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130K views 445 replies 56 participants last post by  BTZ 
#1 ·
Is their anyone out there ex Eastern Ships
 
#415 ·
I remember Tim Sparks on the Eastern Muse now.I went ashore from the Eastern Muse to sit my Mates Ticket and about 2 weeks later joined the Eastern Saga after having 2 goes at signals passing all the rest first go. The Muse was a happy ship and I enjoyed my time on it even though my memory now is a bit hazy.
 
#416 ·
Garry, NOBODY failed signal in HK. Your double failure must have gone into the record books!!! Having said that I have never understood how I passed mine. I was one of those mates who would pretend he did not see the winkling light asking 'what ship' while on watch, or if Sparks was around ask for his help. Remember being called up by Waglan Lighthoue on leaving HK with a long, long message to one of the passengers, full of names of people who were sending their best wishes. I managed to cobble something together and never received any direct complaints from the recipient.

Take care, Nick
 
#417 ·
Eastern Muse

Hi Nick
Great to hear from you! Thanks to our lockdown I've had time to reactivate interest in my Ships Nostalgia account, which was recommended to me by a relation who was a Master with BP and Harbour Master for Aberdeen.You must have a brilliant memory to remember all the names and dates, and of course I now remember nearly everyone, especially you, a great CO.
I left the MN once I got home after my long leave, deciding to settle down and start a new career. I was in import and export for a while then went into banking until I took early retirement 24 years ago! I've been happily married for 53 years, have 2 sons and 3 grandchildren. My eldest son was an engineering officer in the RN for a few years and is now in IT, the same as my youngest son, who lives in Haverhill, MA, and works in Boston. I found out after I left HK that you were a fellow OP, I was there from 1954 -57 in Macquarie Division, got a Marconi scholarship and did my radio training at AST, Hamble. I wanted to go into the RN but discovered I was colour blind and my maths wasn't good enough for the E Branch. At least I got an O level in Seamanship and studied Navigation!
I'll be in touch again with memories of my time on the Muse and will share lots of photos with you, do you have Google photos?
 
#419 ·
Hi Nick
Great to hear from you! Thanks to our lockdown I've had time to reactivate interest in my Ships Nostalgia account, which was recommended to me by a relation who was a Master with BP and Harbour Master for Aberdeen.You must have a brilliant memory to remember all the names and dates, and of course I now remember nearly everyone, especially you, a great CO.
I left the MN once I got home after my long leave, deciding to settle down and start a new career. I was in import and export for a while then went into banking until I took early retirement 24 years ago! I've been happily married for 53 years, have 2 sons and 3 grandchildren. My eldest son was an engineering officer in the RN for a few years and is now in IT, the same as my youngest son, who lives in Haverhill, MA, and works in Boston. I found out after I left HK that you were a fellow OP, I was there from 1954 -57 in Macquarie Division, got a Marconi scholarship and did my radio training at AST, Hamble. I wanted to go into the RN but discovered I was colour blind and my maths wasn't good enough for the E Branch. At least I got an O level in Seamanship and studied Navigation!
I'll be in touch again with memories of my time on the Muse and will share lots of photos with you, do you have Google photos?
Tim, good to hear more about your life both pre the Muse and later. I am going to try to continue this rather personal message 'off thread' At the moment I am not sure if I remember the proper procedure. Pangbourne, by God. Have we a lot to catch up on! Nick
 
#431 ·
Hello Peter,
I sent Don a photo of the Maid in HK harbour and had always thought it had come from you originally. Looks like she is just about to run into the TST Star Ferry Terminal. As you say a spitting image of the Muse. Likewise Hboats. You've seen one you have seen them all although on closer inspection you might note the non lifting derricks on the Hinsang were constructed of wood!

Nick
 
#432 ·
My memory banks are dim nowadays but mention of wooden derricks on Hinsang does not ring a bell although I sailed on her for 6 months

But besides sea watches my main occupation on Hinsang was sitting on the cocktail deck drinking beer so I might not have noticed = the compradores and bosun attended to all cargo matters. It was a good life back then.

Peter Ballantyne
 
#436 ·
Peter, Peter, Peter, I know junior officers were not expected to spend much time on active cargo watch but how could you have missed such an oddity as a wooden derrick and not just one but one at each hatch?

Probably from your time on the 'cocktail deck' outside the 2/e cabin, playing darts and sipping a cold San Mig, you would have had to craned your neck at bit to see the 'lazy' port derrick at No.3 hatch but I can assure you you would have noticed it was made of the same materials as the cargo,i.e. wooden logs. I shall now need to dig up a photo of No.3 hatch for you. I thinking the working derrick at each hatch was 15t SWL and the 'lazy' one only 5t SWL

Cheers,

Nick
 
#438 ·
Hi Don,

I guess the small tonnage hatch immediately forward of the boilers in which we would load log ends and coconuts may have been originally designed as a coal bunker.

After the sinking of the Horis I was given the job of one of the P&I Clubs to trace the bilge lines as they entered the engineroom in that area since it was thought by some to have been the cause of the sinking.

If you remember there was a small compatment at the centreline with a peak deckhead containing the valves, etc. and entered only from the boiler room. Since this was 51 years ago I cannot remember what conclusion I came to!

I have never heard of the coal burning option but the Hboat design was a pretty basis one for colliers in those days and possibly others of a similar class were coal burners, or in times of oil shortages capable of being converted to such.

