Devon City (3)

Comments from the forum - 2

Limping out of Durban. I was on the Devon City when she was leaving Durban in that picture. I'd had an easy ten days there as my leg had been giving me trouble.
About a couple of weeks before arriving Durban I had fallen down the steps leading up a deck from by the 7/E cabin on the way up to the saloon. My knee had connected with the edge of a step and bruised some nerves there. Initially it was not too serious but it got worse very quickly until my lower leg was numb and I couldn't tense any muscles in the front of my leg and foot,,,,,,, making walking difficult and hazardous.
So when we were tied up in Durban,,,off I went to the Doctors and he referred me immediately to a specialist who set to work strapping electric pads to my leg to give the muscles a jolt and help the nerves remember what they were there for.
Every morning after that a car would arrive dockside to take me to the Specialist for more treatment and then when I was ready a phone call brought the car back.
The specialist gave me instructions that I not risk a further fall by entering the engine room and walking on the slippy plates until I at least got some muscle control back.
So I was sorted,,,,2/E told me to take it easy and that's what I did. Durban is a nice place,,, especially if you are 20 years old, the sun is shining and It's your first time to such exotic foreign climes.
The feeling and control of my leg had started to respond by the time we left Durban,,,,and with attention to the exercises explained to me,, it got better and better


A few months earlier that year on the 17th March, I had finished my engineering apprenticeship at the Steelworks in Cardiff.
I was working in the Overhead Cranes Dept. as part of the apprentice circuit around the steel-works. One morning approaching my birthday found me in oil-skins and safety-harness,,,,,,, chrome leather gloves that didn't bend,,,,,,,and a hard-hat,,,,,,,,,,,,,dangling half way across a scrap-yard crane trying to unbolt a long-travel shaft bibby-coupling shroud,,,,,,,,, in a snow-storm,,,,,,,, happy,,, I was not!!!
My charge-hand arrived below me and shouted that the Personnel Officer wanted a chat ,,,,,,,,,,,, now!!!
So I got down to the work-shop and tried to clean the grease off my hands. The grease was known as grippa ,,,, because that was what it did . By mid-winter my skin was dry, chapped and red-raw and deeply ingrained,, so most of the grease remained ,,,,,,, happy I was not!!
Personnel wanted to give me the usual end of Apprenticeship chat which boiled down to,,,, if you want a job here you'll be working in the over-head cranes dept.,,,, and I gave him a response that really surprised me at the time,,,,, and boiled down to me politely telling him to stick his job!
So I had a chat with the friendly Chief Engineer of the Steam and Power Dept, where I had wanted to work ,, and he said ,,,,,,,,,,, why don't you contact Mr. Hardy at Reardon Smiths ,,,,,,,,,, so I did ,,,,,,, and on the 28th April left my childhood home to join the Devon City. Julian Rockey. Posted on forum 9 September 2011.

Captain J.Cann, Chief Officer A.J.H.Crowther, Second Officer P.M.Baverstock, Third Officer J.R.Francis, Radio Officer J.Henry, Chief Engineer C.A.J.White, Second Engineer J Claydon, Third Engineer R.E Russell, Fourth Engineer D.J.Ashwin, Junior Engineers D.Brown, J.Rockey, Electrician B.O.Johansson, Navigating Cadets B.T.Hernaman, P.A.Bullard, Chief Steward/Purser G.B.Thomas.

Whilst recently browsing through the Forum I noticed that under Devon City was a request for info on the vessel.
I sailed as Jnr. Eng. from June 1964 to May 1965 ( a single voyage) during which time we drydocked in Belfast then sailed to the Missippi to load for India (USA Gov. freebee grain) arrived in Madras to discharge and then loaded iron ore in Madras - I cannot remember the exact time in port but it was about 6 weeks. This cargo was discharged in Japan and we did 3 or 4 trans North Pacific passages loading grain in West Coast of USA for Japan.
Our final passage being from Fremantle to Belfast with barley for the Guinness Brewery.
I forget the full staff list but as I remember it was ;- Capt. H.Lloyd Evans, Ch.Off., 2nd Mate, 3rd Mate R.Off. Gordon Walker, Ch.Eng. Bertie Lester, 2nd Eng, Clive Whittaker, 3rd Eng. John Towning, 4th Eng, Alastair .... Electrician, Reynolds, Jnr Eng, Vince from Cardiff and other Jnr Eng .....

The worst thing was that when on loaded passage and in bad weather the portside engineers accommodation flooded due to fractured boundary bars on the forward corner. The 3rd Eng. was first in line followed by the 4th, mess room and Jnr Eng's cabins !!! Does anyone know if this problem was ever solved ? Jon Hewson. Posted on forum 7 April 2015.

I joined her in 1970 as first trip Master. As far as I can recall, we had no problems with "leaking accommodation" so assume it had been rectified sometime in the ensuing 5 years. Only problem, (which was well known) - the chain locker was not large enough which meant 2 cadets stationed down in the locker to stow the chain as it came in. Those two ships were, by far, the most elegant in the RSL fleet. We loaded G.C. from the Continent to S.Africa, thence loaded maize in Capetown for Manzanillo thence a full load of cotton back to Barcelona. I have a feeling we were the first to get involved with TMM. John Cann. Posted on forum 7 April 2015.

Disclaimer: The statements on this page are the views of the person who posted them on the forum. The events took place many years ago and in most cases rely on those people's memories, and so we cannot guarantee the accuracy although every effort is made to check it.

Devon City. Page [1] [2] [3]
Memories from RSL staff. Page No. [1] [2]