# Lecturers we knew...



## R651400

I could have lengthened the title to.... loved or disliked rather than hated. 
Radio courses were long and arduous, particularly for fresh from school fifteen year olds and memories run deep.
p.s. The thread need not necessarily lie in the radio section but is is intended for all cross sections of MN training establishments.


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## NoMoss

R651400 said:


> I could have lengthened the title to.... loved or disliked rather than hated.
> Radio courses were long and arduous, particularly for fresh from school fifteen year olds and memories run deep.
> p.s. The thread need not necessarily lie in the radio section but is is intended for all cross sections of MN training establishments.


One that springs to mind is in the Radio section and he was a lecturer at Southampton University and later Technical College and that was Bill Hall - one of Naure's Gentlemen if ever there was. Incidentally, another of the lecturers who was there when I took my 1st Class PMG was Richard Moody and he is now a good friend and fellow member of the Radio Officers' Association.


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## IanSpiden

Famous Morse teacher at Leith Ted Whitehead , a character that used to regale us with stories of when he was at sea , one of his tongue in cheek ones was how he would go ashore and sit in a park somewhere reading his handbook , a likely story !!!


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## King Ratt

Ted Whitehead was indeed a character. Fond of a *** and a pint of Bass. Sadly Ted died before he reached retirement. His well remembered words were " A failure in the handbook means a failure in the complete Part 2 exam." Words which proved very accurate in my own case! The others in the dept at LNC when I was there were Harry Watson and Fred Boettcher and Andrew Bogie the Head of the radio dept. All good lecturers.


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## IanSpiden

yes Fred Boettcher was still there and Andrew Bogie had jsut retired when I went to Leith in 1966 , Mr Natusch ( not sure of the spelling) was taking over as Head of Dept and a Welsh Lecturer whose name was Griffin came around that time , he had done a lot of freelancing and was another interesting character , they were all good lecturers, Griff was especially " Hot" in the cabin , he wanted to know why you found a fault not just that you had


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## Mimcoman

Hi, Spatz:

I remember Griff at Aberdeen Tech College, alway wore the same sports jacket. On the last period on Friday afternoons, it was almost the norm to get him reminiscing at seaboard life, passed the time until 5pm. 

I see (in another thread) you knew Chalkie White, he and Griff were at Aberdeen at the same time. Chalkie used to keep us entertained with stories of his weekend adventures - all on the key.


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## R651400

Well Leith Nautical has been well covered! 
Ted whitehead joined during my time and was a real character with his GBTT chat and chain smoking. I never had Andrew Bogie but was in awe of his reputation as a theory and radar instructor verging on genius. I personally liked Fred Boettcher the most affable of the three before Whitehead and an excellent morse and practical instructor. They say one takes their morse style from their first instructor and Fred I think ex Chief RMS Andes was a first class operator.​


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## Shannoner

Stan Rowlinson was the Radar Lecturer at the Ulster Polytechnic, Jordanstown. Stan was in my opinion the best most dedicated teacher I have ever come across in my 47 years of life. The following is a true story that I wrote for a newsletter for ex Hardcastle St/Polytechnic marine radio students.

*Memories of DoT Radar Maintenance 1979/1980, Ulster Polytechnic, Jordanstown.*

I will always remember our first day of the Radar course. Stan explained to us that this was a very intensive course and that every second of every day of the course was important. If we wished to succeed it was imperative that we did not miss any classes. He planned to impart so much information into our heads during every class, that to miss even half a day would leave you with a lot of catching up to do. Bearing this in mind we all set to work eager to become accomplished radar maintenance technicians.
This being my final year at the Poly, I was lucky enough to obtain on-campus accommodation. I found myself assigned to a room in one of the houses above the shops in the student village. Upon arrival at the house I found that Philip Morgan, a classmate with whom I had shared digs with in second year, was in the room next door to me. There were six bedrooms in the house, Philip and myself were in the two downstairs, and there were four bedrooms upstairs occupied by four BP Deck Cadets who were back at the Poly after their initial sea phase training. Needless to say the Cadets were full of stories of their time at sea, the exotic ports visited, experiences with ladies of the night and consumption of copious amounts of alcohol. I must say that their “training” in the consumption of alcohol went well and they continued this aspect of their training at the Poly Club and Students Union with great enthusiasm.
Living in a house with this bunch, Philip and myself soon found ourselves involved in the alcohol consumption” training”. If you were in the house when the lads were heading out they would practically drag you out the door with them, roaring “come on sparky, DRINK DRINK!”
Sometime towards the end of the first term the lads decided that it would be fun to hold a weekly party in the house every Thursday. Money was no object to these guys, their accommodation and food was paid for and they were getting a weekly wage too, all courtesy of BP. So every Thursday after class the lads would pile into Norman’s car, he was a Cadet from Cork and the proud owner of a Morris Marina. They would drive the short distance to Mulvenna’s Off Licence in Whiteabbey village and load the boot with McKewans lager, flagons of cider, cheap vodka , gin, wine and any other alcohol that happened to be on special that week. The McKewans was reserved for the residents of the house and every thing else cider, vodka, gin and wine would be poured into a plastic bin and mixed with orange juice, chopped oranges and apples. This concoction was for the guests and was appropriately called “punch” because that was what most of them were throwing after a few glasses of this stuff. You couldn’t expect poor students on state grants to BYOB, so they were happy to imbibe the free punch. 
It was a Friday morning after one of these parties, and I was in one of those states of unconsciousness that can only be achieved with a monster hangover. I eventually heard a kick at my door, it was Philip telling me to get up or I would be late for class, I knew it must be late because I was always up before Philip. I attempted to lift my head from the pillow, oh my God this had to be the worst hangover in my 19 years on this planet. I knew I should never have touched the punch but the Mckewans had ran out early in the party, some of the guests had found our lager stash, and you know what they say “any port in a storm”. I informed Philip that I was dying and that there was no way that I could drag myself to class and to tell Stan that I had a bug or some such affliction. Philip headed off to class without me and thankfully I quickly drifted back into unconsciousness. Later on I must have been dreaming because I could hear Stan explaining the theory of the magnetron or some such radar component and I could hear Gerry Bannon asking him to “please explain that bit again”. Oh my head hurt even in my dreams, then I realised I was awake, where was Stan’s voice coming from? I crawled out of bed and made my way to the door, upon opening it I was faced with the sight of Stan and the entire radar class in the living room right outside my door. Stan complete with overhead projector was giving that mornings class in my living room. “Ah good morning Michael” said Stan, “seeing that you were not well enough to come to class we decided to bring the class to you this morning, but now that you are up and appear to be better we will see you up in the class room in 5 minutes”. With that he unplugged the over head projector, one of the lads picked it up and everybody trooped out of the house for the short walk back to the class room. After that what could I do only get dressed and follow them up to class. Needless to say I maintained a 100% attendance record for the rest of the course and even managed to get my radar ticket. Thanks Stan!

Mick


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## bert thompson

During my time at Leith it was Bougie , Watson and Butcher and when I returned for Radar it was,of course, Bougie. I had started my training at the Aberdeen Wireless College in Golden Square until the lease ran out, or so we were told, and we were left to find another College. The morse instructor was a retired Post Office Telegraphist called Alex Sims whose sending was superb. Strangely enough on very rare occasions he would have difficulty with the letter L. He was the conductor of The Aberdeen Strathspey and Reel Society. On a few occasions when he was going to a "gig" he would entertain us with a tune on his violin. He had been retired for many years from the Post Office. Told us that when the Royal Family were in residence at Balmoral he would be there. He had a silver cigarette case gifted by ,if I remember correctly, Queen Victoria. A very nice person. Memories memories.
Bert.


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## Larry Bennett

Brunel Tech in Bristol in the late 1970s had numerous legendary lecturers - from memory can recall:

'Lofty' Allen - morse code tutor extraordinaire and comms procedure expert. Famous for tuning into the 0930 GKA Wx and instructing the class to 'take this you buggers'....

Bill Donley - another quality morse code tutor - very quietly spoken but rumour has it he was a WW2 fighter pilot. He never spoke about it so we never really knew.

Norman Rush - Electronics lecturer. Famous for throwing chairs and board rubbers at those who fell asleep during lessons. Had a soft spot for McEwans Export and it was easy to wangle a day off if you left a pack of 4 on his desk!

Wilton Taylor - Mad electronics lecturer with a tendency to go off at a tangent when the mood took him. Used to line up his discarded cigarettes in a line on the desk in a vertical fashion for some reason.

Phil Brouder - the Sgt. Wilson of Brunel Tech. Mild-mannered cabin lecturer who used to regale us with stories of when he was at sea on a non-stop basis.

Dave Heald - Electronics lecturer with a great sense of humour which hid a volatile temperament - anyone who failed to hand in homework or not come up to scratch would feel his wrath...

Cliff Smith - another lecturer with a volatile side - I once learnt many new swear words when I inadvertently connected my Avo 8 to a radar PCB when still on, producing a firework display of sparks and smoke. Still managed to pass the DOT and CGLI Radar exam though!

Alan Metcalfe - one of the old school complete with pipe. Taught us aerial theory in a laborious monotone.

There were of course many more, but the above are the only ones who spring immediately to mind. Do any other ex-Brunel Techies have any more memories?

Larry (RAD186, 1976-1979)


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## K urgess

Don't know how you guys do it.
Apart from a couple who poke through the alcoholic haze when I took my ticket at Hull and did my MED at Saudi Shields I can't remember them.
The head man at Hull Tech was Redvers-Smith who I remember doing his waveform dance to demonstrate the relationship between electric and magnetic transmitted waves. He also signed a congratulatory note when I got my ticket. I still have it somewhere. I think he was glad to get rid of me.
Another one was called Wright (I think) who used to tell us tales of being a sparkie on sinking ships in convoys when he was in the right mood. An incentive to train yourself to remember the regs and SOS message form even in your sleep.
From MED time I think I spent too long in the Chelsea Cat and Ruperts. The only one I remember is the maths lecturer Doctor Hamilton who managed to take us from one plus one equals three and a half to differential calculas in 6 months. That was amazing since I always was a complete duffer at maths.

They all must've been good 'cos I retained enough to pass everything I needed.


