# The Life and Times of a Sparkie



## spongebob (Dec 11, 2007)

I have just been having a refresher re-read of Geoffrey Blaney's Short History of the World where mention is made of Marconi's break though at the beginning of the 20th century when sending radio signals across the Atlantic. This lead to a new maritime career path for thousands of Radio or wireless officers aboard ships of the many merchant navies and for many years.
Communication developements rapidly overtook the basic Morse code traffic during the latter years of the century but when did it become unnecessary for ships to carry specialised personnel ?
Was it a sudden chop or was the need slowly phased out as ships were re-equipped with new communication means and equipment?

Bob


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## trotterdotpom (Apr 29, 2005)

1992 in Australia, Bob. I was at least the 2nd from last one, and maybe the last. Australian Venture - around the world in 80 days. I paid off in Windy Wellington - should have left in Sydney but the Satcom was on the bugle ... how I laughed as I sent the Pratique Message through Aucklandradio by morse.

John T


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## Troppo (Feb 18, 2010)

1st Feb, 1999.

The date of the full implementation of the GMDSS.


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## richardwakeley (Jan 4, 2010)

I sailed on a Philippine flag ship from Singapore to Chittagong in Feb 1999, just after the 'final implemenation date', installing the new GMDSS gear. The R/O was still onboard, but I think all the traffic was already by Inmarsat. I definitely destroyed his W/T gear anyway.

And yesterday, I was onboard a small Philippine flag general cargo ship, log carrier, which still has an R/O, complete with cabin marked as such. The gear is all GMDSS of course, and his traffic is mostly by e-mail.

Richard


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## spongebob (Dec 11, 2007)

Well at least your specialist career existed for virtually the whole 20th century .

Bob


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## RayL (Apr 16, 2008)

How lucky we all were to experience the life and the work while it existed! In my case it came from a complete change of tack in my life at the age of 19--a decision to give up my office job and go to college (1963-65). Due to personal reasons my Marconi career was almost ridiculously short--about sixteen months, ending in Feb 1967--but the memories remain with me forever. Fortunately I have inherited the letters I sent home and they read like a diary--or better than a diary--so my experiences at sea remain vivid. The training allowed my subsequent career ashore to be quite unlike the earlier clerical one, and moreover I made better earnings in comparison. Thank you Guglielmo!


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## RayL (Apr 16, 2008)

How lucky we all were to experience the life and the work while it existed! In my case it came from a complete change of tack in my life at the age of 19--a decision to give up my office job and go to college (1963-65). Due to personal reasons my Marconi career was almost ridiculously short--about sixteen months, ending in Feb 1967--but the memories remain with me forever. Fortunately I have inherited the letters I sent home and they read like a diary--or better than a diary--so my experiences at sea remain vivid. The training allowed my subsequent career ashore to be quite unlike the earlier clerical one, and moreover I made better earnings in comparison. Thank you Guglielmo!


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## endure (Apr 16, 2007)

RayL said:


> How lucky we all were to experience the life and the work while it existed! In my case it came from a complete change of tack in my life at the age of 19--a decision to give up my office job and go to college (1963-65).


Same here. My new stepfather took Mum and I to his home town of Liverpool. Went down to Aigburth (which was closed for the summer) and signed up for the September term on the spot. Three years later I was on the big steam chicken to my first ship.


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## IAN M (Jan 17, 2009)

I was Blue Funnel Sparks/Purser from 1943 until 1951 and all my memoirs have been published.


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## RayL (Apr 16, 2008)

endure said:


> Same here. My new stepfather took Mum and I to his home town of Liverpool. Went down to Aigburth (which was closed for the summer) and signed up for the September term on the spot. Three years later I was on the big steam chicken to my first ship.


Interesting that you and I have so much in common in terms of background. So despite the differences between us on other threads we are brothers, sort of!

I'm intrigued by "the big steam chicken". Could this have been the 'Avalon' that used to cover the Harwich - Hook of Holland service?


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## endure (Apr 16, 2007)

RayL said:


> Interesting that you and I have so much in common in terms of background. So despite the differences between us on other threads we are brothers, sort of!
> 
> I'm intrigued by "the big steam chicken". Could this have been the 'Avalon' that used to cover the Harwich - Hook of Holland service?


We're allowed to have different opinions yet still have a common history. I suspect if we met down the pub we'd get on very well.

