funnel Voyage - I was the junior of 4 middys. The Captain was a wonderful man called H.S.Clarke - supposedly the most highly decorated of all our captains in the 2nd World War. I didn't see him until we got to Port Said when I was surprised to see him fall down the Bridge ladder after which I don't think I saw him until we reached Singapore! I sailed with him again several years later when I was 3rd Mate on S.S.Jason sailing down to Australia - still a lovely man. I also sailed with his son Kenny on M.V.Diomed which was the company's Cadet ship. (I'll talk more about that ship some other time) 

Anyway that first voyage was amazing - Blueys usually loaded outward cargo in Birkenhead so that is where we joined Laomedon. When we returned to UK nearly 4 months later we discharged cargo in Liverpool the other side of the Mersey. So the joke went that Blueys sailed from Birkenhead to Liverpool via the Far East! Boo Boom! 

Ports visited - Rotterdam, Singapore, Bangkok, Djakarta, Semerang, Surabaya, Balik Papan, Port Swettenham, Singapore, Penang, Trincomalee, Aden, Port Sudan, Suez, Port Said, and Glasgow. Quite an eye-opener for a 17 year old! 

There's a couple of reasons why I particularly remember this first time in Bangkok : Firstly I was detailed to hoist the Thai Ensign as a Courtesy Flag so I went to the Bridge flag lockers and pulled out the flag that said Thailand, unfortunately someone had replaced it with the International Code signal flag C. I hoisted it quite happily and it was half way through the morning that somebody ashore noticed the error - was I embarrassed?! The Thai Ensign has horizontal bars which run from the top - red, white, blue, white, red - whereas the C flag runs blue, white, red, white, blue! : Secondly I lost my cherry to a Bangkok fairy !! Very nice.

Singapore was always a delight and there were lots of Blue Funnel and Glen Line ships, every time I visited, all lined up in Keppel Harbour. The Anson Bar in Anson Road quite close to the Dock entrance became a regular watering hole - I also remember a lovely Chinese bar girl called Jenny with whom I became very enamoured over a period of time. Regular visitors were the little Gorgon and Charon and the old Orestes - the first two on the Singapore Australia run carrying sheep as well as passengers I think - maybe it was passengers and general cargo? Also there was usually one of the P class and probably a couple of other A boats and a Glen boat or two.

As employees of Alfred Holt & Co. we didn't just sail on Blue Funnel ships but on the red funnelled Glen & Shire Line as well - the only difference being that Blueys were named after Greek mythological characters and the Glens had red funnels and were named after Scottish Glens and Welsh Shires. Anyway, more about them later as well.

BLUE FUNNEL: LET'S GET STARTED

I went to sea as a Midshipman in the Blue Funnel Line of Alfred Holt & Co. in 1959. In fact, looking at my Apprentice's Indenture, apparently I signed up on April 14th so I guess that was probably more or less the date I sailed on my first trip. So if I was born November 1941 - I must have been 17 and nearly a half years old. Anyway I loved it - every minute! Looking further at my Indentures I see that I was paid £60 for the first 6 months, £168 for the first year after that and in my third and last year of Indentures the vast sum of £228! Riches indeed - can't complain tho' because that was all-in with full board and lodging whilst at sea - including fantastic 3 star hotel food!  Just turned the Indentures over (they are printed on canvas!) and typed on the back are the voyages I did as a Midshipman and my first voyage was on M.V. Laomedon starting 24th April, so now I know!

We had various names for the company - Alfies, Blueys, Blue Flue, 'the China Boats', sometimes even 'the Welsh Navy'!  -- Anyway Blue Flue were the only company in the Merchant Navy who called their apprentices Midshipmen - other companies had Cadets or Apprentices - we were special!  

Talking of 'special', There used to be a saying somewhere that you had 'The Gentlemen of the P&O, The Officers of the Blue Funnel Line, and the Men of the Merchant Navy!!' We were proud to be Officers!

Anyway - I have to get to the Sailing Club now to chew some fat with 'the lads'.