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## BobClay

> Famous Morse teacher at Leith Ted Whitehead


Do I ever remember Ted Whitehead at Leith. I learned new swear-words from Ted. He had one of those Lotus kit cars (and he was no spring chicken even then) which I did a bit of work on with him.

Ted got very close to bouncing a big brass morse key off the heads of unruly students.


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## Larry Bennett

Further to my list of famous Brunel Tech Maritime Radio Lecturers, please add:

PETE MASTERS - Radar lecturer - knew his stuff, very patient, and occasionally gave me a lift home when it was raining! Not like Wilton Taylor who would grin and give us a wave as we stood at the bus stop during torrential downpours.

Others include Bob Burslem, Adrian Patterson (ex-GKA), Tony Sedman (ex-GKA), Roger Lancaster, Colin Hutchinson, and messrs Prance, Coates and Archer (christian names long forgotten). Mr. Coates was a sort of mad professor, whose writing got worse as he got carried away during his explanations of valve theory...

Happy days though...Kids today wouldn't understand.


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## R651400

BobClay said:


> Ted got very close to bouncing a big brass morse key off the heads of unruly students.


When Ted joined circa '55 he commandeered a beautifully engineered morse key of the old style complete with porcelain knob and circular brass protection cup which he used as his personal ash-tray. I've mentioned somewhere else that Watson almost gave me a fortnight's holiday for booting same "ash-tray" against the classroom cupboard. My foot connected just as he put his head round the door. A fortnight's holiday was the penalty for any serious misdemeanour and virtually meant au revoir to any chance of an exam pass.


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## Denis Picot

NoMoss said:


> One that springs to mind is in the Radio section and he was a lecturer at Southampton University and later Technical College and that was Bill Hall - one of Naure's Gentlemen if ever there was. Incidentally, another of the lecturers who was there when I took my 1st Class PMG was Richard Moody and he is now a good friend and fellow member of the Radio Officers' Association.


I am new to this site.
I have a photo of seven lecturers at Soton including Mr. Hall ( 'enry Hall as we used to call him in 1956/8 ) when I sat my P.M.G. If you want it, how do I get it to you ??
Regards,
Denis Picot.


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## Peter Eccleson

There was one guy worthy of a mention - Ron Hoole - lecturer at Colwyn Bay Wireless College when it closed in 1969. Lost his life on Atlantic Conveyor in the Falklands War as a serviing RFA Radio Officer. Good guy. RIP


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## mikeg

Denis Picot said:


> I am new to this site.
> I have a photo of seven lecturers at Soton including Mr. Hall ( 'enry Hall as we used to call him in 1956/8 ) when I sat my P.M.G. If you want it, how do I get it to you ??
> Regards,
> Denis Picot.


Denis,

I remember 'enry from the 60's. You can just attach his picture to your next post by click to attachment - I'd like to be reminded of my happy days at East Park Terrace & St. Mary's.

Cheers

Mike


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## jaydeeare

Fleetwood Nautical college lecturers have been covered in the thread for that college, but during a Course whilst in the RAF (RAF Locking - now pulled down completely), we had a Black Country instructor (Fred Wedgebury) who taught Workshops - soldering etc., who obviously had a very broad accent.

One day he picked up a pair of side cutters, looked at them and remarked something like," Look at thees. Mide een Shaffeeld - Bluddy rubbeesh!" 

On another occasion, one of the course broke wind silently, but with an obvious odour a few minutes later. Fred's response was, "Oi dunnow! Sum blowkes too oidle too goo fer a she*t, Thy've gotto blow it aht in doost!" 

He was a real charater.


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## hughesy

*Hull Tech College*

The head of the Radio Dept when I was there was Ron Wright, a really nice 
guy. He told me that if you was carrying munitions during the convoys you just went to sleep , becuase if you were hit, bye bye.
But if you were carrying dry cargo non explosive you sleep in your lifejacket.
He was a real Gentleman.

Tom Aire, I think thats how his name is spelt, taught practical and fault finding.
I asked him once before I went to sea if he was nervous about the job, he "not really I was more nervous about the U Boats and all the ships going down around me".
He sure made you think about what was happening with the gear and how to get the best use from you multimeter?
Things I carry with me in my work to this day.

Bill walker (radar dept)
Bill worked on the first radars in fighter planes in the RAF also worked on the radar for the Concord, not a seagoing man but what he did'nt know about "radar", just was'nt there to know.
He taught me and many times fixing gear at sea I thanked from him afar.
He was a lay preacher I think and used to shudder at the antics of the fishermen and merchant seamen that came thru Hull Tech (because I think we all went back to class a few times, after too many pints at dinner time in the Georgain Pub)

Frank Simpson, taught circuits and part B stuff still remember some of those drawings of oscillators he taught us.

Ted Billham
Ted was something else Hessle road kid, lost all his fingers on his right hand, when they got in between the lock wall and the gunwhale of a trawler he was galley boy on, at St Andrews dock Hull.
He was always an inspiration to me becauce I've lost my index and first fingers on my right hand (I did it on a farm in kent, people telling me unsafe practices).
I thought if he can do it, I can, and he had lost more than me??.
Ted might still be aroud he was quite young then too.

Ron Meeker (rusty crutch) because of his red har, not said to his face mind ya lol??
taught general electronics to the MRGC and advanced stuff to the GPO tech courses and HNC HND to.

Also Graham Woods he taught us Morse and general theory, a reallly good teacher. With lots of patience, and the gift that all good teachers seem to have of getting complecated subjects across to you. In a such a way so you can understand them. I think Graham was an armature winder by trade also.
When we went to do our MRGC. They had an accelerated course, for people and Graham was one of our main teachers.
Theres a few more I've not got time to mention. But I am endebted to these people, because they gave an education. Which I'm gratefull for.

Plus those years spent at Hull Tech College, the people I met there were some of the best times and highlights of my life.
So with that I'll close , some mind ya fingers?

All the best
Hughesy(==D)


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## Tai Pan

Mr Webber at Princes road. slap you with ruler and the famous words "wrist laddie, wrist"


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## NoMoss

Denis Picot said:


> I am new to this site.
> I have a photo of seven lecturers at Soton including Mr. Hall ( 'enry Hall as we used to call him in 1956/8 ) when I sat my P.M.G. If you want it, how do I get it to you ??
> Regards,
> Denis Picot.


I would love to see that. I first met him in 1954 when the course was at the University and then went back in 58 for 
1st class when it was at the Tech College and then later in 1963 at the new building for Radar ticket.

You could email it or attach as has been suggested.


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## mikeg

Denis, If you're having problems attaching the picture just ask, plenty of folk here willing to help out. I can remember Hall, Thatcher and Mudie (or Moody) though can't now remember the radar lecturer or the principles names at East Park. I remember the radar chap had written a tech book on radar circuits, he used to fill the blackboard with formulea and lengthy calculations and periodically say 'is everyone following this?' the whole class said yes even though I'm sure most were lost within the first few minutes ;-)


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## Cunarder

All the lecturers at Grimsby between '65 and '68. I don't recall all their names but amongst them were Messrs Townsend, Webber, Mills ... For a 16 year old fresh from secondary school with a poor academic record, without exception they all inspired me with a desire to learn and succeed. I shall forever be grateful for all their support, wisdom and encouragement.

Alan Marsden


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## trotterdotpom

Larry Bennett mentioned Norman Rush at Bristol Tech. In the mid 60s there were rumours of Mr Rush's drinking habits, but we'd never have considered bribing him with hooch. He was ex RN and a pretty good teacher - the fact that I failed was my own fault, not his. He was also reputed to be a Jehovas Witness and engaged in a bit of fire and brimstone preaching in the city.

Two more at Bristol were the Neeshaw father and son team. Old Mr Neeshaw used to smoke like a chimney and line his butts up on the desk like a rocket range. Funny to remember that we all used to sit there in class smoking and nobody gave a toss.

I also knew Bill Walker, recalled by Hughsey, at Hull Tech. He had been involved in the early development of radar in the army and was one of the first to discover that you could cook a sausage in a waveguide - he should have patented that idea! He did have some concerns about what their careless practices may have done to his health, but he was pretty fit in the early '70s. Hope he remained so.

John T.


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## K urgess

Only remember Ron Wright from that list, Hughesy.
He's the one who stopped to clean up the mess on the radio room floor caused by a smashed coffee percolator he'd bought for his Mum in New York that fell off the desk when the torpedo hit. He always said he couldn't bear to think of the ship going to Davey Jones with a dirty radio room floor.

I have a feeling that Ron Meeker may have been there the same time as me but as a student. Name seems familiar.

I know one of the lads in our "gang", Pete(?) Brown, went back as a lecturer later.

Cheers
Kris


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## mikeg

Marconi Sahib said:


> Only remember Ron Wright from that list, Hughesy.
> He's the one who stopped to clean up the mess on the radio room floor caused by a smashed coffee percolator he'd bought for his Mum in New York that fell off the desk when the torpedo hit. He always said he couldn't bear to think of the ship going to Davey Jones with a dirty radio room floor.
> 
> I have a feeling that Ron Meeker may have been there the same time as me but as a student. Name seems familiar.
> 
> I know one of the lads in our "gang", Pete(?) Brown, went back as a lecturer later.
> 
> Cheers
> Kris


It's a bit like that old saying about 'rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic' a pointless exercise except in ones mind.


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## NoMoss

mikeg said:


> Denis, If you're having problems attaching the picture just ask, plenty of folk here willing to help out. I can remember Hall, Thatcher and Mudie (or Moody) though can't now remember the radar lecturer or the principles names at East Park. I remember the radar chap had written a tech book on radar circuits, he used to fill the blackboard with formulea and lengthy calculations and periodically say 'is everyone following this?' the whole class said yes even though I'm sure most were lost within the first few minutes ;-)


I can always ask Dick Moody about names. 
When I was taking my radar ticket the lecturer had to change the classes so we did practical after lunch and circuits etc in the morning because once, after lunch he looked round after writing on the board and found all of us asleep! He was deeply offended.
That place was too close to several hostelries which we visited for a pie and a pint (or two) most days.


