Hi Andy,Empress of Canada III
He was very well known in Liverpool, and handy with his fists. I sailed with him on the Empress of Britain. Most of the deck crowd preferred not to be noticed by Martin.I didn't ever get to know the bosun but as the ship was always immaculate I can believe all you say.
Terry,hey pat he did not like me one bit think thats why i only did half
i trip but then again i got to go on a pilot boat with my v n c
cheers mate
terry
Well, the story goes, and I must stress it is only hearsay, but heard many times over the years, that Wally Thom when he retired from the ring after being British and European welterweight champion, was hired by CPR to work on the Empress of Canada as a gym instructer.Come on Pat, appetite well wetted Martin Quinn V Wally Thom. John Richards.
You will no doubt remember the 50ton crane at No 1 dock in Clovers Howard. I was the driver of it in the 1970's,(it was Western Shiprepairers by then) right up until the yard closed in 1979. Best job I ever had. Also, my brother Jimmy was a chargehand fitter there at the same time, he was an ex Blue Flue engineer.You are of course quite correct, the Empress of Canada did fall over in Gladstone dock following a fire which started in a linen cupboard I believe. The Empress of Canada this link refers to is the third (and best) ship to carry the name. I too was not much more than ten years old when the E of C number two was destroyed in Liverpool.
Wasn't the overhead railway wonderful, I traveled on it regularly for a year when I was employed in the offices of Grayson Rollo and Clover Docks Ltd, from the offices I went into the engine shop and then into the yard working on ships from tug boats to tankers.
I understand that after the Empress of Canada was declared a CTL by the insurers, and the vessel's removal, the Mersey Harbour Board quickly changed the byelaw which had declared all wrecks in the district were their property. As after finding out the high costs of removing the wreck the vessel's insurers simply quoted the byelaw and informed MHB the wreck was their property. The costs of removal being greater than the scrap value.Way back in the 50's I remeber as a school boy seeing the Empress of Canada lying on her side in Gladsone Dock as we rode on the Mersey Overhead Electric Railway, afeer she had caught fire, and they then had pumped too much water in her tops sides to extiguish the fire in the accommodation, so she became unstable, and tipped over.