Devon City (4)
Comments from the forum - 1
If I remember correctly we were anchored off of Algiers for quite a few weeks and the mail run as depicted in the photograph were regular.
On one occasion there were charts to be collected, being 2nd Mate I had to accompany the then Captain, George Ellerby.
At the post office he had to produce his passport as proof of identity; as if being in uniform and accompanied by three or four other British guys also in uniform was not enough.
As George passed over his passport the Algerian counter staff passed the passport around and started to laugh. A red rag to a bull so George responded accordingly letting them know he was the Captain of a British ship and he wants what is rightfully his, namely the charts.
After a few minutes of this stand-off George was given his passport back; on closer inspection he had passed over Marjorie's passport. A red face and dignified exit was called for. Philip Godding. Posted on forum 19 January 2012.
I remember we built all of the patio furniture out of dunnage.
We even had a tray that was made to measure (to carry 12 cans of beer), there was even a parrot's perch and no parrot; oh such simple days!!
I remember the telegraph; a wonderful joint effort by all and the bell even rang as it moved through the commands. The base was a sanded and varnished pilot ladder rung. P J Godding. Posted on forum 26 January 2012.
I sailed with David Lewis when he was 4th Engineer on the Devon City in 75/76. I'm sorry to hear that he is no longer with us, which is a pity as he was well-liked and good to go ashore with.
The best memory I have is when we were in Montreal for about three weeks in December, he must have brushed up on the local sites etc, since on one freezing Saturday (well below zero, as I reckon we were all wearing two of everything and had to buy woolly hats. I had a beard, which froze white, so ended up looking like some Arctic explorer) there were five of us with your Dad acting the local guide. After a couple hops on and off buses, three got left behind before we made our desired destination, St Joseph's Oratory. On the way back to the ship we had the bright idea that we would pop in and have a beer at the 2nd last bar before the docks. It turned out to be quite a lively place. The ice-breaker with the locals was when some guy came running upstairs, sat down at the next table and grabbed a beer bottle to drink, no sooner had your Dad and I exchanged surprised glances, the Montreal Police arrived, grabbed their suspect and threw him down the stairway. Needless to say we stayed quite a bit longer after that and did not feel the cold on the way back, unlike the Mates who were all on standby as the ship was attempting to warp up the quay (Reported temperature was -20 C).
The other runs ashore in Montreal were to see the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Olympic Buildings under construction and walking part of the Grand Prix track.
Previously we had been to Gdansk, where again your Dad was the font of all local knowledge. We explored, Westerplatte where the opening shots of WWII were fired, the city centre where your Dad was out looking for bargains, I think we all bought lead crystal vases on his insistence. We also experienced the best ring doughnuts ever when we came across a vendor with an American WWII doughnut machine. David Thomson. Posted on forum 09 January 2017.
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Devon City. Page [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]
Memories from RSL staff. Page No. [1]