Gangway No.1 Spring 1976 - BlueStarLine.org

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Hadley's having a much younger wife ! 'Monty' Brown of the Insurance and Claims Department joined Blueport from the Port Line Auditors of Baker Sons and Bell. A keen sportsman and cricketing fan, he was aptly said to have carried a straight bat during all his time with us, and he was held in grea t affection by his workmates. Mrs Mabel R obbins had been our tea lady since the buildi ng opened in 1956. She remembered serving M r Hazlitt his tea when he was a mere lad in the Freight Department. In those days only tea was served-no biscuits-and a collection fo r the cost of this was made at the end of each week ! I W 'Ben' Bennett, our H ead M essenger in Blue Sta r since 1969, had ruled the M essenger Service with a rod of iron-but his unifo rm jacket was known to hide a heart of gold. G E Johnson , another original Blueport member, joined in 1972 and had helped Mr Bennett since 1973 in the BS M essenger service. H is kind, unassuming, and efficient manner was appreciated by aB those who knew him. Alec Harrison joined Blueport in 1968 and fo r most of this time worked in the Traffic Department, until Bluepon came to Albion House, when he moved over to the Freight Depan ment. Alec was renowned fo r his cheerful manner, which was possibly due to the accuracy of his horse racing forecasts! Cha rlie Fielder joined Blueport in 1973 and fo r a time looked after that Company's messenger service. He was well remembered by Mr Hazlitt, who could rely upon him appearing instantly, like a genie, whenever wanted. More recently, he has been working with the BS Freight Department and has made a name fo r himself as someone who gives a great deal of attention to customers' requirements. Robbie Robinson was the most highly articulate member of our staff. He joined us in our messenger service in 1973 to escape the rigours of teaching, and presumably found our life more amenable. He later transferred to the Freight Department. Mrs Brenda Key was the other half of the T ea Lady Service on the ground floor, having joined us in 1973. She was always willing to tackle any extra work when the occasion arose. A J Mayna rd had been with us only a year in Al bion House, serving tea and coffee. After serving as a steward at sea with Blue Sta r and various other companies, he had come ashore in 1969 and worked with Blueport at the London Dock Office fo r five yea rs. Obituaries We record with great regret the fo llowing deaths: Blue S tar Line Henry Taylor , on 7 November 1975. M r T aylor was Chief Superintendent of BSL when he retired in December 197 1. An appreciation of his life will be given in the next issue. Lamparl & H all Ernest T em p leton Courtney, Chief Cashier of Lamport & Holt Line Limited, on 8 November 1975. Mr Courtney joi ned the Company in M arch 1913 and retired on 3 1 March 1957. He was an example to others for the way he overcame the severe handica p of a 1914- 18 war injury, which he never allowed to get the better of him. Having enjoyed eighteen years of retirement, he was predeceased by many of his contemporaries, and his wealth of anecdotes about 'Lamport happenings' between the wars will be sadly missed by all those who knew him. Blue Star Line New Voyage and Contract Costing Section As a res ult of the increasing need fo r competi tive quotes in specialised reefer markets, a Voyage and Contract Costi ng section has been formed within the M anagement Accounts D epartment. The section will cater for reefer and voyage projects and other contract costing for both BSL and BSPL. The new section is headed by A C Radford, assis ted by D N P owell, and will provide info rmation required by the Service M anagers. A taste of the Caribbean a t the annual dance A total of 357 staff and guests of BSL and its associated companies packed the second annual dance to be held at M ecca's Colonial House in London on 12 Decem ber.-We didn't require a rail-strike to get full attendance this year ! All the ingredients fo r a good evening were there in plenty (fo r only £ 1'50 per head)-a Christmas-style d inner with a choice of wine, and a versatile dance band with a very persuas ive MC who allowed no resting. Anyway, who wanted to sit down wi th Spot prizes such as a tube of toothpaste or a bar of soap for the taking ! A taste of the Cari bbean was brought into the evening by a steel band, who played fo r two half-hour stints and encouraged guests to dance calypso style. From comments overheard during and after the dance, it seemed that 'a very enjoyable evening was had by all'. lamporla Hollline News T he accompanying photograph shows a 167-ton transformer from General Electric Company, Stafford, being loaded onto Ronmey at Liverpool. The transformer, accompanied by va rious other heavy lifts, was being shipped to Buenos Aires as part of the El Chocon Dam Project, a hydroelectric complex in Argentina. Romney is a veteran in the South American trade and on this voyage, after loading at Liverpool, Swansea, and G lasgow, was filled to capacity both below and on deck for her voyage to M ontevideo and Buenos Aires via Las Palmas. J S N owery Mrs E Wor sley, who joined J S Nowery of Glasgow as Assistant Cashier and Bookkeeper in April 1969, retired on 3 1 December 1975. Mrs \Vorsley's calm disposition and cheerful manner wi ll be missed by everyone wi th whom she worked at Scotch Corner. All her colleagues send her thei r very best wishes for a long and enj oyable retirement. 4
