I was in the process of Skinning and gutting a caribou I had just shot in Alaska.


John

 

Sure it wasn't a squirrel, John?
I was doing my normal Saturday home chores, on my hands and knees scrubbing the hallway floor (any kids out there- take note) and looking up to see the absolute look of horror on my Mum's face. We didn't have T.V., just the radio.
barrinoz.

 

Four days out of Panama north bound for the USA on Northumberland. We were into Charleston around 1o days later and the atmosphere in the country was electric.
I always recall a comment by Lyndon Johnston who was of course the next President along the lines of "We cannot tell the country the whole truth at this time....... it would be too much for them"
It was made on evening TV News and we all heard it........
I have never heard reference to it since............!
Interesting

 

I was being fed by my mother .. I was about a month old. A few weeks before that, Kennedy was in my hometown.. and my parents were along the road watching the motorcade.. and I was being held by my mother at the time.

 

Home in Southampton, on leave from Esso, having a plowman's lunch of French bread, Caerphilly cheese, good pickled onions and a cheap bottle of Medoc when the BBC interrupted whatever program was on and switched to Walter Cronkite making his now famous announcement. Apparently in the rush to get on air, Cronkite appeared in his shirtsleeves, a first for any news anchor.

Now, I wonder what I had for lunch today?

 

keltic, the programme that was on the old black & white television was the Nat King Cole Show when it was taken off to make the announcement, we were dead ship in Falmouth Dry Dock and I was in a hotel, everything went quiet, of course the blame was immediatly placed at the Russian's door when conversation restarted.

 

I was at school and the principal wheeled in a TV set into the classroom so we could watch the news cast.

 

If I am remember correctly it was cadet night and we were at the Sea Cadet hall. I also seem to remember it was not a very nice night.

Cheers John L.(Thumb)

 

I was on leave in London. Could not get a paper, except the workers paper. There were many US members in London, there was a big football due. From the US Navy and army as I remember. I think the game was to be in Europe. Cannot remember if it finaly played.
Jim B

 

Bouncing about in the English Channel on the SS Brighton 3 days before paying off.

 

Southbound to Brazil on St.John, second trip cadet.

 

I was AB on the Waipawa in Glasgow.
Pat

 

waipawa


Small world Pat was A/S on the Waipawa in Glasgow meself,did'nt go Deep Sea,
ecb

 

Three days after my wedding and we were in a small flat in Southampton as I was on a Radar course. We were mixing the Christmas pudding in the evening with the radio on and the news stunned me. I had taken notice of the election of Kennedy as I had been in the Gulf of Mexico a lot during the run up to the election and had always backed him to win.

 

R/O in Trecarrell of Hains. South Atlantic bound River Plate.

JIm

 

I was on the British Power, just passed Gib, light ship Finnart to Banais to load for LEFO. Heard it on my PYE Cambridge.

 

I remember hearing the news as a small boy when I was having my supper.

My father had arrived back home and I was allowed to "stay up" to watch TV (the Harry Worth Show I think!) so when the show was cancelled and all we got was the News I was not pleased!

McC

 

I was third mate on Baron Jedburgh in Mediterranean just passing Cape Bonne
and homeward bound with sugar from Queensland to Liverpool. At about 2100 hrs the R/O came into the chart room and told me the stunning news.

Regards Robin Craythorn

 

Heading for "the" West Coast on Ilesha Palm

 

I was in a coffee bar in Ceuta with a client. We had recently completed putting a bunker line across the mouth of the harbour. I had flown back out from the UK via Gib a day or two before to tie up some 'loose ends'. All eye's were suddenly glued to the TV above the counter, there was little or no conversation, it was an unbelieveable situation as people eyed each other as if to say 'is this true'. I reckon that coffee bar did well that night!

 

I was going home on the "Kolsås" tram in Oslo from a workout at the boxing gym, at the first open air station a lady came on and yelled: "President Kennedy has been shot."
Those younger than us should try to understand that the world was less cynical at the time, and Kennedy was, not only to Americans, quite the "knight in shining armour." I remember looking into a shop with religious paraphernalia a year later, and there you could buy a combined Jesus and JFK porcelain figure, the two of them on the same base... Stein.

 

I was on the Nicolas Bowater bound for New York cargo on paper for the New York Times. Remember it very clearly we wre holystoning the decks, Friday afternoon, went for smoko at 1430, most of us were having a beer when one of the ABs appeared in the doorway and told us. We did not believe him and told him to go forth and multiply, he returned a few moments later then we did believe him, we were dumfounded. We did not have a TV set on board but on arrival in NY one was put onboard, on the Sunday morning whilst watching Lee Harvey Oswald in the process of getting transferred by the police we seen him being shot, it was a live broadcast. Everything seemed so unreal with a real sense of loss was felt by the residents of New York made it seem as if it all was a bad dream, New York certainly did not give the impression of a 24 hr city at the time, even the traffic appeared to be in mourning, all very strange.

 

Was a Kings Point deck cadet on US Lines' Pioneer Minx, loading at Pier 13 Staten Island. Was rather PO'd as we had been scheduled to sail that night and ended up spending a cold rainy Thanksgiving weekend at the far end of nowhere (anybody who docked out there will identify). When we did finally sail for the Far East the following Tuesday, I was chipping paint in #4 lower hold bilge wells. When we returned to NY 3 months later, I was chipping paint on the range light platform, and I swear I chipped and primed every square inch between the two on that trip. At least when I became Chief Mate, I knew how long it ought to take to do a section.

 

I was Junior RO on the Naess Sovereign on the early watch in the Malacca Straits only just hearing WCC and wondering what the message was all about before his traffic list.

David
+

 

Kennedy has been shot!
Came down the phone, to me, on the plates. on the 4-8. We were somewhere SE of Colombo headed for Geelong. The mate kept us informed as he'd put Sparks on the shake to get the latest. What worried me was that I'd been in the Florida Strait as JFK was having the showdown with Kroeschov, I didn't know what was going to happen.

 

1930 hrs ,Watching the TV in the Birkenhead Arms, prior to sailing from Vittoria dock on the "Antilochus".

John.

 

The thing I remember most is "That Was The Week That Was" the next day (Saturday). A shortend programme of 20 minutes with no satire and Millicent Martin's singing of "In the Summer of His years".
I was 17 and had just left school.

 

Sitting in the car listening to the radio, outside a school hall in Bebington waiting for my mother who was in the hall at choir practise.

Derek