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## mikeg

Hi Ted, Yes that'd be good, glad to hear Dick Moody is still around, I really enjoyed his tales of the sea which spurred me on to get the ticket.
Remember one of the hostelries close to East Park held a brewery beer tasting session over a lunchtime, of course the radio students said 'I'm not sure about A vs B compared to C etc.... pour me some more' on so it went on - we were pretty well blitzed and stinking of booze by the time we returned to lectures


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## Denis Picot

*Soton 1958 ?*

View attachment 11488

Don't know what I'm doing. Would rather send an e-mail. However have tried to attach photo


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## mikeg

Denis Picot said:


> View attachment 11488
> 
> Don't know what I'm doing. Would rather send an e-mail. However have tried to attach photo


You're doing just fine Denis. That picture brings back lots of memories, many thanks - they all look well turned out in that clip, guess that must have been taken at the opening of the new East Park Terrace building.

Mike


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## mikeg

I think the new building was later than 1958 Denis, my guess it opened around 1962 or later..but I could so easily be wrong
(K)


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## hughesy

I do remember a guy called Brown teaching morse, but i can't recall his first name.

all the best
Hughesy


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## K urgess

He was a trawler operator when I knew him, Hughesy.
He'd been invalided out of the RAF with a broken neck after playing rugby and having been a radio tech decided to go to sea.
His favourite tale was about a mate who tried to put out a transmitter fire by urinating on it. Not recommended on a live piece of kit.


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## hughesy

Hey Kris
thats firefighting at the human level for sure lol???
Come to think of it I think Browny was ex fishing,he was a really nice bloke.
But there was some great folks at Hull Tech.
There was a lot of ex service men from the RN and the Army and the RAF
came to Hull, for retraining into civvy street, a lot ex sparkies from the various services.
They all was on the MRGC courses. Plus guys upgrading their tickets. So it had a large Radio dept.
Went back there this year and I believe theres none of it left now. Even the radar scanners are off the building.

all the best
Hughesy(==D)


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## NoMoss

mikeg said:


> I think the new building was later than 1958 Denis, my guess it opened around 1962 or later..but I could so easily be wrong
> (K)[/QUOTE
> I think it was later because I took my 1st Class ticket in the old Tech College building in 58. It was an old factory building with an external fire escape to get to the top classrooms. We tried to find the resonant frequency of the staircase one day by stamping in unison - nearly frightened Johnson to death!


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## NoMoss

Denis Picot said:


> View attachment 11488
> 
> Don't know what I'm doing. Would rather send an e-mail. However have tried to attach photo


That was a blast from the past. The bloke second from left looks familiar. I will send it to Dick Moody (if I can) and see what he says.


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## Larry Bennett

*Norman Rush*



trotterdotpom said:


> Larry Bennett mentioned Norman Rush at Bristol Tech. In the mid 60s there were rumours of Mr Rush's drinking habits, but we'd never have considered bribing him with hooch. He was ex RN and a pretty good teacher - the fact that I failed was my own fault, not his. He was also reputed to be a Jehovas Witness and engaged in a bit of fire and brimstone preaching in the city.
> 
> John T.


Indeed - many I time I saw Norman writing up his 'sermons' during lunch. Mind you he never ever subjected his classes to his faith, for which he earnt a great deal of respect.

He was very precise in his marking of tests etc - if you forgot to leave off the electronic units in your answers he would knock marks off and leave comments such as "how about the units - U NIT!!" - a lesson which we all eventually learnt.

Bribing with his beloved McEwans was OK, but we could only use it once! If we tried it a second time we would be marked as absent (but he still took the cans anyway).

He hated people falling asleep or not concentrating during lessons - one poor unfortunate received a direct hit on the head with a board rubber for daring to close his eyes - and another poor chap had a wooden chair thrown at him for committing the sin of daydreaming....Happy days!!

Norman did have caring side though - I well remember him taking me to one side having failed a basic theory test and telling me to stop associating with certain other class members who were obviously affecting my work. This seemed to do the trick - I went on to pass everything in sight and the 'bad influences' eventually dropped out (or were forced to drop out) of the course.

I understand he passed away a few years back - they don't make 'em like that anymore. 

Larry


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## trotterdotpom

Larry, there is an SN member who was and still is a lecturer at Ashley Down or whatever it's known as these days. I did have a PM exchange with him a while back but can't for the life of me remember his name - think it was Mike.

Unfortunately I had to delete the PMs, but I'm fairly sure he told me that Mr Rush was still around. Let's hope so. 

John T.


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## Rhodri Mawr

Denis Picot said:


> View attachment 11488
> 
> Don't know what I'm doing. Would rather send an e-mail. However have tried to attach photo


The guy in the middle looks like Mr griffiths, a Welshman.

If it is the same guy, he was teaching the Marine Electronics certificate
which I did at Soton in the mid 70's. I well remember Griffiths plus the
others who taught on the course. There was Duncan Keith, Dave Heffer
and the aforementioned Mr Brown - cannot remember his first name. He was
the radar and ARPA specialist.

One other lecturer guy was Chalkie White. He was called Chalkie, not because his name was White but because he had a habit of coming into the classroom at 0900 without saying a word to anyone. He then grabbed a bit of chalk and proceeded to completely fill the blackboard from top to bottom without so much as a word of explanation anywhere. When asked a question, he would point to the board and say "there's the answer, there it is in the middle - on the board. Can't you see it???"

Nice bloke but a useless lecturer.

RM


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## docgk

Rhodri
I can help you out on a few Southampton stalwarts. The 'Brown' you want is DW Dennis Brown. Still hale and hearty and contributes to these forums ( recently about QE radio room on 143kHz.). Duncan Keith is fine, and Dave Heffer also. Dave retired a year or two back as Dean of Faculty ( East Park Terrace is now Solent University). I see them every year at the Xmas get together. Also, Dick Moody, Peter Hatcher, Eric Tremayne. Griff Griffiths hasn't been heard of for a long while - he disappeared back into Wales! I think the chap White you refer to left to become headmaster of a private church school back in the late 70's. Bill Hall lived to a really old age and finally passed on a couple of years ago - terrific turnout at the funeral. Prod me some more I might be able to make more connections! I taught for a while at Leith Nautical also and well remember names from there. e.g. Ian Natusch ( left and had a long career in the Scottish Office), John Bonner,Fred Lloyd, and more...
The unnumbered chap between 1 and 2 in 'Picot's attachment is Frank Mahon ( haven't seen him for a couple of years)


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## Mimcoman

docgk said:


> Rhodri
> I can help you out on a few Southampton stalwarts. The 'Brown' you want is DW Dennis Brown. Still hale and hearty and contributes to these forums ( recently about QE radio room on 143kHz.). Duncan Keith is fine, and Dave Heffer also. Dave retired a year or two back as Dean of Faculty ( East Park Terrace is now Solent University). I see them every year at the Xmas get together. Also, Dick Moody, Peter Hatcher, Eric Tremayne. Griff Griffiths hasn't been heard of for a long while - he disappeared back into Wales! I think the chap White you refer to left to become headmaster of a private church school back in the late 70's. Bill Hall lived to a really old age and finally passed on a couple of years ago - terrific turnout at the funeral. Prod me some more I might be able to make more connections! I taught for a while at Leith Nautical also and well remember names from there. e.g. Ian Natusch ( left and had a long career in the Scottish Office), John Bonner,Fred Lloyd, and more...
> The unnumbered chap between 1 and 2 in 'Picot's attachment is Frank Mahon ( haven't seen him for a couple of years)


Good morning, Sir (What else can you call an Emeritus Professor?):

Is Fred Lloyd the same chap who was an ex-Canberra R/O?

Rgds/Bill


----------



## NoMoss

docgk said:


> Rhodri
> I can help you out on a few Southampton stalwarts. The 'Brown' you want is DW Dennis Brown. Still hale and hearty and contributes to these forums ( recently about QE radio room on 143kHz.). Duncan Keith is fine, and Dave Heffer also. Dave retired a year or two back as Dean of Faculty ( East Park Terrace is now Solent University). I see them every year at the Xmas get together. Also, Dick Moody, Peter Hatcher, Eric Tremayne. Griff Griffiths hasn't been heard of for a long while - he disappeared back into Wales! I think the chap White you refer to left to become headmaster of a private church school back in the late 70's. Bill Hall lived to a really old age and finally passed on a couple of years ago - terrific turnout at the funeral. Prod me some more I might be able to make more connections! I taught for a while at Leith Nautical also and well remember names from there. e.g. Ian Natusch ( left and had a long career in the Scottish Office), John Bonner,Fred Lloyd, and more...
> The unnumbered chap between 1 and 2 in 'Picot's attachment is Frank Mahon ( haven't seen him for a couple
> of years)


Just heard from Dick Moody and you are right, that is Frank Mahon - the other unnumbered chap is of course Mr Moody himself - didn't recognise him at first as he has lost a lot of weight since then. He says the photo was taken 50 years ago last month.


----------



## Clive Kaine

A few I remember from Brunel, Bristol when I did my MED there in 1978:

John Whitehead was our main electronics theory lecturer, Alan Melia taught us comms theory, and Bob Kneeshaw covered all those fancy 1's and 0's and stuff.

We had an old guy from the engineering department who taught us the control theory, but he was so boring that we used to skip most of his lectures and go and play golf - at least until he complained that we weren't turning up!

They must have done something right, because we all passed.


----------



## trotterdotpom

Clive, Alan Melia may be the lecturer I mentioned who is a member of SN, not sure of his "nom de plume". Bob Kneeshaw was the "Young Mr Kneeshaw" I mentioned.

John T.


----------



## M29

trotterdotpom said:


> Larry, there is an SN member who was and still is a lecturer at Ashley Down or whatever it's known as these days. I did have a PM exchange with him a while back but can't for the life of me remember his name - think it was Mike.
> 
> Unfortunately I had to delete the PMs, but I'm fairly sure he told me that Mr Rush was still around. Let's hope so.
> 
> John T.


John
That's me. Still here and so is Wilton Taylor
Best Wishes

Alan Melia

P.S. Larry, for being cheeky, Wilton has reveiwed your course work and we have now failed you. Send your Ticket Back!!

