My father was on the courage
Gordon Macdonald
Anyone know of him

 

My father was on the Courage in 1966/67. He told me about the time heading south from Suez when the ship was at the back of the queue, all the fancy liners were first through the canal as they were supposedly faster. Top speed was tested and as the Courage overtook all the liners the black soot from her stack just absolutely covered all the polished shiny ships and their passengers

 

Sailed on Courage in 1959,Master J.Digby,mate Houghton.Both had sailed on Cape Horners,I could hardly understand their nautical jargon at the time.On reflection the catering was probably the best i ever came across at sea.Happy days!

 

Br Valour

Hi Guys,

Yes, it is Andrew Hepburn, your memories are better than mine! though I do remember Bob Goodall, he was a good 2/o taught me a lot. He and his wife even asked me to Dinner when we were both on same leave time. Quite a privilege for a lowly Nav. cadet.

I don't remember the pumpman dying, but do remember putting out Rat guards and having to stand deck watches with "Wheel spanners" to stop raids by the locals!

Great catching up and reviving old memories.

 

Thanks Graham for the e-mails.
Paul Edwards relieved Bob Simpson and Trevor Bellis relieved Bob Goodall at RAK when we entered the Gulf to load our first cargo after dry-dock at KGV. The surname Hepburn was going through my head on seeing the initials.
The list brings back a few other faces too, thanks.
Cheers George

 

George,

I have sent you a couple of emails, crew list in one.

Graham

 

Should also add that it was the only ship I was sexually assaulted on. One of the 'ladies' must have thought I might be a potential customer standing in my boiler suit, looking suave and sophisticated, near the deck office mid-ships I was on cargo watch. She walked up to me appearing as she wanted to talk but instead reached inside the boiler suit and and fondled the crown jewels and seemed quite surprised that JT didn't rise to the occasion. She walked off to one of her pals appearing extremely miffed.
A life at sea you never knew what was coming next and never more so than on the Valour.
Cheers George

 

Hi agmh
I joined the Valour as 3/O in KGV, Frank Frost OM Bob Simpson C/O Bob Goodall 2/O if I remember correctly. One boiler down to the Cape with shore guys still on board, there were still problems till I paid off. A week at anchor in the bay at Rio after discharge to do repairs, good for the deck crowd, no watches, not so good for those down the pit. The local 'Ladies of the Night', as one of my colleagues at the jetties in Grangemouth called them, did some good business on board. Loved the ship itself but was probably glad when it was time to go home, some great people on board but others not so great which made it hard going at times.
Were you on board when the pump-man died? I don't think so as I don't remember any cadets at that time. He had been out on deck with me setting lines but was seriously struggling, had just come back from sick leave, so I told him to go to his cabin, unfortunately he was brought back out onto the deck after I went off watch and died shortly after. Should never have been there.
Anyway have been trying to figure out who you are, are agmh your initials? After all these years the memory is failing not that it was ever that great, names and faces have never been my strong point, can remember the names of some of the folks I sailed with but unfortunately far too many that I can't.
Cheers George

 

I joined the Valour in Feb71 as deck cadet. after a trip to the gulf we were LEFO. Anticipated Europort as a destination, but crew on point of mutiny if not UK, when all engines failed off Dover. we made the news headlines as another Tory Canyon threatened. if I remember rightly this was Good Friday April 71. the ship was towed to safe anchorage on Cowes Roads and we cadets were sent to a hotel on The IoW and nearly forgotten!. the crew all bar one went to the mission in Southampton & never returned. eventually got to Purfleet to discharge, then in to King George V dry dock for three weeks or so. went on to the gulf and then down to Rio where I paid off in August.

 

Ref Posting #34

DeeMac15,
There are many things I have to apologise for these days and one is loss of memory. But heck my posting on the Courage was written in 2007,my early days in SN I only met you in person 2002 and only recently come to appreciate you.

I do have a list of NA's and one EA who were on the Courage with you in 1958, do you remember them? I have never come across any of them. However I was at IOG refinery 57/58 with E/A SW Jones.

