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old shipmates

14K views 34 replies 6 participants last post by  james Townsley 
#1 ·
this ones for the west coast boys.wondered if you could help me.i got a transfer to greenock when rosyth got the elbow.served there for a year before taking ma money and went to work for rms back at rosyth.[i couldnt hack the traveling.2 to 3 hours driving every day].i really enjoyed masel at the great harbour and met some great characters.i was mainly on the tender felstead[not sure o spelling] anyone know mick o,conner [mbe], martin curtis,or big archie the ab/cook.jusy wondered if they were still on boats or not.chris hughes,stevie haldane,colin erskine,greg harper,alec laird[jr],kevin whyte,davie ferrier,[all ex rosyth].
 
#3 ·
i never even knew he was on newton slowone.i got sub-contracted out to salmoor about 10 years ago and colin was aboard so i just assumed that he was still there.im obviously out of date wi my info.you now have NEW fleet tenders ! what was wrong wi the old ones ?ps did i ever sail with you on salmaster ?
 
#4 ·
Roo, I think Alisatair Fraser (now in charge of tugs in Aussie) might know where Davy Ferrier is and what he does these days. Al works for Svitzer Australia if you can get an email address from their website. If I find an email address I'll let you know.

By the way, see my comments in the gallery where you asked about SD Victoria.

Cheers, you'll be watching the Pars today then? (Bounce)
 
#7 ·
Ref Felsted

Mick O' Conner's retired now, big Archie also retired.

M Curtis, Chris Hughes jnr, A Laird jnr, big Greg, C Erskine still at Great Harbour, or what's left of it. Not sure about Stevie Haldane.

Kevin White out and Davie Ferrier out. Davie is out in Sharjah, UAE working as a Training Superintendant for Lamnalco.

Hope this helps (from a West Coaster)(Jester)
 
#11 ·
thanks joe 732.i take it by that statement that the great harbours been hit pretty hard then.its a bloody sin the way the **** got ripped out o that job.davies in the uae ! how did that come about?he was a junior officer when i left.but i always thought that he would go far.[didnt expect that far though].i heard that gerry furze was on the west coast as well recently.m curtis was my drinking buddy when we went away on fleet tenders.il have to look up lamnalco.[never heard o them].and big archie was one o them guys [theres one in every port], that got on wi everyone.really nice guy.and mick kept us going with sea stories [all the time lol].
thanks again.
roo.[eastie beastie]
 
#8 ·
Hi roo, sorry I can't place you from your sign on. Yes I was on Salmaster with Willie Miller, took over from Big Bev. Left Rosyth in 1990ish and went to Bath.
Regarding the Fleet Tenders the old ones you knew are all out in the commercial world now earning a living even though the MoD said they were no good. Look at Serco Marine Services site and you will see a load of boats are up for sail, including the new tenders.
 
#10 ·
yep . i know you then cos i was aboard during that era.i was the young guy[not anymore] wi the long hair [not any more] who drove the gemini.your er/s were dunc gillanders,dougie harper,and a tall guy wi ginger hair called davie.i remember davie langlands was chief for a wee while too.will milne was skipper,bob sutherland was mate,davie castle [rip]was caterer,vince cullen was steward,bobby cardi [rip] was cook.[replaced by billy hume the mad irishman].terry morris was bosun and bobby barr [black bob] was leading seaman.big ian dredge drove the crane.and there was loads more came and went.too many to list over the years.regarding fleet tenders, i tend to agree wi you.they were great wee boats that could be used for almost any purpose.which is probably why they have all been snapped up by commercial companys.
 