Alan


----------



## M29

Clive Kaine said:


> A few I remember from Brunel, Bristol when I did my MED there in 1978:
> 
> John Whitehead was our main electronics theory lecturer, Alan Melia taught us comms theory, and Bob Kneeshaw covered all those fancy 1's and 0's and stuff.
> 
> We had an old guy from the engineering department who taught us the control theory, but he was so boring that we used to skip most of his lectures and go and play golf - at least until he complained that we weren't turning up!
> 
> They must have done something right, because we all passed.


Clive
Glad you are still around, sad to recall that John Whithead "Crossed the Bar" about three years back(age 60). Bob Kneeshaw is now enjoying his retirement after working some years part time at University of West of England. Only myself and Wilton Taylor still left here from the very large staff of those days.

Best wishes

Alan

P.S. Because I had recently left the sea I took over from the "old guy" and did all the Control Engineering for the next several years.


----------



## M29

Larry

From your lists above.

"Crossed the Bar"

John Whitehead (age 60)
Peter Prance
Phil Brouder
Colin Hutchison (age 60)
"Lofty" Allen
-----------------------------------------
"Retired or left College"
Bob Burslem (retired)
Bob Kneeshaw (retired)
Pete Masters (retired)
Adrian Patterson (moved to Ireland to teach)
Don Weston (retired, works part time for UWE)
Cliff Smith (retired, still singing in the choir)
David Heald (retired, was seriously ill with a stroke)
Roger Lancaster (went to teach in RAF)
Bob Walker (retired)
Tony Sedman (went to RAF)
John Coates (retired)
------------------------------------------
"No News"

Norman Marsh (not heard any news)
Alan Metcalfe (moved down south, lost touch)

Just to enlighten you on Bill Donley.
Bill Donley exceptionally completed 3 full tours in heavy bombers in WWII.
First as a gunner/radio operator (hence his career with us) Followed by two more as Pilot. He flew Halifax bombers and was extremely highly decorated both as an NCO and later as an Officer. His crew claimed two German Night Fighters shot down, which they did with radar guidance using the new system, codeword "Fishpond" (PPI to us). He converted to jet bombers and his last operations were against Egypt in the Suez Crises (flying from Malta in Canberras I think)
His last duty was to represent the V-Bomber Force on various Nato committees and he was also certified to fly Vulcans. He got his "Golden Bowler" from the R.A.F and had another career in finance at home and in Australia. He had another 10 year career here at College before finally retiring.
His past was revealed during his retirement do (not by Bill himself of course) and people were surprised to learn of his acheivements. Sadly, he died suddenly of a heart attack.

Alan


----------



## dje4816

I did my 2nd and 1st classs PMG ticket at Barking College of Tech. The senior lecturere was a wonderful old Dutch guy called Bondermaeker, known affectionaly as "Bondie." This was in 1966-8. A Brian Evans lectured on electronics, but can't recall the names of the rest of the faculty.

I did my radar ticket in 1969-ish at Rush Green College of Technology, but once again can't recall the names of the staff. 

Anybody out there know those people?

Dave Ellis.


----------



## trotterdotpom

M29 - thanks Alan, sorry I forgot your name.

John T.


----------



## charles henry

Anyone know the whereabouts of Peter Prance lecturer at Bristol
de chas


----------



## Clive Kaine

charles henry said:


> Anyone know the whereabouts of Peter Prance lecturer at Bristol
> de chas


Read above from M29


----------



## Clive Kaine

M29 said:


> Clive
> Glad you are still around, sad to recall that John Whithead "Crossed the Bar" about three years back(age 60). Bob Kneeshaw is now enjoying his retirement after working some years part time at University of West of England. Only myself and Wilton Taylor still left here from the very large staff of those days.
> 
> Best wishes
> 
> Alan
> 
> P.S. Because I had recently left the sea I took over from the "old guy" and did all the Control Engineering for the next several years.


Hi Alan, great to hear from you and good to know you, too, are still around.

Very sorry to hear about John, I liked him a lot, and he was the only person I was ever taught by who enabled me to properly understand reasonably complex maths.

Sorry to hear about Peter Prance too, a real gent in my opinion.

Cheers,

Clive


----------



## rwincer

I remember "Lofty" Allen at Brunel (Bristol Tech) from when I was there 1963/65 I think he had taught at a marine college in Hamble previously. Also Dave Heald who was adept at faulting the various relays on the Seaguard and Oceanspan with silver paper or just paper as required. There was a father and son combination there at that time the Misters Kneeshaw. I can't remember the father's name but Bob was the son. There also had a particulary good radar lecturer too I think the name was Masters .
I was not the brightest student by a long way, but by a strange twist of fate I now tutor at a maritime college myself radio and some electronics and even do the odd bit of morse code teaching for signal lamp.


----------



## charles henry

*p. prance*



Clive Kaine said:


> Sorry to hear about Peter Prance too, a real gent in my opinion.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Clive


Further to Peter Prance, I quote from my book (memoirs) which will show how Peter got into the radio business...

"The government was offering grants for studies to ex servicemen which
included merchant seamen. I realised that admittance to a university was not possible as I had not completed high school so I examined the various courses that were available.

One morning I bumped into an old school friend Peter Prance who had been 
in the Royal Marines. Turned out that he was considering taking a course for a Radio Officer's ticket and going to sea as a career. He asked my opinion (By this time we were happily ensconced in a pub) of the job. Every ship I had been on had three radio officers (a wartime measure, normally on cargo and smaller vessels they only have one) but I had no idea what they did. What I did know was that in port they appeared to have nothing to do but go ashore and carouse in a manner befitting an officer. I realised that this would be a different and better kind of seafaring. I am not sure that many major decisions have been made in this world with less thought or consideration, it just seemed like a fun thing to do. So we both did it"

de chas


----------



## Radiomariner

James Watt School, Greenock. 1958/61
I recall a Mr Bolton, always smartly dressed and shoes highly polished.

Mr Corcoran "Corky" who used to speak faster than I could think and introduced me to such words as "posive" and "negive". It was ages before I discovered that his "pawcam" was actually a "pawl Cam"

Mr. Carney. along with a Mr Rodgers taught me morse code. Carney also covered "Rules and Regs" and could easily be distracted into telling sea stories.

McEroy Covered radar maintenance, was a good instructer but I did not appreciate that way back then

Then there was the Head of Department a Mr Flemming, who painfully demonstrated his version of "Flemmings Right Hand Rule" when I was not paying sufficient attention! (EEK)


----------



## charles henry

Mr Fleming was my instructer for what was then billed as crash radar course
in 1993. The class was limited to six students, 6 started 4 sat the exam
2 passed. My Radar cert is numbr 707

de chas


----------



## Radiomariner

charles henry said:


> Mr Fleming was my instructer for what was then billed as crash radar course
> in 1993. The class was limited to six students, 6 started 4 sat the exam
> 2 passed. My Radar cert is numbr 707
> 
> de chas


Come to think of it Flemming was also the Radar Lecturer, McEroy did the "radar practical"
I was there around the same time as you doing my Radar Ticket, cant remember the exact dates. Need to do a bit of rummaging around to find out. Though I believe everyone on my course finished and passed. Does Willy Williamson or George McGarrigle ring any bells?

The day before the exam Flemming called me to his office, told me I didnt have a chance and suggested that I pull out. I refused. For years I thought that he did that in hope that I would "buck up" which I did. But I now realise that he wanted to keep the "pass rate" figures high for the benefit of the school!
Sad that in those days most of my "brain" was inside my trousers!


----------



## Radiomariner

Seen lots of familiar names in this thread. In addition to my PMG and Radar Certs. I also had to revalidate my ticket at Bristol (Brunell) in late 1974,, and six months at Southampton for MCE in 1976. Whithead, White, Heel, Griffiths and Heffer are all familiar names.
I sailed with David Heffer some years later. During summer vacation he used to do short voyages on ships lecturing on electronics. He also helped us get our heads round some of complexities of the modern electronic systems on board.

I also attended South Shields to get engineering qualifications in 1994, and would you believe again in 2000 to play around in lifeboats and get that STCW cert. (Two years before retirement I ask You!) For some reason can not at this moment recall the names of any lecturers at those times!


----------



## charles henry

*Dates*



Radiomariner said:


> Come to think of it Flemming was also the Radar Lecturer, McEroy did the "radar practical"
> I was there around the same time as you doing my Radar Ticket, cant remember the exact dates. Need to do a bit of rummaging around to find out. Though I believe everyone on my course finished and passed. Does Willy Williamson or George McGarrigle ring any bells?
> 
> The day before the exam Flemming called me to his office, told me I didnt have a chance and suggested that I pull out. I refused. For years I thought that he did that in hope that I would "buck up" which I did. But I now realise that he wanted to keep the "pass rate" figures high for the benefit of the school!
> Sad that in those days most of my "brain" was inside my trousers!


d 

My radar exam was 2 March 1953 and Certificat issue date 14 March 1953, Relative to your brain, why should you be different de chas


----------



## Radiomariner

charles henry said:


> d
> 
> My radar exam was 2 March 1953 and Certificat issue date 14 March 1953, Relative to your brain, why should you be different de chas


Cos my brain is different now. at 65 only about 50% is inside trousers? (And I suspect that a large portion of the remainder is away somewhare on holiday.

Your original post said 1993 and I thought you said 1963 and actually you were at Greenock for Radar in 1953. I wuz 10 years behind you Old man. Perhaps a portion of your brain is living it up in a sleazy bar in Hong Kong with my missing portion!