BTW my second CE was quite some character, nothing like your Burgess however. The gentle Irishman Sammy Bodle. Now that is a coincidence, SW Jones sailed 4E on Captain Aug/Sept 1961 and his CE was Sammy Bodle!

Graham

ps You visited Smiff yet?

 

Panic, sheer panic.
All the engineers were on s/b until we hit 21 knots.
According to us, we were there hours before the bridge, but that wasn't unusual.
We didn't do it once a month. Once a trip was enough!
My position was on the bottom engine room platform to look after the feed pumps which tripped out with monotonous regularity. (Reset the trip, Shut the valve, reopen the valve SLOWLY fcs,) Do it too slowly and the boiler water level would disappear. From what I remember, the party looking after the turbo fans had more trouble than anyone. Anyway, we were well fed up by the end of the excursise and and I don't believe we hit 21 knots for any length of time

 

No, just the skeleton of a 4" Howitzer platform in case we met trouble!
What we had in the centre castle was a state secret and I am bound by the etc etc etc

 

Oh yes special ship indeed. Joined in Durban 45 years ago as Junior Engineer. After a couple of trips to the Gulf and back to Durban spent 8 weeks floating repairs. Dorman Long were contracted initially to carry out the repairs, unfortunately after 6 weeks and no end in sight Stuart Brown Hammer completed the repairs. 100 hundred local labour were contracted with chipping hammers to chip the topside hull until one fell into the harbour. Dusty Miller their boss dived in, unfortunately the poor guy drowned.On our ballast trip back to the Gulf Stbd. boiler primed blew out a metaflex joint on the main superheated line to the HP turbine.Still remember vividly running aft down the flying bridge after the engineers alarm had been raised @1430hrs to see clouds of steam billowing out of the engine room skylights.We had a great time in Durban as we worked 3 days and had a day off, no weekend work.(Cockney Pride for a few beers) Remember sitting on the beach and we watched the British Engineer black out as she just left port and had to be towed back in .Had a great respect for C/E Peter McDonald,2/E John Fletcher and 3/E Rodger Fletcher.
After that trip joined Shell Tankers.
Still at sea in the Offshore Industry

 

The only thing different cargo-wise that I can remember on the Valour and Courage is that there were double shut-off valves for all the cargo tanks, not having been on other 32's I can't say if it was just these two in the class. The stern discharges were bog standard as were the main cargo manifolds.
Back to the DEMS locker, another thing was the DEMS torch and black-out material for portholes etc..
George

 

Did the Valour and Courage have the facility Aft to RAS by any chance?

 

The thing towed astern was a fog buoy, it was supposed to bounce up and down, slapping the surface of the water so that a ship following in convoy would have an audible warning of the proximity of the towing ship in fog.

 

Just a bye the bye the ships stamp for the Valour had its BHP as 14000 whereas the Courage stamp showed the BHP as 25000.
Not sure if my memory is playing me tricks but I seem to remember drawings for where guns could be fitted onto reinforced decks fore and aft.
Struggling to remember the contents of the DEMS locker, there were boards for hanging over the side to cover the ships name and there was something for over the stern, when in convoys, for the ship astern to see you in blackouts.
George

 

I seem to recall that the thing towed astern was a sort of sled. This created a wake which showed up clearly to the vessel following.

 

Hi Nina, you're partly right here. Many of the ships built in the 50's had degaussing gear and other DEMS (Defense Equipment Merchant Service) fitted, certainly the 32's and 42's, and from what you say some into the 60's, but only the Courage and Valour had the uprated turbines, boilers and FD fans.

I remember seeing the Valour once off E Africa and being a gullible 1st tripper fell for it when an AB commented that he was glad he wasn't sailing on her. "Why, is there something wrong with her?" I asked, "No" says he, "but all my gear is on here!"

 

Hi Nina, you're partly right here. Many of the ships built in the 50's had degaussing gear and other DEMS (Defense Equipment Merchant Service) fitted, certainly the 32's and 42's, and from what you say some into the 60's, but only the Courage and Valour had the uprated turbines, boilers and FD fans.