The big steam chicken was an Air India 747 that took me from Heathrow to Kuwait so that I could join British Progress at Mina-al-Ahmadi sea island to do slow steaming runs round the Cape to Europe. 58 days at sea each way (EEK)


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## ex ro (Oct 30, 2005)

(Cloud)Sailed on the ss Avalon/GLME after it was converted to RoRo was a fast ship, and very comfortable with a great radioroom only problem was the stench of raw sewage that wafted from down below up through the first class accommadation during heavy weather


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## expats (Mar 9, 2013)

RayL said:


> How lucky we all were to experience the life and the work while it existed! In my case it came from a complete change of tack in my life at the age of 19--a decision to give up my office job and go to college (1963-65). Due to personal reasons my Marconi career was almost ridiculously short--about sixteen months, ending in Feb 1967--but the memories remain with me forever. Fortunately I have inherited the letters I sent home and they read like a diary--or better than a diary--so my experiences at sea remain vivid. The training allowed my subsequent career ashore to be quite unlike the earlier clerical one, and moreover I made better earnings in comparison. Thank you Guglielmo!


We were lucky, indeed, RayL.....All those who sailed in the latter half of the 20th Century saw a world that has gone forever...We R/Os were doubly lucky...time off in port enabled me to see far, far more than the first bar...
Memories of exotic (and not so exotic) places backed up by photographs and letters are things that few can have experienced..
Thank you Guglielmo, indeed


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## Ivinghoe (Aug 14, 2014)

I have a copy of book " Signor Marconi's Magic Box" "The Story of the wireless, and the remarkable man who invented it"

Author is Gavin Weightman published in 2003


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## RayL (Apr 16, 2008)

Ivinghoe said:


> I have a copy of book " Signor Marconi's Magic Box" "The Story of the wireless, and the remarkable man who invented it"
> 
> Author is Gavin Weightman published in 2003


We must remember that Marconi's patent was a controversial issue at the time, for he took the inventions of others and assembled them as a practical working system, placing them in a sealed box. Only after the patent had been safely granted was the box was opened and the truth revealed. It couldn't happen today.

This is not to downplay Marconi's great achievements; it needed a genius like him to give birth to practical wireless and create an industry.


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## Troppo (Feb 18, 2010)

It was a fantastic job.

I often look back on it and smile. Wouldn't have changed a thing.

I am proud to be an ex MN Radio Officer.


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## RayL (Apr 16, 2008)

Thanks Troppo. You have brilliantly summed up how we all feel.


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## bfraser47 (Jun 1, 2014)

Troppo said:


> It was a fantastic job.
> 
> I often look back on it and smile. Wouldn't have changed a thing.
> 
> I am proud to be an ex MN Radio Officer.


Ay-bloody-men. And we got paid to do it. Nowadays people pay for it, they call it cruising.
There's another recent thread titled 04.20, that also brought back so many deeply satisfying memories.
So glad I found this site... Thanks everyone
Brian


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## trotterdotpom (Apr 29, 2005)

*Macaroni*

Found this in Santa Croce Church in Florence. A plaque of old Googlihomo himself - it was in amongst the graves of stacks of famous Italians and I thought he must be buried there but it turns out it is just a plaque commemorating his invention of the electric wireless.

Next thing you know those Italians will be saying they invented pizza!

Not to worry - RIP Marconi, so long and thanks for all the fish.

John T


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## RayL (Apr 16, 2008)

Ivinghoe said:


> I have a copy of book " Signor Marconi's Magic Box" "The Story of the wireless, and the remarkable man who invented it"
> 
> Author is Gavin Weightman published in 2003


A few years ago, Dick Strawbridge of TV's 'Coast' team did a piece on Marconi's first big commercial use of radio. Poldhu in Cornwall would have been too small, so in 1907 Marconi went to Ireland and built a huge 100kW installation at Clifden on the west coast. It worked to a similar station in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, 1,900 miles away. Traces of it remain to this day.

His charges were only one-third that of the cable telegraph companies so it was a revolution in service. He produced a code book so that a user could opt to send a single word to represent a whole sentence, rather like the Q-codes we were used to. In a Marconigram he charged 8d. to send a code word and 4d. to send a plain-language word.

I never deleted the piece from my PVR.


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## CrazySparks (Apr 21, 2008)

It was a wonderful life. In 1973 at 19 years of age I was off on my first trip to Murmansk - never been out of the UK before and there I was on a black sea under the Northern Lights! Cheap beer, great mates, lots of money and not a care in the world. Next trip was to the Caribbean. There simply aren't any jobs like that any more - NONE!!! Mille Grazie Marconi!


