# Marshall Christie - CP Ships Pursers Dept



## Fiona Christie (Dec 10, 2020)

Hi

I am Marshall Christie's daughter. I am currently trying to collect CP stories about him for his 80th birthday celebration which is coming up very soon. I'd love to hear from you/anyone else who remembers him.

Many thanks Fiona


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## easyonthegas (Nov 14, 2019)

Hi Fiona
Please give your Dad my warmest regards. Maybe I should blame him for recruiting me in 1975 into CP, but I have enjoyed the various ups and down this industry seems to offer.
Gary Hindmarch (CP 75-89)


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## Fiona Christie (Dec 10, 2020)

easyonthegas said:


> Hi Fiona
> Please give your Dad my warmest regards. Maybe I should blame him for recruiting me in 1975 into CP, but I have enjoyed the various ups and down this industry seems to offer.
> Gary Hindmarch (CP 75-89)


Hi Gary

Thank you so much for your message. I was not really expecting to get any response, so I'm delighted to hear from you, and I know dad will be really pleased to read your message. Best wishes. Fiona


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## CP TwoSheds (Nov 2, 2019)

Hi Fiona
I met Marshall initially at a recruitment show at South Shields Marine & Tech college (I think it was there - around early 1975 possibly) - I remember Marshall looking rather lonely, and having built a model of the Empress of Britain, CP was the only Shipping Company I'd really heard of as a 17 year old, so I ended up talking to him about prospects with CP, next thing was joining the Fort Kipp as a Deck cadet that September after having an interview with him at Trafalgar Square. Dave Campion was the Mate as I recall.
Little did I realise how spoilt I was being on that fairly new ship!. 

The next trip I had as Cadet was on the NR Crump over the Pacific in winter with a cargo of steel plate out of Japan to Bilbao and after seemingly many weeks at sea in hideous weather, with regular scavenge fires & breakdowns, daily trips down the holds to secure the cargo, rolling all over the place, I rather thought the life was not for me and tried to resign when I got home.

Anyway a combination of Marshall and my dad persuaded me to stay on, which I did so. I had my shore time at South Shields for the various academic parts of my studies getting my ticket at the end of the Cadetship. I think Marshall was an occasional visitor at college to check up on his fledgling jolly jacks, and to see if we were behaving! 
I stayed on with CP and was made redundant in '86 as the ships were flagged off shore, having reached the dizzy height of C/O with sea time just in to do Masters. I met Marshall on various trips via the office to collect mail no doubt on my way off some where to join something. In the latter years I seemed to end up on tankers and specialised on the Chemical boats in the last few years.

After I was made redundant I came ashore,joining a company which operated Petro Chemical terminals around the UK (& later on, Europe) and remember, in the early days of my new employment one of the Chemical boats coming onto our jetty at Seal Sands, Teesside (where incidentally I had been on the Fort Rouge previously when C/O) to load Caustic for Kwinana. It was nice to see some familiar faces then, but better still to go home that night!
Anyway, I'm now just retired after finishing up as Director of Operations for that same Company - so my time at sea did stand me in good stead.

Its good to know your dad is still going strong. Good luck with the hunt for anecdotes and wish him well from me, and in particular for his 80th celebrations.

Keith Jackson, Deck cadet/Officer '75 - '86


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## Colin Stopher (Jan 31, 2021)

Hi Fiona,
Yes I knew your father well for a number of years both at sea on Empress of Canada and later when he was working in London. Can’t believe he’s going to be 80 but as I’m nearly 73 it shouldn’t be a surprise!
I joined CP as a Cadet Purser on the Empress of England and although Marshall was well known and often discussed on that ship it was to be some while before we sailed together. 
I also knew you mother when she was on EofE!
Hope you get this OK by email as I’m a bit of a dinosaur without a Facebook account.
Interestingly I had a contact quite out of the blue last year from Terry Foskett who spent many years on the Canada with your father. He is now living in South Carolina and we exchanged a few ‘catch-up’ emails as it was around 50 years since we had last met.
I see that your original post was 2 months ago so I hope that the birthday has not passed as I can perhaps supply some material as well as re-establishing the Foskett contact who has had other contacts with past Empress pursers.
I found your post quite by chance as was trying to remember the website your dad used to run for Empress shipmates and that followed a very surreal dream I had last night that I was back on the Empress of Canada!
Colin Stopher Cadet to 3rd Purser 65-70 (and I even had to dig out my ‘blue toast’ to check those dates)


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## jimhoward (Feb 18, 2021)

Fiona Christie said:


> Hi
> 
> I am Marshall Christie's daughter. I am currently trying to collect CP stories about him for his 80th birthday celebration which is coming up very soon. I'd love to hear from you/anyone else who remembers him.
> 
> Many thanks Fiona


Hello Fiona, Quite by chance came across your request today and hope that my response is not too late. Marshall and I both sailed together with Canadian Pacific on the Empresses. my first voyage to sea as a Purser Cadet was also the maiden voyage of the Canada in April 1961. I think your Father joined a little later. I remember that we shared lots of fun time, Marshall was always popular, the most jolly of people with a great sense of humour. I remember one of his birthday celebrations when after a great lunchtime party he retired to his cabin to 'rest'. Some of us then took the opportunity to fill his cabin totally with inflated balloons before he awoke to multi coloured light and the challenge of fighting his way through them to escape. I took advantage of the Seamans Strike in 1966 to learn to fly and get my Private Pilots Licence. Looking back through my log book I see that I took Marshall flying from Woodvale on 3rd July '66. He seemed to enjoy the experience but it was quite brave of him to risk life and limb with me given that the ink was hardly dry on my brand new pilots licence at that stage. I left CP and seagoing in early 1968, having progressed from Cadet to Purser (Accounts) along the way. Fast forwarding, I have just sold my businesses in Vehicle Leasing and Rental and enjoying retirement. I still fly a light aircraft on a regular basis from Exeter and am getting married for the second time in September. Have two daughters and three grandchildren so not too many dull moments! Please wish your father the most happy of birthday celebrations and very best wishes for the future. Jim Howard.


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## Colin Ungoed-Thomas (Nov 28, 2021)

Fiona Christie said:


> Hi
> 
> I am Marshall Christie's daughter. I am currently trying to collect CP stories about him for his 80th birthday celebration which is coming up very soon. I'd love to hear from you/anyone else who remembers him.
> 
> Many thanks Fiona


Hi Fiona,

Came across your post by accident, Marshall Christie is a name I remember well. Please pass on my belated best wishes for his 80th and hope he is keeping well.
Going back to summer 1976 when Marshall interviewed me at the Trafalgar Square Office, for Deck Cadet. He must have seen something as he offered me a Cadetship, saying my surname would be good for a Captain! First ship was the the happy N R Crump... where ever we went it was parties, especially on the East Coast of USA and Canada. Happy days! I was with CP till late 1983. There after a couple of years ashore, did not like it. So went back to sea, various coasting jobs and ended doing 30 years with Sealion Shipping (Toisa) on various types of Offshore support/Construction/Dive Support vessels. Yes I did get my Masters job, way back in 1990. Enjoyed my career....now retired. Thank you Marshall.

Best Regards
Colin Ungoed-Thomas


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