# gosforth 1966



## francis brooke (Aug 16, 2009)

as a galley boy i done two trips on the gosforth ,the 2nd trip lasted 8 months sailed from cardiff to canadian great lakes ,got stuck in the ice an icebreaker came to get us out, sailed to duluth to take on stores and armoured vehicles for south vietnam ,had a few weird experiences there .then sailed to chiba and yowata in japan . ended up going through suez canal when the arab israeli war broke out ,last convoy through bittern lakes before it was closed off ,sailed to aberdan[ white mans grave] in the persian gulf must have been around june 1966 england had just won the world cup, the persian gulf had a heat wave even for the locals ,i survived by peeling spuds in the cold room ,at the time all the crew wished they were the galley boy .
the worst part of it was a second engineer got drunk and challenged a eastern bloc country polish i think to a game of football , the mission to seamen organised a match at the local stadium , we turned out in daps and shorts of various colours , the otherside turned out in full kit with FOOTBALL boots , the 2nd engineer[ captain ] was the same build as danny devito needles to say we lost .
seamus mccool and alan pearce were the other catering boys ive tried with out luck to find them anyone out there know them.
i lent all my photos to the ships electrician and never got them back he was from bridgend in south wales .anyone know him.
francis brooke {taffy]


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## ALAN TYLER (Dec 22, 2007)

As another ex Galley boy of the 60s era you had eventful trips. Though I was left wondering what are "daps" Alan T.


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## francis brooke (Aug 16, 2009)

alan t daps are what you wore in gymnastics in wales are poor version of plimsoles


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