Da link went Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 I was on a troop ship going to Japan in 1954 and the lad in a bunk next to me said as we passed Gibraltar, " I hope they don't know I'm on this boat and come and get me ". This happened at Malta, Cyprus, Port Said, Columbo ( Ceylon ) Singapore and Hong Kong. A day out from Singapore the ship came to a halt and I was on duty as the ships announcer and the RSM came in and told me to call for this lad. I was gobsmacked. It turned out that he had been a ships engineer and was an expert with propellors and shafts and the bearings had gone, he replaced them and off we went. The ship was the Fowey. who remebers it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyer Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 I was on a troop ship going to Japan in 1954 and the lad in a bunk next to me said as we passed Gibraltar, " I hope they don't know I'm on this boat and come and get me ". This happened at Malta, Cyprus, Port Said, Columbo ( Ceylon ) Singapore and Hong Kong. A day out from Singapore the ship came to a halt and I was on duty as the ships announcer and the RSM came in and told me to call for this lad. I was gobsmacked. It turned out that he had been a ships engineer and was an expert with propellors and shafts and the bearings had gone, he replaced them and off we went. The ship was the Fowey. who remebers it. was it also on the Korean run 1950 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Da link went Posted November 3, 2013 Author Share Posted November 3, 2013 No , it only went to Kure in Japan and then we caught a small Japanise boat to Pusan in Korea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puffin4 Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 I have heard of the Fowey but my only troopship experience was going out to Cyprus in 1961, on the Devonshire. As I recall, that was one of its last trips. It took two weeks stopping at Gib and Malta going out but when I returned, it was on a Comet and the trip took four hours with no stops. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Da link went Posted November 4, 2013 Author Share Posted November 4, 2013 I thought it was the Devonshire which caught fire in the Med. and all the commissioned officers panicked so the R.S.M took charge and saved the day. Or was it another troopship? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 I remember talk of the 'Empire Fowey', to give the ship it's full name. Never went on it or even seen it myself but the scuttlebutt was that it was always breaking down. So your mate, da link went, must've been some kind or genius. I think it was still in service into the 60's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Da link went Posted November 4, 2013 Author Share Posted November 4, 2013 Yes Texas, I think he was but can you imagine my reaction to his comments every time we passed a British outpost. We both got posted to the same unit in Korea and he turned out to be a real oddball. He often asked me if he could do my guard duties because we were armed with live rounds and he fancied having a go. Yes you jogged my memory, it was the Empire Fowey. It was funny there was a sort of lottery on board guessing the daily run. Well smart Alec me would go aft and read the log which was fastened to a rail.. I won it three times in a row so one of the crew twigged and I was banned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFKvsNixon Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 Nice stories. I've had a google to search for the Empire Fowey. There is a photo here and here, with a short summery of the history of the ship here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puffin4 Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 Hi Da link went, There were rumours that HMT Devonshire had been down on the bottom during the war and had been salvaged and become a troopship. Its owners were the Bibby Line. I have not heard of the incident you mentioned but it didn't have an RSM. It was an RAF boat and all the admin staff were RAF. The equivalent of RSM was the SWO (Station Warrant Officer). When it ceased to be a troopship, it was recommissioned as a floating classroom and renamed Devonia. It used to carry school children on educational cruises. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 I thought it was the Devonshire which caught fire in the Med. and all the commissioned officers panicked so the R.S.M took charge and saved the day. Or was it another troopship? Maybe you're thinking about the 'Empire Windrush', she caught fire in the Med' in 1954. I wish that we had ships like that nowadays, with a bit of history. I didn't know damn all about ships until I lived in Southampton. My favourit was the 'Georgic', that's the ship that took me to Egypt in '51. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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