Hogan plus Vowles

  This is a story about a new ship, a Dutch shipbuilder, and old fashioned English puddings.   In 1972 we had returned from Nova Scotia to Somerset. The Company [a subsidiary of Cunard] considered posting me to Norway and then decided to send me to Holland with the launch and commissioning of a new class of tug/supply ship. This coincided with the search for oil and gas offshore Norway and the Shetland Islands. And so I went to Capelle aan den IJessel, near Rotterdam, and stood by the commissioning of the "Ocean Shore". This ship was , and is, a really great ship and it was a privilege to be the fist master and see my name there in fine script on the Certificate of Registry. It will be there now. Anyway back to this tale of a man and food.   The crew were recruited in Hull, a tough but competent bunch of seafarers and former fishermen, that included the brothers, Bert and Frank. Bert was the Boatswain, a huge guy with a broken nose and cauliflower ears, who had a...

    Back in the 1950's I sailed with Ulf Larsson, Boatswain, who had a most jaundiced view of politicians [and clergy] and stated, most emphatically,that they should all be consigned to one of the many near-wrecks afloat at that time and sunk mid-Atlantic.   Ulf Larsson came from Sweden and was a real old sailor man. He had visited Exeter on a topsail schooner with timber from the Baltic, loved the United Kingdom, and so ultimately sailed out of the Bristol Channel during the war. He was torpedoed, captured and imprisoned by the Japanese. He resumed sailing out of Cardiff, post war, but had no home, each ship was his home. He completed a voyage, signed off, and immediately signed on for another voyage to anywhere in the world. His views were gained by seeing the world first hand during and after a war. He went to many countries but they were not tourist havens; he visited the real world.   During bad weather the apprentices would be detailed forwar...

Sixty-seven years ago, in February 1946, Tina's Dad was stationed in Nordhorn, Germany, at brigade headquarters. [He's stood at the back on the left back with "x" above his head.] The man in the centre is Brigadier Routledge C.B.E,M.C,M.M, his boss and his hero. Germany had been defeated in May 1945, the previous year, and by November they had moved into Nordhorn.   The following is an extract from a War Crimes Trial in that region where the Brigadier was the Judge Advocate. These Germans had killed a British Airman and a Dutchman giving him shelter. It will give you an idea of what was going on. "VERDICT AND SENTENCE Sandrock and Schweinberger were found guilty on both charges, Hegemannon on the first charge and Wiegner on the second charge. Sandrock and Schweinberger were sentenced to suffer death by being hanged, Hegemann and Wiegner were sentenced to imprisonment for 15 years. The sentences were confirmed by the Commander-in-Chief, B...