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Reardon Smith Nautical College

67K views 141 replies 48 participants last post by  duquesa 
#1 ·
Can someone please tell me all they can about the above named college and, if possible any of the cadets who passed through it's doors in the 1950's. Thanks.
 
#63 ·
I was at RSNC 76 - 88 for all my tickets and still keep in touch with Terry Rooney. He's 80 and still active in the NI and HCMM. Geof Snowdon, Mike Pickthorn, Hugh Francis and Ken Waters are still in the area. The original RSNC in Fairwater has gone completely and the Plymouth Arms in St.Fagans is still open. The Malsters was shut down and was up for sale. The modern marine facility in Llandaff is now part of the South Glam Uni. This will break your heart - all the old ship models were given away and are dotted around the Uni with no idea where they came from or what they were for. I don't know what became of Alf Crocker who used to teach us all the seamanship but I do remember on one of the runs to Barry Docks to take a lifeboat round to Cardiff (unsuccessfully) one of the lads streamed a sea anchor through the aft windows of the van and brought the old COMMA van to a standstill!! The old Mercantile Marine Office in Bute Place - the one with the wooden toilet seats and gas fittings - now has a preservation order on it and you may recall the crusty old gal BJ Davies that spent her life at the MMO processing all our exam papers and do***ents. She was given an MBE for her service before she retired. I remember once I was sent out of an orals exam to find a correct answer to an M Notice and went straight to her - she phoned the examiner and said "What the hell are you asking this boy" and gave me the answer !!
 
#64 ·
Glad to hear that Geoff Snowdon Mike Pickthorn and Ken Waters are still around. First met Mike when he was an examiner in Cardiff taking 2nd Mates the only man who could stutter sending morse which used to upset those from Plymouth who ended up with 100 letter blocks, he was a tough but fair examiner, was somewhat suprised when returnign for Mates in walked Mike as as our stability lecturer and bloody good he was too, gave us a mock exam the week before the real thing walked in the examination room for the real thing and the first five questions were as the week before. Geoff Snowdon on MCR in 1971 he had just arrived at Reardon Smith College as it was then from Charley Hills, Ken was our Met lecturer for Mates
 
#67 ·
Rsnc

I was neither cadet captain nor a Lancastrian named Sowerbutts but I love the name! There were 2 battered bugles that used to hang above the reception office door in the gatehouse and I was ensconced in PORT WATCH at the end of the corridor where Freddie lived. He always referred to me as Sinclair - I don't know whether he called everyone that but he always said it to me and that was over a 12 year period!
 
#68 · (Edited)
'Tis no wonder those bugles were battered. There were mornings when I would have loved to have rammed the damned thing right up the bugler's fundamental orifice. Having said that, in my time there, to be honest, it was played beautifully by one Clive Fronks from Cwmbran. Think he joined Graig Shipping where I'm sure there would have been no call for a bugle (Jester)
 
#70 ·
I don't have particularly fond memories of RSNC as it always seemed so intense - no time for relaxing study. You'll be pleased to know that the original Mercantile Marine Office in Bute Place has a preservation order slapped on it and still contains that extremely long reception counter where the formiddable BJ Davies would enrol you into the mob complete with a chart of British funnels in the background. The well worn wooden toilet seats are still there as well as the gas fittings sticking out of the exam room walls - That building now marks the entrance to the showpiece Cardiff Bay development as Tiger Bay has long vanished. The Mount Stuart pub directly opposite the MMO was bulldozed to create the entrance and the NUS building also went along with the North Star club. The Big Windsor still stands as that also has a preservation order on it and sits proudly in the middle of all this development along with the Steam Packet.
 
#71 ·
My late father Peter (Pete) Radford was a cadet at Reardon Smith Nautical College I believe from 1956 to 1957 and he worked for the line until his tragic death in 1970.

If anyone has stories about my Dad, please let me know via private messages and I will give my e-mail. I would love to get some stories from classmates and colleagues alike to put down on paper.

Thanks

Peter (always known as Pete) Radford (we had the same middle initial but different middle names)
 
#73 ·
Following a rummage through the storage boxes some clipping came to light. While the are not best quality, dating as they do to 1957 and taken from the local press where the standard of paper and resulting print was nor up to to days newspaper standards, the might nevertheless be interesting.

1, Nocturne arrives at Cardiff on Sunday 5th May on the delivery voyage from Dartmouth after a voyage of 10 days.

2, The crowd for that momentous voyage. Standing L-R Paul Wightman, Derek Roberts (hired engineer for the trip), Capt. John Ninian Rose, Fred Ball. Sitting L-R Garry Harnett, Walter Burroughs, Michael Meredith,

3, The hand over of Nocturne to RNSC. Up to this point Nocturne was owned by the Reardon Smith family. She was formally gifted to RNSC (i.e Cardiff City Council) shortly after arriving from Dartmouth. The Lord Mayor, Alderman D T Williams ( on the gangway) when aboard to accept the ship from The Readon Smith family. Capt. John is on the dock side. Its difficult to see who the Cadet at the head of the gangway is possibly Pat Simmons.

