Eastern City (4)
Comments from the forum - 1
After getting my Ist Class certificate I joined the Australian City 19th December 1964 as 2nd Engineer relieving Wynne Evans who had been taken ill. The vessel was on it's maiden voyage and had been to the East coast of USA to load a cargo of grain. This was the first ship in the fleet that had a Sulzer engine.
On 26th February 1966 I was taken off the ship in Chiba, and then joined the Eastern City at Yokohama on 20th March as Chief Engineer. Lionel Wainwright had been the C/E since the ship was fitting out and was going home on leave. I remained on that vessel until he returned 3 months later. Lionel rejoined the vessel in Zebellas on Vancouver Island. We were loading iron ore there and access is only by a boat or by a seaplane. I remember leaving on the seaplane for Vancouver. The plane was full and my suitcases and two German shepherd dogs were in the single aisle down the middle of the plane.
I then sailed on the Houston City from 1st September 1966 to 7th March 1967. They took me off in Suez and flew me to rejoin the Eastern City in Nainomo, British Columbia. I was on the Eastern City unti the vessel paid off in Antwerp 28th June 1967. It was during that voyage that the vessel was involved in the collision with the Vishva Vir and is reported on the previous pages.
We are having difficulty in remembering who was sailing on the vessel at this time. Sid Ledbetter was Master, Flash Thomas and then Griff Jones were C/O. Jeff Birrell was 2/O, and Denver Scoines was 3/O. Lionel Wainwright was C/E except for the times when I relieved him. Jack Chatten was extra 2/E. The others we can remember are Gordon Walker R/O, Jim McClaren elec, and Joe Sanday C/S. Eric Poingdestre. January 2012.
The list below was sent in by Colin Gateshill. June 2012.
| Signed on Antwerp 26/6/67 Paid off Marmagao 13/3/68 |
Signed on Astoria 20/6/69 Paid off Rotterdam 3/12/69 |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Master | Joe Thornhill | Fred Johns | |
| C/O | Jim Murray | J J Kalnins | |
| 2/O | Mike Hurst | Tim Lawson | |
| 3/O | Gerry (Clancy) Collins | W Philips | |
| C/E | Bill Gill | John Howell | |
| 2/E | Mike Barrall | Brian Kirkley | |
| 3/E | Colin Gateshill | Colin Gateshill | |
| 4/E | Roger from Rochdale | Allen Fisher | |
| J/E | Gerry Hughes | Kelvin Blunt | |
| J/E | Joe Foots | n/k | |
| J/E | Bloke from Preston | n/k | |
| Elec | George Pickering | Fred from Brighton | |
| R/O | Stan Whitmore | n/k | |
| C/S | John Louden | Joe Wagner | |
Ports |
Antwerp - Corpus Christi - Panama - Yokohama - Nagoya - Wakayama - Panama - New Orleans - Houston - Yokohama - Panama - Nagoya - Kobe - Vancouver - Yokohama - Kobe - Rotterdam - Marmagao. | Astoria - Portland - Inchon - Moji - Port Kembla - Wakayama - Bunbury, Fremantle. |
On the first trip I have listed Mike Barrall as the 2/E. I have just unearthed some photos taken part way through that trip. One was taken on Xmas Day 1967 at Vancouver and this is where the problem starts. The 2/E is none other than young John Howell. Now unless he came down the chimney with his Yo Ho Ho sack I have no idea how he got there. I am positive that Mike was there so if you read this John let me know. Colin Gateshill. Posted on forum 13 July 2012.
The answer to this mystery Colin is that although I joined Eastern City in Nagoya on 1/9/67 I was subsequently switched to the Cardiff City in Kobe 2/2/68. That Xmas could have been 1967 but you were remembering the second who took over from me????
I joined the Cardiff for my first trip as chief with Fred Johns. We had a fiery start to what became a long term friendship. John Howell. Posted on forum 18 August 2012.
The Second Engineer who took over from John Howell in Kobe was in fact Len Taylor who joined in order to gain experience with the Sulzer Main Engine. Gerry Hughes. Posted on forum 27 September 2012.
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.
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