Odd, however that there is no mention at all in the book, which is meant to be definitive, about the Admiralty connections or special features.
nina

 

The 2/E, John Fletcher, mentioned in the crew list for the British Courage is an old friend of mine. He left BP and his sea going career after his father died. ( His father was a great friend of my father ). He ended up as a Councillor for Great Ayton, which is a village in North Yorkshire.

 

Joined Courage as first trip J/E Aug. 1970.Kharg -Durban then D/D Durban.
Following were on board:
Master:N.Hodder,
C/O: D.Weaver, P.Hillier.
2/O: D.Durrant
3/O: J.Dillon/Mike Easton.
R/O:Andy Morton
C/E.Peter Mc Donald
2/E: John Fletcher
3/E Roger Fletcher
4/E: Ray Chatley
4/E: Arthur Crossley.
J/E,s:
ME.!
P.Brothwood
Norrie Mc Cormack.
Jimmy Glover.
Colin Blythe.
Andy Stewart
Elec: Jimmy Hallet
Cat. O: Norman Calvert.
Great bunch of Guys and what a time we had in Durban.!
Remember building the "Bar"and 4-8 J/E wheeling ice from meat room to stock midships bar with "Lion" beer.
Crew used to fight for their beer rations on Sat Night.!
Cockroches everywhere.,especially in 8-12 Fireman (Harry),s turnups!
"Steam on Deck" Skiffle group.
Uptake fire during Tank Cleaning pre D/D
Long dry dock in Durban before being transfered to British Hazel after time in Hospital with Fuel Oil poisoning.
Happy Days.! 45 years ago now ,but still remember it well.

 

Chief steward was the never to be forgotten Len Bloor, good at somethings but not at keeping food in the fridges or beer in the beer store.

Aye I sailed with Len on the Resolution in 83, He made a 'Call My Bluff' sort of game thing up out ouf old hard board and it would generally come out on social nights. Well it made a change from darts, only thing was you could'nt do 1001 for the case of beer on it.(==D)

 

I did 5 voyages as an 18 year old fireman/greaser on the British Valour from 14 October 1959 until 15 May 1960. My discharge book alleges the horsepower was 22500 SHP. My understanding was the shafts were on an angle. Big step up in the boiler room from my previous ship a 800 ton steam recip with two scotch boilers and change of tips every watch. Tips changed weekly on the Valour. I must have been on the 12 to 4 as I recall tube blowing by the gingerbeers every night. That watch would have suited me with time for plenty of bronzy and use of the pool. Two cans of beer twice a week so not much chance of the crowd going beserk on that though a couple of old timer ABs drank their laundry biprox once in mistake for their whisky bottle. Captain Flamstead was master and his wife was sailing with him. I later did 3 trips on the Br Aviator and like the Valour she was a good feeder.

 

Hi Paul

I relieved George in RAK as 3rd Mate (first trip) Paid off Kyles of Bute with Nigel Packard who lives not far from me.

Malcolm

 

Hi again,
the little picture is of me as a cadet on the wheel of the Valour.
George

 

Hi Paul,
Nigel Packard was Old Man when I left,sailed with him on the Sergeant the following year he was the one with the urine concerns. C/O was Paul somebody or other, afraid I can't remember his last name but we kept falling out. I did tea reliefs for him and was lucky if I got down for my meal before 5:40 and there was nothing left, luckily the 2nd steward would at times take pity on me and knock-up something fresh for me. We had not gotten of to a good start as on arrival at our first port after he and Trevor joined; they had been setting lines for loading and I came out on deck and said they were doing it wrong which he would not accept and so we had a bit of a fall-out. He thought the double shut-offs were crossovers and what did I know, it was my first cargo as well, but not my first trip on the ship. I'm still waiting for an apology or something but we carried on like that till I left.
I can't remember the 2nd Mate as I think Trevor Bellis had left before me. Sparks had been Dick Lodge a good guy, I wonder if he ever did set up his own shipping line. Chief steward was the never to be forgotten Len Bloor, good at somethings but not at keeping food in the fridges or beer in the beer store.
Engineers are a blank apart from Dick Wilkinson 4/E but he left much the same time as me.
Cheers George