Michael Meredith
 

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#75 ·
Well here`s another one out of the woodwork,although I`ve been in this particular woodwork since 2007,but this is the first time I `ve seen the RSNC thread,where has it been.
OK.Where to start---I attended college from sept`56 to july `57.
So 'Masirah' I know you---You are now my forth find from "our time" at RSNC. Have found Gary Harnett via Facebook,he lives in Tennessee,Quite extensive correspondance with Walter Burroughs who is now in Australia.He has had quite a bit of info from me about our time in Cardiff,which apparently has been printed into a Reardon Smith Line Newsletter ,sometime I think last year,(maybe year before
),time seems to go so quickly these days! Maybe a request in the Reardon Smith Forum will find a copy.
The photo with Capt Rose holding the cup,from the left, standing, are
A.Gummerson,M.T.Meredith, H.P.Simmons,R.Caunt(me),Al Badir, R.Irvine,L.K.Edwards,G.Harnett,S.Lawrence
Sitting are Saliba,?, Capt Rose, W.Burroughs, R.J.Jeffrey,P.Radford
I put this photo on Friends Reunite about ten years ago and still don`t know what the cup was for.
I have a newsletter from Capt Rose dated 4th December 1957.
 
#79 ·
Reardon Smith Christmas letter

Oh well here goes,
Its in PDF format and unfortunately the original page size appears to be (I think)legal so I have had to split each page into two,my copier is only A4,apart from the last page which is a single.
Hopefully it will be self evident

Regards

Richard
 

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#80 ·
Reardon Smith College Mast

Last one for tonight,doing this makes you realise how old we are all getting.This photo was just after we had finished putting the damn thing up. The guy at the bottom,Saliba, was nearly killed when we were erecting it.He was on the first platform(I`ve forgotten the proper name)when a hoisting rope broke higher up and a block came down and hit him on the head.He was only saved from going over when somebody grabbed him by the scruff of the neck.
Happy days
 

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#81 ·
Hi Richard

Good to hear from you. I have just finished reading the News Letter what memories that brought back particularly having been a participant in most of the activities mentioned. Thank you for posting it. It was also good to remember the guys that 'enjoyed´ our time there. It is sad that the place did not last and I believe there is virtually nothing to show that it was there at all theses days.

Best Regards

Michael (Masirah)
 
#82 ·
OK---- Just a bit of humour,well it`s humurous now,but it wasn`t at the time!
The time being, November 1956,specifically Bonfire Night.We were told by the cadets who were there the term before, that they had been told by their predecessors who were there on Bonfire Night 1955,that the place had been attacked by the local Teddy Boys,throwing stones,clods of earth and generally being a pain.
Not again,"Not while we`re here" we thought.So--- After lights out, we crept out(all apart from a lad called Gummerson),(I wish I could remember his first name).After patrolling the grounds in the dark and being very quiet----Nothing!!!! and we all ended up sitting on the wall at the corner of Plasmawr and Fairwater roads with our legs dangling over the edge,after pushing our way through the thick Laurel and Privet bushes.The wall was only about two feet high on the inside but about five feet high on the outside,with a small stream running at the bottom followed by a low stone wall separating it from the pavement.Guess what? after a while some local talent walked by,whether by arrangement or accident I know not.
With a bit of chat by certain people and a lot of help they also ended up sitting on the wall.The road unfortunately, was quite well lit,so we were all in plain view,that is until the guy on the right hand end of the wall,the end nearest the college gate, suddenly hissed "Mr Keene" and dissapeared with a backward flip,closely followed by the rest of us,like a row of ducks at a fairground shooting gallery.
The rest of the sleepless night was spent wondering what was going to happen to us----
Duly, the next morning all those that had been out(apart from Gummerson--what was his name?)were summoned to Captain Roses` study.
Now having been there with my wife, just before the place was demolished, and having blagged our way in past the watchman,we had a look round and went to what had been Captain Roses` study.How small it seemed, and back in 1956 how we all fitted in I have no idea,must have been like sardines!
For the life of me I cannot remember the punishment we received(all apart from Gummerson that is---what was his name)
To this day I am convinced that the only reason we weren`t all given the push was because there were so many of us.
Oh I nearly forgot----Mr Keene had to help all the girls back down to the road on his own and that didn`t help our case at all!!

Can you remember all this Michael???
 
#84 ·
Hi Richard,

I remember the talk about the previous fire works night but not what we did about it. Since we were all involved, except Gummerson that is, yes what was his first name? the project must have involved the cadet leadership and no doubt our plea in mitigation was that we were only protecting the RNSC interests and the only misdemeanor was being out of bed after lights out I suspect that we got extra drill for forms sake.

Rose's office was small and it must have been crowded with us all there and that in itself would have made it difficult for Rose and Keane to be serious and I do not recall there being any individual followup. I always felt that Rose was trying too hard to make us look like a military establishment which several of us felt was something of a joke. I don't suppose it did us much harm but it was nevertheless a tad silly. Too much P&O/BISNC with a dash of Warsash to thicken the mixture. As the say there's the Royal Navy, the Merchant Navy, but then there's P&O.

All said and done it was a good time.

Michael
 
#102 ·
Just been having a rummage and found this.
My, how prices have gone up!!!!
(From Aug 1956)
Thank you for this. I enjoyed reading the Outfit List, it was worse than the bl00dy Worcester. I mean 'Rolled Gold Cufflinks' .....double ended bow tie..!?
As a thirteen year old I recall struggling mightily with stiff collars !

I have a vague association with Cardiff having done 1st Mates there in 1969.
 
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