I was very interested to see Bish mentioned. I had knew he had been lost on the Derbsyhire and I first came across him during 1951 when I did two trips on the old Cheshire to Aussie, Bish was the 2nd R/O and I was 3rd R/O. My last trip was a coastal one on the old Worcestershire in 1953 and the Bish was acting 1st R/O. It was just before Christmas and there was a monumental thrash in Bristol. I kept hearing banging and scratching through the bulkhead from his cabin. It turned out next day he had thought he was stood up rather than lying on the deck and had been circulating for several hours trying to find a light switch. They don't have characters like that anymore. God Bless him. Regards, Roger
Roger
I coasted with "Bish" around europe before taking over from him. He was as you say a bit of a legend also a tremendous smoker. He would light up and put it in an ash tray whilst copying the weather, then take the report to the bridge, were he would light up another whilst chatting to 3/0. He would leave that one on the chart table. By know the one in the radio room was burnt down, so would light another one and so on. He had packets stashed everywhere. When he left the ship, I was still finding packets in draws, spares cupboard, under the bunk etc.
He didn't like "Jaspers" (roaches) and devised a way of keeping them away from his bunk. He kept a pile of suger in one of the draws under his day bed so as to attract them all there, the problem was, I think he had all the "Jaspers" from everyone elses cabin visiting.
In the time I was with him, he was fiercy concientious about nav warnings and weather reports and when I heard of his loss in Derbshire, I was convinced that the tragedy could not in anyway be blamed on lack of weather info by radio.
He was as you say, one of the Characters, also immensely kind to myself as a young man starting my career. It was terrible he should be lost, especially as he must have been so close to retiring.
Alan
ps his full name was I believe-- Royal Albert Waller