----------



## warpspark

*Bristol Tech in 67*



Larry Bennett said:


> Brunel Tech in Bristol in the late 1970s had numerous legendary lecturers - from memory can recall:
> 
> 'Lofty' Allen - morse code tutor extraordinaire and comms procedure expert. Famous for tuning into the 0930 GKA Wx and instructing the class to 'take this you buggers'....
> 
> Bill Donley - another quality morse code tutor - very quietly spoken but rumour has it he was a WW2 fighter pilot. He never spoke about it so we never really knew.
> 
> Norman Rush - Electronics lecturer. Famous for throwing chairs and board rubbers at those who fell asleep during lessons. Had a soft spot for McEwans Export and it was easy to wangle a day off if you left a pack of 4 on his desk!
> 
> Wilton Taylor - Mad electronics lecturer with a tendency to go off at a tangent when the mood took him. Used to line up his discarded cigarettes in a line on the desk in a vertical fashion for some reason.
> 
> Phil Brouder - the Sgt. Wilson of Brunel Tech. Mild-mannered cabin lecturer who used to regale us with stories of when he was at sea on a non-stop basis.
> 
> Dave Heald - Electronics lecturer with a great sense of humour which hid a volatile temperament - anyone who failed to hand in homework or not come up to scratch would feel his wrath...
> 
> Cliff Smith - another lecturer with a volatile side - I once learnt many new swear words when I inadvertently connected my Avo 8 to a radar PCB when still on, producing a firework display of sparks and smoke. Still managed to pass the DOT and CGLI Radar exam though!
> 
> Alan Metcalfe - one of the old school complete with pipe. Taught us aerial theory in a laborious monotone.
> 
> There were of course many more, but the above are the only ones who spring immediately to mind. Do any other ex-Brunel Techies have any more memories?
> 
> Larry (RAD186, 1976-1979)



Greetings from a trainee sparks that never quite made it, sad to say.
As the course wore on, I and a few others, gradually saw the writing on the wall and went off to grayer pastures. 
I did enjoy the social aspects of Bristol, though. (that and my academic ineptitude was my downfall). Perhaps if I was cloistered in a monastery devoted to the PMG I might have made it.

Phil Brouder (Fruity Boots)

He was the one I liked the most. 
A devotee of the good old Handbooooook. He practically expected you to be able to quote it chapter and verse. 
He had a habit of saying 'Ok' before saying your name. He was the one involved in learning the morse code and used to draw out the dahs for emphasis. A lot of our time was spent sending and receiving morse code, wearing those funny little earphones with the foam ear pads. A good portion of the afternoon found you going in and out of consciousness immersed in cw.
Then there was the time he was waiting for his false teeth to be installed. I still remember the glistening droplets as he spoke.

Norman Rush(Cloud) 

He was my electronics teacher. Very precise and proud of the circles he could draw on the board. He and I locked horns a few times about things (I was too dumb to keep my mouth shut) He didn't think it was justifiable that Dresden was scorched during the war. 
As far as his religious convictions, I do remember overhearing him talking to someone about running to the hills and mountains. He seemed concerned.
Then there was the time he paused during a lecture to discuss peering under your bed sheet with a flashlight and making a tent. (Funny how things stick in your mind after all these years)

Lofty Allan

He was tall, real tall. Treated us with indifference at first but got more affable later on.

All those years ago, nice to remenisce. Sorry to hear of their passing.

73
Steve (vP9HW)


----------



## BobDixon

Radiomariner said:


> James Watt School, Greenock. 1958/61
> Mr Corcoran "Corky" who used to speak faster than I could think and introduced me to such words as "posive" and "negive". It was ages before I discovered that his "pawcam" was actually a "pawl Cam"
> 
> Mr. Carney. along with a Mr Rodgers taught me morse code. Carney also covered "Rules and Regs" and could easily be distracted into telling sea stories.
> 
> McEroy Covered radar maintenance, was a good instructer but I did not appreciate that way back then


Corky, Carney & McElroy all transferred to the new Glasgow College of Nautical Studies in the late 60's, Mr McElroy becoming Head of Department. Mr Carney continued bashing out his "best bent bed wire" to all those learning Morse.

Another of Corky's sayings (as he circled the bench in the middle of the Shack) was "MASTER (followed by long gap waiting for class to fill in the space) OSLR". Corky eventually "froze" his pension and went back to sea with CalMac - used to chat to him on the key from GKR and on the Amateur bands. With Hebrides/GMOV berthed and nothing to do on the Sabbath, he was well known for journeying the length of Harris and Lewis on his touring trike to visit the lads at Lewis Radio. Long after he retired he could recall all his old students - or had records which helped to jog his memory !


----------



## gwzm

Radiomariner et al,

I attended the James Watt College in Greenock from September 1961 until early 1963 and all the comments so far are spot on. The other thing that "Henry" Bolton used to do was pull a tube of Polo Mints from his waistcoat pocket, break one in half and give it to you as a reward for good work! 

There was also another lecturer, somewhat older than all the others, "Pop" McDonald who only taught "Handbook".

I still owe a lot to Mr Fleming as put me in touch with Brocklebank who offered me a job after interview in Paddy Henderson's Glasgow office. I then walked up to the Marconi office to let them know that I wouldn't be taking the job that they'd offered me after all. I was very lucky to be accepted by Brocklebank and never regretted the decision to join them.

= salaams es bv = de gwzm + VA


----------



## M29

gwzm said:


> Radiomariner et al,
> 
> I attended the James Watt College in Greenock from September 1961 until early 1963
> 
> = salaams es bv = de gwzm + VA


Hi gwzm
Did you study alongside Colin Hutchison? I think he might have been doing his ticket around the same time as you.

Regards
Alan


----------



## gwzm

Hi Alan,

Colin had left by the time I started at James Watt. I did however know Colin since he was a couple of years ahead of me at secondary school. I heard that he ended up with Cunard on either Queen Elizabeth or Queen Mary.

All the best,

gwzm


----------



## M29

gwzm said:


> Hi Alan,
> 
> Colin had left by the time I started at James Watt. I did however know Colin since he was a couple of years ahead of me at secondary school. I heard that he ended up with Cunard on either Queen Elizabeth or Queen Mary.
> 
> All the best,
> 
> gwzm


Hi
Thanks for reply, yes Colin did sail on the QM. He came ashore to work here at Brunel College in Bristol in 1977. He retired a few years back but unfortunately "Crossed the Bar" at age 60.

Best Wishes 
Alan


----------



## BobDixon

BobDixon said:


> Corky, Carney & McElroy all transferred to the new Glasgow College of Nautical Studies in the late 60's



I've uploaded a photo of Bobby Corcoran and class of 71 (including yours truly) in the GCNS Cabin at http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/147412


----------



## Corky

*South Shields Martec*

Did the MRRTC course at SSMTC starting in 1974. Of the 30 odd students, only 3 passed at the end of 3 years (no I was not one of them - I had to resit some C&G exams to get my Part 1 of the MRGC)
Lectures I remember
Mr Nicholson - senior lecturer 
Mr Ferguson - senior lecturer
Mr Turner - lectured mainly electrical theory
Mr Dunn - Morse tutor / Radio fault finding

Mr Hamed - Electrical principles
Mr Johnson - the dreaded maths
Mr Cunningham - Handbook
Mr Doig - Radar lecturer

Mr Nicholson and Mr Ferguson looked after the MRGC crowd - which was mainly BP cadets. Shell and Houlder cadets did the longer Marine Radio / Radar Technicians Course.

The pass rate was dismal! I think that the MRRTC course was scrapped around 1979...

Never did get back to do the Marine Electronics Diploma - Houlders would not give me any study leave.


----------



## K urgess

Did my MED at SSMTC in 74 but we must've had a completely different set of lecturers. None of those seem familiar. Mind you it's mostly a foggy blur of Chelsea Cat and Ruperts so so that's no surprise.
As I said before I only remember one and that was Dr. Hamilton who hammered maths into us for 6 months.
My practical pass record is signed by the head of the electrical engineering and radio department, E. Kraal, but I don't remember being taught by him.
Cheers
Kris


----------



## niggle

*Fleetwood Nautical College*

I was taught by a real gent and superb teacher for fundamentals and radio theory the late Dave Larter who got a whole class through the first year with 100% pass. Other lecturers were Don Bee radar lecturer who has just crossed the bar, Hughie Mc Gurk, Ray Bisby, Cheesy Howarth (cannot recall his christian name) Neville Watson, Steve Musgrave, John Laughland, Ray Pilgrim, Arthur Bill, John Holmes, Steve Egerton and Ted Hackett on the radio side.


For those interested a small paper back book was produced celebrating the first 100 years of the college in 1992. ISBN 0-9517878-0-X author Tony Spreckley who I last saw at Blackpool and Fylde main campus at Bispham to which the college at Fleetwood is now part of.

Niggle


----------



## sparkie2182

FRED Howarth, Niggle, was the name you were rooting for.
former W.W.2 R/O, he had a t.v./radio repair ship in Bispham.
known as "Cheesy" for his permanant smile.

a lovely man.

perhaps you recall Brian Moore (more usually known by his nickname).......
Tom Kellaway and the Welsh maths teacher and Rugby fan....Ray Davies?

and Laurance Rivers-Bland


----------



## Bobby T

Hi Dave,
I did the MRGC/C&G at Barking in 75-78. I recall a shortsighted electronics practical lecturer Olly Sinicks and McMahon who taught Maths.
My sister Pat, completed her MRGC in 76 at Barking and her group coined the name 'Dus' for Bondie as he always used that phrase during his lectures.
We both joined Safmarine - I (bob terry) left in 1988.


----------



## Radiomariner

M29 said:


> Hi gwzm
> Did you study alongside Colin Hutchison? I think he might have been doing his ticket around the same time as you.
> 
> Regards
> Alan


Colin Hutchison was in my intake at Greenock. He was not in my "clique" so your comments is the first I have heard of him since.


----------



## jaydeeare

niggle said:


> *Fleetwood Nautical College*
> 
> Other lecturers were Don Bee radar lecturer who has just crossed the bar, Hughie Mc Gurk, Ray Bisby, Cheesy Howarth (cannot recall his christian name) Neville Watson, Steve Musgrave, John Laughland, Ray Pilgrim, Arthur Bill, John Holmes, Steve Egerton and Ted Hackett on the radio side.


I too was taught by Don Bee (I believe we were his first course) and he was our course tutor. I also remember his mum's shop in Park Avenue. As local kids we often went in for sweets or broken biscuits, but I digress from the thread... sorry.

I was sorry to hear of his far too early demise 

Many of the above names I remember only too well. John Laughland caught us sneaking back into College late for an Open Day after we spent too much time in the pubs. So he sent us to one of the Morse Rooms.