Wm. Gray's built a total of 10 Empire Malta class Scandanavian Type colliers suitable for carriage of coal or the heavy vehicles or cased oil, and were classed as crane ships, Originally they had one 60 ton Jumbo at No. 2 and one 80 ton Jumbo at No.3 with detactable bulkheads between No. 1 and No 2 and No. 3 and No. 4 so heavy vehicles could be driven into the end holds.

Of Jardines five all but the Horis made it to the breaker yard in 1970, a pretty good life for a hyper economy ships. Of the other five in the class, only one made it to 1970.

The old story that they had been built to run up on the beaches at Normandy may have been true but since only the first one, the Hangsang, was completed by 6/6/44 and then only by a matter of weeks it is unlikely this ever happened though of course the beaches were used for many months until the Channel weather made it impossible in the autumn.

I have written scads on these ships and would be happy to email you what I have.

Although I sailed for over a year on the Muse I have no recollection of her dimensions. If you can find her or the Maid in The SN Gallery, one entry may have her particulars. It used to be just a matter of typing in the name but since they changed the system lately I do not know how it was done

Cheers,

Nick
 
#440 ·
Hi Don,

I guess the small tonnage hatch immediately forward of the boilers in which we would load log ends and coconuts may have been originally designed as a coal bunker.

After the sinking of the Horis I was given the job of one of the P&I Clubs to trace the bilge lines as they entered the engineroom in that area since it was thought by some to have been the cause of the sinking.

If you remember there was a small compatment at the centreline with a peak deckhead containing the valves, etc. and entered only from the boiler room. Since this was 51 years ago I cannot remember what conclusion I came to!

I have never heard of the coal burning option but the Hboat design was a pretty basis one for colliers in those days and possibly others of a similar class were coal burners, or in times of oil shortages capable of being converted to such.

Wm. Gray's built a total of 10 Empire Malta class Scandanavian Type colliers suitable for carriage of coal or the heavy vehicles or cased oil, and were classed as crane ships, Originally they had one 60 ton Jumbo at No. 2 and one 80 ton Jumbo at No.3 with detactable bulkheads between No. 1 and No 2 and No. 3 and No. 4 so heavy vehicles could be driven into the end holds.

Of Jardines five all but the Horis made it to the breaker yard in 1970, a pretty good life for a hyper economy ships. Of the other five in the class, only one made it to 1970.

The old story that they had been built to run up on the beaches at Normandy may have been true but since only the first one, the Hangsang, was completed by 6/6/44 and then only by a matter of weeks it is unlikely this ever happened though of course the beaches were used for many months until the Channel weather made it impossible in the autumn.

I have written scads on these ships and would be happy to email you what I have.

Although I sailed for over a year on the Muse I have no recollection of her dimensions. If you can find her or the Maid in The SN Gallery, one entry may have her particulars. It used to be just a matter of typing in the name but since they changed the system lately I do not know how it was done

Cheers,

Nick
Well, many thanks Nick. The more one delves the more one finds. I would certainly be interested to receive any more info on H boats that you might have in the fullness of time.
By the way, the Master on Hinsang when I was there was John Chrichton. He also sailed with us as Mate on the Glory on our return from Europe.
Thanks again,
Don.
 
#441 ·
Thanks. I went to Johnny Creighton's Wedding Reception in the summer of 1957 at the Miramar, but never sailed with him. I think he took off for Canada not long afterwards with his Canadian bride. I'll send you the bit I wrote on the Hboats. I estimated I spent three and one third years of my time sailing on them so probably know them better than most from those days. Looking back I think I accepted whatever Geo Lawson gave me and although I sailed for a couple of trips as mate on the Star . Of course once married one was only too happy to be sent to an Hboat and never felt it was a demotion.

Cheers,

Nick
 
#446 ·
Hi Garry,

I think you came long after me, but you did share some familiar names.

I was on the Eastern Queen, Eastern Star and Eastern Saga, and several other smaller ships from 1952 to 1959. Tony Oliviera and his brother sailed with me on the Queen and I would like to make contact with either one of them. I think Eddy Oliviera was on the Eastern Glory? Curnow was with me on the Star, I was the 2/E. In Calcutta the Queen was impounded by the Customs for gold smuggling - boy was that an experience. After a month the ship was released and don't know how much was paid. Paddy Richardson C/E was quite a character and often ran afoul of the Chinese officials in Northern China. Two-Gun Thompson was C/E on the Saga and Jimmy Lindsay on the Queen. Bill Rowe was C/E on the Star. Sailed with Keith Highfield on the Star who later became Lloyd Surveyor in Sydney.

I had contact with Curnow when he was holding Jardine reunions in Brisbane - I never made them. I would like to contact Tony Oliviera. I caught up with Nick Wilson in Vancouver but he has since passed away.

I started on the Wing Sang as 5th engineer, afterwards on the Queen as 5th, 3rd and 2nd, together with Jack Pettigrew. Best years of my life was with Jardines. Bill Bennett was my C/E and later best man at my wedding.

I published a book containing several chapters about Jardines and with good photos. Title is "Lost in the Battle for Hong Kong 1941 (second edition)". Available from Amazon, also write up in Google.

Looking forward to any response.

Cheers,
Bob Tatz
 
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