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## RayL (Apr 16, 2008)

We can speak in English for he was only half Italian! I think he had an Irish mother.


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## Graham P Powell (Jun 2, 2007)

I certainly had a great time at sea and with subsequent careers with Post Office Telephones and twenty plus years at GKA. 
I remember one of my GKA colleagues saying he got his ticket in 1939 and was never again out of work.rgds
Graham Powell


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## spongebob (Dec 11, 2007)

QUOTE=trotterdotpom;999050]

Next thing you know those Italians will be saying they invented pizza!

Not to worry - RIP Marconi, so long and thanks for all the fish.

John T[/QUOTE]

John, I thought he did, that's why we call some varieties Macaroni.

Bob


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## Ivor Lloyd (Jul 18, 2005)

I too had a good life at sea. I joined my first ship in 1942 just turned 16 and had quite a few wartime incidents. Always regret that I lost most of my photos stamp collection and memorabilia when I was torpedoed. Sailed with great seamen.

Ivor


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## RayL (Apr 16, 2008)

Ivor Lloyd said:


> I too had a good life at sea. I joined my first ship in 1942 just turned 16 and had quite a few wartime incidents. Always regret that I lost most of my photos stamp collection and memorabilia when I was torpedoed. Sailed with great seamen.
> 
> Ivor


Ivor, I'm sure you'd have an audience listening agog if you cared to recall on this thread a few of your wartime experiences.


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## ericfisher (Nov 27, 2011)

Ivor, We seem to have shared some similar times at sea. I too joined my first ship in 1942 and continued 'till '45. After 2 yrs in the Royal Artillery I returned to sea life from '48 to 56

Still have Disc. Book R262245, which includes a DR., and pics of most of my ships. The Avatar is one of them. You're right it was a wonderful life with great shipmates. Will celebrate 90th before years end but not ready to go yet. Keep well, Regards, Eric


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## Troppo (Feb 18, 2010)

Both of you blokes - we want some stories!


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## ernhelenbarrett (Sep 7, 2006)

Like Trotterdotpom I must have been pretty near the last of AWA R/O's as was called out to the SeaKap/VNNM for the trip up to Dalian China as the Satcom was on the blink and had to be fixed, finally signed-off in Newcastle NSW on 17th February 1992, had to use the key on the way North, XSG and most of the Chinese Stations were still working 500 and H/F then. Didn't fly out to OZ 
on the "Big Chicken" as they were not invented yet , mine was the the first jet
a Comet and it took us almost 3 days London to Sydney with stops in Rome Athens Teheran Karachi Calcutta Jakarta Darwin and Sydney, arrived there 8am
and was on a train at 9am to Newcastle NSW and sailed at 2pm that day on Lake Boga/VJSW to Whyalla !!!
Ern Barrett


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## IAN M (Jan 17, 2009)

RayL said:


> Ivor, I'm sure you'd have an audience listening agog if you cared to recall on this thread a few of your wartime experiences.


I'm sure they would, but experience has shown me that few would buy a book containing such reminiscences.


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## bfraser47 (Jun 1, 2014)

IAN M said:


> I'm sure they would, but experience has shown me that few would buy a book containing such reminiscences.[/QUOTE
> We are not asking for a commercial publication, I personally would love to hear (read) the experiences of those who went before us, and from whom we gained our freedom to join and enjoy going to sea.
> Brian


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## RayL (Apr 16, 2008)

IAN M said:


> I'm sure they would, but experience has shown me that few would buy a book containing such reminiscences.


You'd have to change your mind if you saw my bookcase. I have quite a number of books in that genre.


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## IAN M (Jan 17, 2009)

bfraser47 said:


> IAN M said:
> 
> 
> > I'm sure they would, but experience has shown me that few would buy a book containing such reminiscences.[/QUOTE
> ...


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## IAN M (Jan 17, 2009)

*Life And Times Of A Sparkie*



RayL said:


> You'd have to change your mind if you saw my bookcase. I have quite a number of books in that genre.


Glad to hear it. It's the same here only I have three bookcases!

Ian


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## EimbTrader (Aug 25, 2007)

Graham P Powell said:


> I certainly had a great time at sea and with subsequent careers with Post Office Telephones and twenty plus years at GKA.
> I remember one of my GKA colleagues saying he got his ticket in 1939 and was never again out of work.rgds
> Graham Powell


Hi Graham, 
will never miss a single day from 18 years out on the job and 18 years at DAN.
Have make same experiences with ex DAN colleagues -tickets in 1945 and never ever out -so sad!
All the best fm EimbTrader


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