#20 ·
yeah terrys retired but vince still works beside me on the 2 dogs.dont know if ian has crossed but il find out and get back to you.bobby barr is a bus driver for stagecoach these days. i hope his driving has improved.(Jester).dont worry about the old grey matter in yer head letting ye down.were all getting older.it happens.im not as switched on as i used to be[which wasnt much ].i seem to remember you skippered salmaster one time while willie was on leave for that bloody awfull trial we used to do every year up off iceland.and i picked ye up in my motor to bring ye in that morning for some reason.you lived not far from the main mail sorting office.or is my brain malfunctioning ?
Hello to Vince then. Has he seen the photo in the galleries of him on the Cairn as a young man? At least Bobby Barr won't put a bus aground!! Yeah I remember that trial we used to do - called a JMC I think (joint maritime course). We had to put into Stonorway to land a DRA guy who'd crushed his hand. I know the lads got upset because I wouldn't go alongside! I also remember Big Colin asking me why we were going out to sea in that force 11 gale! I can't remember if you picked me up or not, I stayed at the back of Asda then, the old one, I was just off Woodmill Road.
 
#21 ·
Hello to Vince then. Has he seen the photo in the galleries of him on the Cairn as a young man? At least Bobby Barr won't put a bus aground!! Yeah I remember that trial we used to do - called a JMC I think (joint maritime course). We had to put into Stonorway to land a DRA guy who'd crushed his hand. I know the lads got upset because I wouldn't go alongside! I also remember Big Colin asking me why we were going out to sea in that force 11 gale! I can't remember if you picked me up or not, I stayed at the back of Asda then, the old one, I was just off Woodmill Road.
yeah hes seen them.thats right then . i did pick ye up for some reason .am i right in sayin that we anchored just outside the harbour?
 
#26 ·
bloody hell ! i done a target tow up off the western isles on lodestone.k white skipper,d ferrier mate.only other person i can remember was the cook called jeff.the place definately sounds as if its being run down.shame.i liked it there.how did the sal get so damaged.cant be that bad surely?or was it just a convienient excuse to cut the fleet a bit more.
 
#28 ·
not sure if it was the same year but i remember a sub took a picture o salmaster from below and promised us photos. still waiting lol. im gathering rmas photos at the moment mike.will post them next week .various .all pas/rmas. cheers . roo
 
#29 ·
anyone out there know the wherabouts o trevor ashurst ?(ex rmas rosyth and down south). and one for the west coasters. what happened to the likes of george turner . donnie gillan or wee ian the sparx on the r class tug.im sure there was a guy on the lodestone trip i done who was called bongo ! and there was a guy called wingnut on a trip on the trv.and whats jim hughes up to these days? he got me transfered to the west coast wen rosyth got the heave.
 
#30 ·
George Turner retired.

Donnie Gillen unfortunately died ( around 1996/1997 I think)

Bongo or Mongo, might be the same guy. Did he wear a grey correction suit / sweat pant set? ( All the time!!)
Once met, never forgotten.

Wingnut out of Serco on Voluntary Redundy or whatever fancy name that they call it.

Jim Hughes retired after a stint as shipping master at Greenock, prior privatisation in '96, but Chris still at Greenock.

Joe
 
#31 ·
yep , that was bongo all right.he used to go round all the ashtrays on the boat collecting *** ends.then he would take the baccy that was left in them and make roll-ups wi *** papers.(classy).pity about donnie.he was my reporting officer although he wasnt on the same fleet tender as me .good guy though.never gave me a bad report .it was chris hughes who gave me the name roo on ma first day on salmaster in 1988.and george turner cut me a lot of slack wen i was there.he used to let me leave 15 mins early every night so i could get over the kingston bridge before the rush hour kicked in.it was bad enough having to drive that far each day but if i got caught in that traffic it could put an hour onto ma journey.
 
#32 ·
Davie Ferrier became training master in Faslane for when the 2 new 2909 arrived, and left shortly after qualifying, Alex Laird is on SD Northern River as 2nd mate (I think) I left Serco last year having spent 8 years in Faslane. Think there are the 2 fleet tenders and the Eva in the Great Harbour along with the 2 dumb barges. 1 for FW and 1 for fuel.
 
#33 ·
jeezo. it was a busy wee place back in 96.
cheers for the update gordy.
ROO
P.S i met alex laird in tesco rosyth in 2012/2013 ish.
chatted away and all the time i was thinking "i have no idea who you are".
wasn't untill 5 mins after he left it dawned on me who he was lol
definately a senior moment from me.
 
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