# cq cq cq Collective R/O experiences..published book



## Eric Farrelly (Jul 10, 2010)

One...I am not volunteering!!


Has others thought of putting together a Comprehensive book of the Life of R/O's
putting together the nitty gritty details of the job along with experiences.

(not an encyclopaedia(?) size)

When you read and enjoy the Radio Room forum...there must be a good book in there.

Some by the look of it have published their own experience...but this would be a collective edition informative...a 100 year history that is soon gone.

Someone out there with writing skills and connections with book publishing and publishers?

And the radio room forum is a fantastic source 

just a thought.


ar k


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## Graham P Powell (Jun 2, 2007)

You could have filled volumes with one week at GKA!. Some of the stories were incredible especially the wartime ones.
rgds
Graham Powell


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## Roger Bentley (Nov 15, 2005)

*Radio Officer experiences*



Eric Farrelly said:


> One...I am not volunteering!!
> 
> 
> Has others thought of putting together a Comprehensive book of the Life of R/O's
> ...


Since December 1998 the Radio Officers' Association have published a quarterly newsletter and journal called QSO, complimentary copies of which are always sent to Greenwich and Liverpool Nautical Museums and also the RAF Museum Hendon. Hundred of radio officers have recorded their experiences in war and peace and there have been technical reports and supplements. The latest editions of QSO run to 70 pages on average. So far there has been no lack of material or of people wanting to record the life and times of the RO. Regards, Roger


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## gwzm (Nov 7, 2005)

Eric,

Checkout www.seefunker.de . The guys on there published a book: Sparks What's Going On? This was compendium of anecdotes from (mostly) German R/Os and illustrated perfectly the ups and down s of being a seagoing R/O. I got my copy in 2003 and, as far as I know, you can still get a copy from Sylvester Focking (I don't know how to get an O umlaut on this keyboard) - details on the website. They also produced a CD with traffic from a variety of coast stations - pure nostalgia.
I have no connection with these guys - I just enjoyed the material they produced.

= salaams es bv de gwzm+ VA


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## IAN M (Jan 17, 2009)

Well said, Roger. I've never come across a better journal than QSO and all ex-R/Os should be members of the ROA.


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## Shipbuilder (Jun 30, 2005)

Quite a lot of ex seafarers believe that the R/O was, as a rule, isolated from everone else aboard, stuck in the radio shack and therefore half crazy!

I have never subscribed to this idea (I am an ex R/O of 32 years sea service). Deck officers usually had visitors to the bridge when they were on duty. Similarly, I often had visitors to the radio room when I was on duty. The engineer on watch seemed more isolated that anyone else in my view as not many visitors seemed to go below to while away the hours. The electrician was all over the place, so had plenty of opportunity to socialise. Same with Purser or chief steward, usually pally with captain and chief etc.

All of us were stuck in our places of work for 8 hours or more each day, but when we finished, socialising in the smokeroom or crew rec was the norm for all departments.

When I wrote my book, I tried to encompass all departments and all ranks and ratings rather than take the "blinkered" view that R/Os were "loners."

It is good to read all the yarns on SN from R/Os, but I also enjoy all the others from everyone else onboard.

It is quite likely that outside the MN establishment whether still serving or retired, the general public has no interest whatsoever in what went on at sea in the past, or even in the present. To most of them, anything that floats is "a boat" even if it is quarter of a million tons! This may change after a sufficient number of decades have passed.

I write continually about my experiences, but these days, I confine it all to CD disks that may eventaully be read long after I have gone to "fiddlers green!

UK publishers seem to me to be rather too blinkered to consider anything beyond TITANIC, CUTTY SARK, BOUNTY or VICTORY.

Best to write for you own satisfaction either here on SN or commit it to CD disks for future generations. 

I often think that old computer hard drives will form the main source of future researches into the past whether ashore or afloat.

Bob


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