Neville 'Abu' Watson, Ray Pilgrim and Hughie McGurk were also teaching us at the time. Steve Musgrave took us for Morse and John Holmes may have been there, the name rings a faint bell, but that's about all.

1968 - 1970.


----------



## sparkie2182

a quick quiz for you Johnny.......

how did the "ABU" come about for neville watson?


----------



## jaydeeare

sparkie2182 said:


> a quick quiz for you Johnny.......
> 
> how did the "ABU" come about for neville watson?


Ahhh! that's easy! From the registration of his Camper Van. If I remember correctly, it was a Commer Camper Van.


----------



## sparkie2182

i didn't think it was so easy..........

well done and best regards.


----------



## jaydeeare

sparkie2182 said:


> i didn't think it was so easy..........
> 
> well done and best regards.


Thanks Sparkie 

Just a good memory of something I read here in another Post on this site. I did remember his Commer Camper Van, though.

Other FNC lecturers I remember were:

Capt. Carruthers - Principal
Roger Scholes - deputy Principal
Mr. Wilson - English
Pat Shaw - Physics and maths
Dougie Stott - Physics and Navigation
Tom Ollerton - seamanship, Navigation and Chartwork
Jed Stone - practical Seamanship and trawler Deckie Learners
'Isaac' Hunt - PE
? Ellarby - Radio and Electronics (I think)

Of coourse, thre were others, but my minid is drawing a blank.


----------



## sparkie2182

well done johnnie........but it was i who wrote the "ABU" post............

i forgot about doug stott.

unusually, my secondary school had a "marine" section which was run by a former shipmaster .....Captain Harry Freeland and a local r.n.l.i. crewman......Ernie Diamond... (Diamond in name and nature)......both of whom
were teachers , and gave much of their own time to the cause of training "would be seafarers"......sadly i was the only one who was really interested.........others used it as a "skive".
in my own time i studied for G.C.E "O" level navigation and passed with a good grade when i was 16 y/o.

when i progressed to F.N.C........Doug Stott told me of his time in my old school when he was trainee teacher......and knew both the abovementioned.

a bit of a coincidence.

in those days, a G.C.E "A" level navigation was possible to obtain......the Sailors Education Society was instrumental in helping me to obtain this also.

we don't see much on s.n. about the S.E.S......which is a shame as they helped a lot of seafarers improve their lot.


----------



## jaydeeare

sparkie2182 said:


> well done johnnie........but it was i who wrote the "ABU" post............
> 
> i forgot about doug stott.....
> 
> .....when i progressed to F.N.C........Doug Stott told me of his time in my old school when he was trainee teacher......


Waht I remember most about Dougie Stott was his sense of humour (in my opinion, anyway). He used to tell the most cringing jokes and puns I had ever heard from anyone at that time (except Tony Blackburn on Radio 1).

One of my favourites that I can still rememebr was regarding Archimedes running out of his bath crying, "Eureka! Eureka!"

Dougie's remark was something in the vein of, "He must have reeked or else he wouldn't have needed the bath!" Classic Dougie Stott!


----------



## RayJordandpo

I have really enjoyed reading this thread, never laughed so much in ages. You sparkies are all bleedin' bonkers!


----------



## sparkie2182

johnnie......

another doug stott special..........

"she was only the colonels daughter, but she knew what reggie meant"

God only knows why my memory has retained that for 36 years.


----------



## bretwalda

Radiomariner - you have made the memories flood back re James Watt College. I was there from 1959 to 1962 and remember all the lecturers mentioned with some affection. Have a few photos of my class taken down at Customhouse Quay where we used to go at lunchtime for a kickabout. Joined Marconi in February 1962 with S.S. Consuelo(Ellerman Wilson Line) being my first trip as Junior R/O. These were the days.


----------



## jaydeeare

Sparkie, what about "she was only an R/O's daughter, but she did dit did dit did dit.."

Yep! I have fond memories of Dougie Stotts humour! I think he helped mould the sense of humour I now have.


----------



## Mimcoman

"She was only a Sparkie's daughter, but she didit 'cos her Dadidit too..."

There must be more in this line somehwere?

Mimcoman


----------



## andysk

Mimcoman said:


> "She was only a Sparkie's daughter, but she didit 'cos her Dadidit too..." ....../QUOTE]
> 
> I thought it was "because her DaDaDitdit"
> 
> Who knows the rest - please put us out of our misery !


----------



## freddythefrog

I see there is no mention of Riversdale Tech College Liverpool in here as yet.
My memories of lecturers were Brown the Principal, Griffiths 2nd in Command,
Brian Cotton, Ludden (Gerry) Johnny Halton, Andrews (Radar) Joynson (johnnie) Gerry Sharpe,Monty Wilkes, Jim Lochland, Teasdale (lab and Q29 AA), Parker (Radar) Bruce (regs) Jackson (Technician), all good in there chosen subjects, fond memories of the good old days! FTF


----------



## sparkie2182

lecturers from f.n.c. who i was talking to recently......some now retired.

hugh macgurk
ted hackett
arthur white
ray pilgrim
john holmes
alan hinch
dicky rhymes
arthur bill
jack howarth
john laughland
neville watson
steven musgrave

on the deck side......

john mathews
joe bottomley
shan hashmi
tony brown
tony dumbell
jonathon ward


----------



## docgk

Freddythefrog - Brian Cotton became Dean of Faculty ( Electronics and Computing - home of the R/O courses) at Southampton. He followed Bill Hall who had retired. Brian retired and was followed in the job by David Heffer. Brian was well last time I saw him and is a leading light in the Radio Officers' Association.


----------



## freddythefrog

Docgk
Thanks for the info, yes new he was Professor at Southampton and is still Chairman of the ROA, doing a fine job too----spoke on phone to him about 3 weeks ago and he is well. cheers ftf


----------



## Bob73

mikeg said:


> I think the new building was later than 1958 Denis, my guess it opened around 1962 or later..but I could so easily be wrong
> (K)


I'm new to this forum and found your posting about Southampton Tech, I was at Southampton when it moved and as far as I remember it was around 1962. I remember Ron Moody and Mr Hatcher and I think it was Mr Mahon who taught radar. When I left I joined IMR sailing on MV Orelia (Houlders iron ore carrier) then was sent to RMS Sylvania (Cunard Liverpool - New York) I left the sea in 1965 and joined the Diplonmatic Wireless Service which communicated with British embessies overseas and retired in 2004 after 40 years with that organisation which was absorbed into the Foreign office proper and must say I enjoyed working in communications until I retired. I still use morse code through ham radio!

Bob Dray


----------



## andysk

sparkie2182 said:


> lecturers from f.n.c. who i was talking to recently......some now retired.
> 
> ...... alan hinch .....


Was he at Norwood Tech in 1968/9/70 ?


----------



## sparkie2182

i can't answer that one, sorry Andy.
i think he ended up as head of school at Glasgow.


----------



## Vital Sparks

I'm sure there must be a few out there who remember John Bonner a.k.a Uncle John, a dry witted Lancastrian who taught radio theory at Leith Nautical College in the 70s. Famous for sounding (and looking) exactly like Harry Corbett there were many who expected Sooty to appear at any moment. He was, if I remember correctly, ex RAF.


----------



## jaydeeare

John Bonner... that name rings a faint bell from Fleetwood Nautical College in the late 60's.


----------



## Buoy

I don't see any mention of Newport & Monmouthshire College of Technology in this lot. I was there in 1966-68. Actually stayed in digs with one of the lecturers, Howard Jordan. They moved house three times whilst I was there, but they couldn't get away from me! I found them each time! Other lecturers there at the time were 'Chubby' Chapman and Ted (?) MacKinnon. I remember Howard swatting up on what he was going to teach us the night before. We had a woman (student) from Belaurus there at the time, but she eventually dropped out of the course. No radar there at the time and I went to sea with my 2nd Class PMG having been put in early for the exam, along with a couple of others. Did radar and MED and anything else at Brunel & remember most of the names from there. Pete Masters teaching radar was an absolute genius, I learned more about electronics in the 6-months of that course than I did in any other. I did some work with David Heald when I was at Broadgate Ltd; we used to run some GMDSS training courses and David did the lectures. Sorry to hear he is not so well now. Good memories, nice thread!


----------



## trotterdotpom

Interesting that you had a student from Belarus (White Russia) at the college in the '60s. Wonder how she got permission to leave the USSR in those days. Any chance she could have been a spy? Was she secretly photocopying the Oceanspan manuals? Don't forget that wasn't long before they chucked a zillion Lada dealers out of the country - all 5th column tovariches!

On the bright side, I work with a lady form Belarus right now and she's a real charmer, definitely not interested in beam tetrodes.

John T.


----------



## CrazySparks

*Riversdale Lecturers*



freddythefrog said:


> I see there is no mention of Riversdale Tech College Liverpool in here as yet.
> My memories of lecturers were Brown the Principal, Griffiths 2nd in Command,
> Brian Cotton, Ludden (Gerry) Johnny Halton, Andrews (Radar) Joynson (johnnie) Gerry Sharpe,Monty Wilkes, Jim Lochland, Teasdale (lab and Q29 AA), Parker (Radar) Bruce (regs) Jackson (Technician), all good in there chosen subjects, fond memories of the good old days! FTF


Freddy,
I remember almost all of those lecturers from my time in 73-76. They were all really excellent. Brown borrowed my lecture notes when I finished - and he's still got them!
Gerry I remember for the occasional whiff of sherry and his unique verb::Negative (negat I've)!
Harris was really kind to me on a sudden bereavement and loaned me a fiver to get home. 

How I'd love to share a beer with any of those gents who are still around!


