# Athelknight and the grass-monkey



## treeve (Nov 15, 2005)

I have been sent an enquiry in which was an agreement signed 
for the care and costs of any disturbance or loss of having a grass monkey aboard, 
owned by Allyn William Graham [D.H.U.], 
the witness being Thomas H Wake. 
This was dated 21st October 1960. The monkey was purchased in Tegal, Java. 
Does anyone by any chance know of these men (or the monkey)?
A grass-monkey is a Vervet, an East African animal.
Does anyone remember Captain William Sloan of Athel? 
He was earlier a Radio Office, and Navigating Officer on the Athelempress when she was sunk in 1942. The Chief Officer was Ernest Scales.
Best Wishes, Raymond


----------



## John Rogers (May 11, 2004)

Raymond, I think I sailed with that monkey. Sorry I just couldn't help myself.
Now I will go and stand in the corner.

John.


----------



## treeve (Nov 15, 2005)

You are the second person this week to have accepted the corner for the immediate future. I had a comment on the fact that a sundial was an hour out, and I had to remind him that gnomons do not generally have BST in mind. So he is already in the corner....
I was curious that such a declaration was signed, was it the normal set up when animals were taken aboard?


----------



## John Rogers (May 11, 2004)

Never sailed with anyone that had a animal on board,birds yes but no critters,so I cannot answer that question Raymond.

John.


----------



## Roger Harrison (Apr 7, 2005)

Re the monkey on ATHELKNIGHT - can fill in 1 or 2 things.
Tommy Wake would have been the Chief Steward.
Tegal was an anchorage port in Java usually called there after Surabaya where molasses was loaded from tank barges. Good for Tiger Shark fishing off the ****-end. Think I sailed with Capt.Sloan coastwise once when they brought him out of retirement. Perhaps someone can jog my memeory but wasn't Capt.Sloan related to a later Master Capt.Joe Gray who I remember as Mate on the ATHELSULTAN on my first trip as Apprentice (13 months !) 
(see previous postings)
Spent a period as Apprentice on the ATHELKNIGHT when she was laid up anchored off Milford Haven in about 1958 for many a month. Power off at night so my job was as nigh****chman to ensure that the anchor lights didn't blow out - too many complaints from the trawler skippers. Then at daybreak I had to go over to the nearest trawler with half a crown in a bucket to get the bucket filled up with fresh fish for the galley. Next trip then was to run ashore to collect whoever had "connected" locally the previous night - but we won't go into that.

Roger Harrison


----------



## treeve (Nov 15, 2005)

Hi Roger and thank you for that, starting to bring a piece of paper to life, as it were. I will pass that back to Alastair. Best Wishes, Raymond


----------



## mark-allinson (Feb 24, 2006)

Raymond,
I was R/O on that ship at that time. We visited Tegal once as we usually went to Surabaya. Tommy Wake was chief steward and Soan was capt.
The crowd were mainly from Hull and we had a mutiny in Sydney when they all walked off just prior to sailing for Fiji caused by a dispute arising from the jailing of AB Fox who had attacked the second mate. We also had a boiler room explosion on that trip and put the 2nd Eng and the donkeyman ashore in Adelaide with severe burns. Don't remember a monkey but its quite possible
there was one and Tegal was a likely place to buy one. Cheers for now,
Mark Allinson


----------