a:Z BLUE STAR SHIP MANAGEMENT LTD The last passenger ship lf1el/illglofl Star joined the list of ships with which we parted company in 1975. She was sold, like Ro'and~ to Greek interests, while stiB in Sydney in December. Now that Auckland Slar's accommodation has been converted, we no longer have any of the fine series of ships that offered comfortable accommodation to twelve passengers over many years. Anniversary I January saw the official first anniversary of the birth of Blue Star Ship Management. The occasion was celebrated by the issuing of a new BSSM tie, which has since become the admiration of many-particularl y our colleagues in Leadenhall Street. Qualifications for wearing this tie are extremely strict : at least twelve months' hard labour in Liverpool has to be done before applications will even be considered! Eric Usher leaves The end of January saw the departure of Eric Ush er . Eric joined Blue Star in 1964 after a period ashore with ICI in their design department, before which he had sailed with Ben Line. During his brief period at sea with Blue Star, approximately 21 months, Eric saw service with such ships as Queensland Slar and Hobarl Slar ,. his last position as a seafarer was Chief Engineer in Genova Slar. On completion of this tour of duty he took up the appointment in which we all knew him best, Engineering Personnel Superintendent, a post which he has held to date. The call of the sea Eric felt the call of the sea again and has left the Company to take a seagoing engineering appointment with Kuwait Shipping Company. There, no doubt, he will take great pleasure in watching [he Personnel Department trying to sort out all the many problems of himself and his seafaring colleagues! All of us were extremely sorry to say goodbye to Eric, who has done a magnificent job in the Personnel Department for many years. He willingly moved with us to Liverpool, where he has obviously settled very happily, because he and his wife, Audrey, intend staying on here. \V/e hope that we shaH see a great deal more of him over the years, and we are sure he will always be guaranteed a good welcome on any Blue Star ship that he may find himself lying alongside in some remote part of the world. On his departure, W J Murray was promoted to Assistant Fleet Personnel Manager, and will look after the bulk of the work for which Eric had been responsible, particularly the appointment of senior Engineering Officers. \Ve have endeavoured to spread the load a little in that Department and are in the process of sending details round to all Engineering Officers concerning the individual responsible for their welfare in future. G F Wady, who has been acting as one of our technicians for some time, has joined the staff of the Personnel Department as an assistant to Mr Murray. I N Milwa rd New Staff We are pleased to welcome the following members of staff and wish them well in their new appoinnnents : Captain D J Thomas from Blue Star Postbag Magicstar's engine Some notes on my career with Blue Star Line may be of interest to engineers. I do not think that there will be many of the present Engineers in the Company who have sailed with a reciprocating steam engine of the type which was fitted in Magicslar. I was appointed to the ship as a fourth engineer in 1919 after the vessel had had a refit at Smiths Dock Company, South Bank, Middlesbrough; the Chief Engineer was J Coombes. You can imagine my surprise when I surveyed the engine: it was a tripleexpansion model, with a Marshal! Gear valve mechanism which had only one eccentric for each cylinder-ahead and astern movements. It was so different from the standard arrangement of Stephenson's link motion where two eccentrics are always used for each cylinder that it took some time to work out the function of the reversing gear. New experience Since I had had earlier experience at Smiths Dock Company, in the design of triple expansion engines for trawlers and other vessels, I looked forward to running this unusual engine as a power unit. The voyage to the River Plate was fascinating, and enabled all the engine room staff to learn more of the complexities of this engine, and to calculate its horse power and balance. le was definitely as efficient a steam engine as its competitors. The layout of the other machinery in the engine room was such that two large ammonia refrigeration machines were placed one either side of the main engine on the bottom platform. At times it was extremely difficult to remain down below when the refrigerator compressor glands started to leak ammonia. In May 1920, I was transferred to Norman Slar and a year later to Doric Slar. The latter was, I believe, the first Blue Port Line Management, who becomes a Ship Manager C Wright, who transfers from Blue Star Shore Gang to Engi neers' Dept B 0 M ead, who transfers from our sea staff to our Engineers' Dept Mrs J Preston-Office Manager's Dept M Lorimer-Purchasing Dept T Rickard-Fleet Personnel Dept Wedding Our congratulations to T G Scott of Purchasing Dept on his recent marriage to Miss Kathleen Wrigley. The wedding took place at 11 am on Friday 28 November at Alexander Hall Registry Office, Crosby. G E Gunner Star Line vessel fitted with double reduction geared turbines. After her maiden voyage to China, I came ashore to further my career in shiprepairing. R Dixon Ex-Manager, J Russell & Co Ship Repairers For lovers of sail I photographed this Thames barge running up the Solent from the Needles on a sailing holiday last August, when we were an hour and a half out of Shalfleet, IO\V, making for Keyhaven on the mainland. The barge, named Dobbie, possibly registered in Rochester, made a fine sight under sail with everything drawing. Moreover, in view of the diminishing number of these working craft, it was a memorable sight to see her in her natural surroundings. A surprising thing about the vessel was the speed she was making through the water, even allowing for a favourable tide, which accounts for the fact that the name on the stern could not be read. To a lover of sail from Merseyside tlus was the highlight of a successful week afloat aboard a Fairey Atalanta in the Solent, along with three companions. I am sure that this picture will stir the memory of all shellbacks in our Company, as well as lovers of beauty on our London, provincial, and overseas staff. J W H Brereston Lamport & Holt 5
Page 2 and 3: Gangway Number 7 Spring 1976 Journa
Page 4 and 5: The COl wins The f ollowing is the
Page 8 and 9: 'SIarman Express; .. Starmall conti
Page 10 and 11: • Hamish M cKean beside his Cessn
Page 12 and 13: Holl 0 Century wilh Blue Slor line-
Page 14 and 15: The ever-growing share of world tra
Page 16 and 17: Colonel U A Vowling was one of the
Page 18 and 19: The artist at sea " CA Jackson, a B
Page 20 and 21: Amanda Miller. a 66.000 dwt oi/ tan
Page 22 and 23: Richards Bay - Soulh Africa's major
Page 24 and 25: Blue SIar line AFRIC AMERICA ANDALU
Page 26: lamporl I Holl line RAEBURN RAPHAEL

Gangway No.1 Spring 1976 - BlueStarLine.org

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?