----------



## freddythefrog

Hi Crazysparks
Glad to hear someone else went to Riversdale apart from me, was getting worried for a while. Regarding your lecture notes with Mr. Brown--he sadly passed away a few years ago now R.I.P so think your notes are lost forever!
I was told that Gerry Ludden was still going strong and living over in the Wirral area. Good luck in South Africa. cheers ftf


----------



## steve Coombs

Yes I remember Norman Rush and the others at Brunel Tech mentioned by Larry. Norman was late quite a few times and said that he worked to his own clock based on "Normans mean time". I remembered them a few weeks ago as i went past the old Brunel Tech building which is now flats or houses


----------



## CrazySparks

freddythefrog said:


> Hi Crazysparks
> Glad to hear someone else went to Riversdale apart from me, was getting worried for a while. Regarding your lecture notes with Mr. Brown--he sadly passed away a few years ago now R.I.P so think your notes are lost forever!
> I was told that Gerry Ludden was still going strong and living over in the Wirral area. Good luck in South Africa. cheers ftf


Saddened to hear about Brown, Freddy; he was a real character. We used to joke about his standard response to any unusual question:
"What'dya wanna know that for? You don't need to know that!" (remember the accent?!)

I guess he reached a fair old age!


----------



## mikeg

Bob73 said:


> I'm new to this forum and found your posting about Southampton Tech, I was at Southampton when it moved and as far as I remember it was around 1962. I remember Ron Moody and Mr Hatcher and I think it was Mr Mahon who taught radar. When I left I joined IMR sailing on MV Orelia (Houlders iron ore carrier) then was sent to RMS Sylvania (Cunard Liverpool - New York) I left the sea in 1965 and joined the Diplonmatic Wireless Service which communicated with British embessies overseas and retired in 2004 after 40 years with that organisation which was absorbed into the Foreign office proper and must say I enjoyed working in communications until I retired. I still use morse code through ham radio!
> 
> Bob Dray


Hi Bob,

Thanks, I'm glad that date was coincident with my guesstimate. Yes I remember Ron Moody and Hatcher & Mahon very well. I remember also both the main morse training room with it's console out front and the cubicle morse areas being constructed and especially being wired up with 100's of metres of good quality co-ax everywhere. The console had the ability to distribute to collective or individual key stations with both hand and machine morse plus individual monitoring plus the ability to interconnect seperate key stations - quite a logistical exercise apparently.

Mike


----------



## Trevorw

NESWT, Bridlington.
About 1954. Theory Lecturerer, McLean, Morse and Handbook, Dennis Talbot.


----------



## trotterdotpom

Here's a picture of Mr McLean filched from the NESWT website (http://daimler.co.uk/neswt/) - they won't mind, I'm sure.

Mr McLean was there until the death at Easter 1965. At the time the school was owned by Lt Cmdr Clegg (Rtd). A favourite saying of Old Mac: "Why is a mouse when it spins? Because the higher the fewer!" Never have been able to work that out - he took the solution up into the van Allen belt and beyond.

John T.


----------



## Ivor Lloyd

*Lecturers*

I was at Southampton in early fifties (50/51) in the draughty huts. Friday afternoon was a luxury when we went across to the main building to sit the weekly theory examination . It was so warm in there that it was hard to stay awake and complete the Test paper.
Lecturers from memory were Messers Orba, Hatcher, Robinson and an ex RN PO whose name escapes me. A Mr Hall took Radar and Proff E E Zeppler was the head of Department but of course we never saw him !

Ivor Lloyd


----------



## rgdouglas

Alan Hinch was at Norwood Technical College, before going to Glasgow


----------



## charles henry

Anyone out there from Glasgow old enough to have gone to the Ibrox radio college owned and operated by "Duke" Ellerington, a great lecturer and a man who would go the extra mile for you.
de chas


----------



## Rhodri Mawr

Buoy said:


> I don't see any mention of Newport & Monmouthshire College of Technology in this lot. I was there in 1966-68. Actually stayed in digs with one of the lecturers, Howard Jordan. They moved house three times whilst I was there, but they couldn't get away from me! I found them each time! Other lecturers there at the time were 'Chubby' Chapman and Ted (?) MacKinnon. I remember Howard swatting up on what he was going to teach us the night before. We had a woman (student) from Belaurus there at the time, but she eventually dropped out of the course. No radar there at the time and I went to sea with my 2nd Class PMG having been put in early for the exam, along with a couple of others. Did radar and MED and anything else at Brunel & remember most of the names from there. Pete Masters teaching radar was an absolute genius, I learned more about electronics in the 6-months of that course than I did in any other. I did some work with David Heald when I was at Broadgate Ltd; we used to run some GMDSS training courses and David did the lectures. Sorry to hear he is not so well now. Good memories, nice thread!


Thanks for reminding me of these characters. I too was at Newport and Mon from 1964 to 1966 when I obtained by PMG1. So you would have started just as I was leaving there. Chubby Chapman as I remember him was a great character - he was from Cornwall and used to drive around Newport in his baby Austin 7 (he was a big man - how the hang he ever got into it I'll never know) with a "Home Rule for Cornwall" sticker pinned up on the back window. McKinnon was a dapper little man (with a Japanese wife If I remember correctly). Think he went back to Aberdeen to head up the radio dept there. Then there was Dave Peacock from Hull - he had his amateur's mobil rig wired up into his Morris Minor car and would stop every now and again to give a quick call on the ham bands. Think he ended back in his home town Hull teaching radio officers there.

Jordan I do not remember very well as he arrived late in the day during my stay there. Seemed to remember he was not too hot on theory work, but came into his own on the practical work. His morse was a disaster however. 

Cheers
Rhodri


----------



## Degema

Was on the first course at Newport. It started in September 1958 and I joined in January 59 as I had to wait for a grant. Got my PMG1 in May 60. Mills was in charge then Mckinnon came along. I think his wife was Chinese but I could be wong. I thought Mc went to Australia? But once again could be wrong. Went back to do a radar maintenance ticket in 1978 but by this time they had moved to Western Avenue, Cardiff. One of the instructors was Alan Jenkins but can't remember the other.


----------



## Ron Stringer

Degema said:


> Mills was in charge then Mckinnon came along. I think his wife was Chinese but I could be wong.


In 1958/59 McKinnon and his brother (they were nearly look-alikes and both dressed very dapperly) were both lecturers at Manchester's Brook's Bar radio college (College of International Maritime Radio, I think was its full title). The brother with the oriental wife lived in the flat above the college, so his daily commute was very short indeed. The college was run by two partners, Woods and Tomlinson, and they also ran Wray Castle - Woods stayed in Manchester and Tomlinson was at Wray Castle.


----------



## trotterdotpom

Rhodri, you're right, Dave Peacock did end up back in Hull. He was teaching for the Radar Maintenance Certificate when I did it (about 1974). Very good teacher. He often sailed on North Sea Ferries during the college holidays.

John T.


----------



## Clive Kaine

I was at Wray Castle after Tommo retired, but he lived just outside Ambleside and still used to pop in every now and then. One summer term he paid me and one of the other lads to do his gardening every weekend - two quid a day, which was more than enough to keep me in beer and ****. In truth, we didn't do that much gardening - we seemed to spend most of our time listening to his stories and keeping him up to date with news from the Castle. His house was fantastic - on the road between Ambleside and Grasmere, overlooking Rydal Water. Must have done well out of the business.


----------



## gand00k1n

> Griff at Aberdeen Tech College and Chalky white


Also James 'Mac' MacKinnon, Joe Roberts, ? Smith from Stoney, Alex Smith who changed from teaching radio/tv servicing to run the radar course, Ray Spence and an older chap who came from the Greenock college when it closed down are all I can remember at Aberdeen Tech College in 65-68.


----------



## mark-allinson

Lecturers at South Shields in 1954 were Nicholson, Fergusen, Anderson, Brown. Jimmy Doig was the Radar instuctor. Nicholson was perhaps a little later than 54.
Mark Allinson.


----------



## Bill Greig

That would have been Bob Smith from Stonehaven, what he did not know about electronics was not worth knowing, good bloke too. We also had Bill Thow doing FER, Matt Rodgers (ex-Greenock?), Mr Thompson was head of department during the early 70's, Joe Roberts teaching morse and regs. I was class MR72, anyone else out there (not you WillieG!).


----------



## Mimcoman

Hiya, Bill:

I was MR8.1, and before that the Special Cert class (1966). I remember the ace accordianist Bob Smith built one of the first digital computers, programmed by switches and with the readout in lights. As you say, couldn't fault his knowledge. I saw him on the Aberdeen-Stoney train once about 10 or so years ago. I swear he still had the same sports jacket.

Rgds/Bill


----------



## 5TT

Hi all,
I'm a graduate of Barking College of Technology, 1973-1977 I think, as are a couple of other posters in here. Already mentioned are Bondermacker (spelling?), our morse tutor, and to this day the most amazing fist I have ever heard, McMahon was in for maths, O'Callaghan for his famous carpet slippers, Sinnicks who's already been mentioned, and Johnston who was the radar guy who was without doubt the strictest lecturer, and who would bar you from the classroom if you were even a minute late.
I was once a bit late but, desperate to not miss anything I decided to take a chance with an explanation. As I walked in I realised this was a big mistake, he stopped mid sentence and turned to glare at me. Anyhow, as I begun my plea I let my bag drop to the floor, and (for whatever reason) I had one of those old laughing machines in it, and the thing went off, loudly. I can remember thinking to myself as I stood in front of the class with my bag laughing on the floor and the horrified expression on Mr Johnston's face that this was turning out to be a very bad day, but it saved me, I was permitted to take my seat, and I was never late again.

I think all of us who successfully graduated that course ended up with Safmarine, myself from about 1978 - 1983.

They were all great guys at BCT, I wouldn't have missed it for anything.

I write software for a living these days, but my old Katsumi keyer which survived being chucked around in aircraft baggage for 5 years, and one typhoon, is still heard every day on the ham bands.

Regards and thanks for a great forum,

Adrian


----------



## Naytikos

Perhaps I have missed it, but nowhere have I seen a reference to Plymouth Tech.
Am I the last survivor of that establishment, I wonder?
Not much point in quoting lecturers' names if there's no-one else who went there reading this thread.


----------



## docgk

Ivor Lloyd -'Lecturers from memory were Messers Orba, Hatcher, Robinson and an ex RN PO whose name escapes me.' ( at Southampton).

I think the ex RN PO would have been Ron Fisher............
Peter Hatcher is still hale and hearty living locally.


----------



## aselador

Hi,

to all the other posters who also attended Barking College of Technology, I sat my MRGC and DOT Radar Maintenance there between 1976 - 1980. I have many fond memories of the lecturers there. I certainly remember Roger Johnson, he use to lash the students with a whip like weapon called S.A.F.E.R.S especially if they were returning from a long lunch! Mr Boendermaker used to take us for morse and radio theory "You've got to pass the current through the aerial fast enough - Dus". Mr O'Callaghan took us for radio regs and fault finding, he had a habit of asking a question and giving the answer before you had a chance to respond. Olly Sinnicks and Barry Baker took me for radar. I also recall Mr McMahon. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at BCT, I believe that I was the only one that made it to sea in 1980 of those who sat my course, due to yet another downturn in UK Shipping.


----------



## DaiSparks

IanSpiden said:


> yes Fred Boettcher was still there and Andrew Bogie had jsut retired when I went to Leith in 1966 , Mr Natusch ( not sure of the spelling) was taking over as Head of Dept and a Welsh Lecturer whose name was Griffin came around that time , he had done a lot of freelancing and was another interesting character , they were all good lecturers, Griff was especially " Hot" in the cabin , he wanted to know why you found a fault not just that you had


Hi Ian,
We were at LNC together, altho I was a year behind, joined in 67 along with Bob Clay.
Remember the old Morse Room, I still have one of the original keys from there, Ted let us help ourselves, they were much better than those modern keys in the new Morse Room on the 2nd Floor, with all the booths.
Ted was an excellent exam moderator for the Radar Exam which Chalky taught.
Whilst I was the first student to pass the full 3rd Year C&G exams which were the climax to C&G program that Natusch was running (He used to put a different slant on electronics, all Maths based), Griff also managed to pass the Radar paper, which was just as well, he was the lecturer!
Fred B was an excellent lecturer, unfortunately he died of a heart in 73, whilst I was back going my upgrade to General, a great shock all round.

DaiSparks (Thumb)


----------



## tedc

Marconi Sahib said:


> Don't know how you guys do it.
> 
> The head man at Hull Tech was Redvers-Smith who I remember doing his waveform dance to demonstrate the relationship between electric and magnetic transmitted waves. He also signed a congratulatory note when I got my ticket. I still have it somewhere. I think he was glad to get rid of me.
> .


Hull Tech, in 1955, was the old building in Park Street (not far behind the Ferensway bus station).
Redvers Smith supervised the morse sending/receiving classes - which consisted of 8 or 10 students around each of 4 or 5 big wooden tables - each with headphones on and listening to pl or code or whatever from the sender of the hour.
One day, one of the students included the phrase "Redvers Smith is a f***ing xxxx" in his messages!

He thought that only his headphone clad group could hear him!

Unluckily, Redvers Smith could read the key "clicks" and immediately slung the offender out of the room - together with another who thought it was funny.

The two were banned for a while - but a few days later RS had the misfortune to have to present the pmgs to the only two who had passed in that sitting.
Yes, they were the same 2.


----------



## K urgess

He was in charge of the whole department at Queen's Gardens, Ted, so nobody dared snigger at his little dance.
Overall not bad if you kept out of his way.


----------



## Steven Lamb

Interesting posts regarding ex College Lecturers. Add my name to those at Fleetwood ! One Radio lecturer not mentioned is "Fearless" Frank Martland who could spin a good yarn on just about any subject going including Radio !!
Frank was one of the pipe-smoking brigade trying their best to teach some of us numbsculls. Others in the pipe brigade we "Piggy" Rhymes, Dave Larter, Nev Watson, Ray Bisby and Hughie McGuirk - what a memorable bunch of great blokes. The tobacconist shop down at Broadwaters near the tram stop must of done a roaring trade back in those days ! 
Who could forget the unforgettable Laurence Rivers-Bland ! It was a privilage to be in his drinking squad either at the Marine Bar on the sea front or conveniently down at the Broadway. I distinctly remember LRB getting a "boll..king" off Ray Pilgrim one afternoon when i was doing my Radar ticket for coming back with a bit of "Red Glow" after me & a couple of others traipsed back gingerly with him following a lunchtime session at the Broadway.
I have been back to Fleetwood a few times in recent years - on one occasion to do that "mickey-mouse" GMDSS ticket and was pleasantly surprised to see Hughie McGuirk & Don Bee both part-time lecturing the subject although I 
believe both have now finally retired ? From the list of previous mails posted was Jack Howarth's name amoungst them ? can't remember ?
Happy memories for me at that establishment & if there was ever a reunion planned then pencil me in as I bet LRB could still drink most of us under the table ! That's if he's still alive ?


----------



## sparkie2182

Don sadly "crossed the bar" last November, Steven.......as did Ray Bisby and Dave Larter in earlier years.
Hugh is now residing in his native Northern Ireland.
Jack in now retired and living in Grange-over-Sands.

regards

s2182


----------



## jaydeeare

Somewhere I have a Course Photo of my course with Don Bee. I think we may have been his first Course, back in '68.

Ray Pilgrim and Hughie McGurk I remember very well.

We always seemed to end up at The Mariners right past the tram Terminus.

As a Nav. Cadet, it was our duty to raise and lower the ensign outside the College with the Principal, Capt. Carruthers, watching carefully. If any part of the ensign touched the ground, it was a tap on the window, a disapproving look and 6d in the Lifeboat Box!


----------



## sparkie2182

i would like to see that pic if you can find it Johnny.

regards

s2182


----------



## sparkie2182

The mention of that well known character Laurence Rivers-Bland reminded me of a true story about him.

In 1998 he was in Northern Alpine Italy on a mountainside waiting a a queue to board a cable car.
As he was about to board, the attendant stopped him , as the car was full and Laurence was told to wait for the next car.

The cable-car departed from the platform and this happened........

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/3/newsid_2527000/2527521.stm


LRB was featured on BBC news as an eye witness.


----------



## jaydeeare

sparkie2182 said:


> i would like to see that pic if you can find it Johnny.
> 
> regards
> 
> s2182


I'll do a thorough search for it, and post it - if I can find it!


----------



## sparkie2182

many thanks............

S2182


----------



## Steven Lamb

*Tks OM for the info*



sparkie2182 said:


> Don sadly "crossed the bar" last November, Steven.......as did Ray Bisby and Dave Larter in earlier years.
> Hugh is now residing in his native Northern Ireland.
> Jack in now retired and living in Grange-over-Sands.
> 
> regards
> 
> s2182


Sorry to hear abt Don Bee ! What happened ?  
Yes I knew about Ray Bisby & Dave Larter from earlier years tks which agn was a bit of a shock at the time. Have you any news on Laurence Rivers-Bland pls ? Last i knew of him he was residing over in Hambleton across the River Wyre.
Oh well life goes I suppose ! at least Hughie is still knocking about and enjoying his retirement I hope.

Tks once again OM / 73's


----------



## Steven Lamb

*Talk about fate / luck !*



sparkie2182 said:


> The mention of that well known character Laurence Rivers-Bland reminded me of a true story about him.
> 
> In 1998 he was in Northern Alpine Italy on a mountainside waiting a a queue to board a cable car.
> As he was about to board, the attendant stopped him , as the car was full and Laurence was told to wait for the next car.
> 
> The cable-car departed from the platform and this happened........
> 
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/3/newsid_2527000/2527521.stm
> 
> 
> LRB was featured on BBC news as an eye witness.


Hello agn Sparkie
Crickey LRB was a lucky bloke - bet he chain-smoked piles of those cheroots he use to draw on back in the early 70's ! 
Cheers
Steve(Thumb)


----------



## sparkie2182

and more than a few large Gins i suspect Steve..........

Do you remember his red convertable sports car?




Sadly Don died of a brain tumour and was cremated at Blackpool on the
25th? November last year.
The sad occasion was attended by many of his past and present colleagues (and in my case also his former student) who counted themselves fortunate to be his friends.

He will be missed by many, i have an old atlas which he once gave me, it is a bit of a "treasured possession" now.

I can't tell you more on LRB, but i suspect he is steering clear of cable cars.

My era at FNC as a student was contemporaneous to yours Steve, i think i recall the name from a dim and distant past, perhaps in the "Dorchester".........the names....Steven Musgrave and Bob Abrams may "sound a two tone alarm" with you.

best regards.......

s2182


----------



## Steven Lamb

*Tks once again*



sparkie2182 said:


> and more than a few large Gins i suspect Steve..........
> 
> Do you remember his red convertable sports car?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sadly Don died of a brain tumour and was cremated at Blackpool on the
> 25th? November last year.
> The sad occasion was attended by many of his past and present colleagues (and in my case also his former student) who counted themselves fortunate to be his friends.
> 
> He will be missed by many, i have an old atlas which he once gave me, it is a bit of a "treasured possession" now.
> 
> I can't tell you more on LRB, but i suspect he is steering clear of cable cars.
> 
> My era at FNC as a student was contemporaneous to yours Steve, i think i recall the name from a dim and distant past, perhaps in the "Dorchester".........the names....Steven Musgrave and Bob Abrams may "sound a two tone alarm" with you.
> 
> best regards.......
> 
> s2182


Good Morning Sparkie
Thanks your reply.

Now you got me thinking ! Bob Abrams if i'm right was a rather slight chap (ex RAF) who was very mild-natured. Mush was mush of course ! very much "not an hair out of place" type !
The Dorchester well... I wasn't afforded the luxury of staying there as I believe it was haven for the Navs. 
I for my sins at the tender age of 16 first kicked-off down Mount Road in a boarding house. That lasted one year because after getting blind drunk in the company of LRB & Johnny Laughland at the Cala Gran on an end of year bash I unfortunately deposited my "night before" unforgivingly back at the digs and was kindly asked to seek alternative accomodation for the new term. 
I then went down Seabank Road but that didn't last long as I took a "shine" to the landlady's daughter who was about my age ! (Thumb) and was asked to move on.
I next found a place down North Church Street and again was kicked out because the Landlord didn't agree with my late night drinking habits ! 
By this stage I had visions of me permanently camping down under the pier!(Hippy) However, having twisted the arm of a classmate (Ronnie Sewell from ***bria) to go halvers on a flat I chose a dandy-one right opposite the Jolly Roger on the pier - how convenient ! By the way if anyone knows the whereabouts of my old classmate Ronnie please let me know as i'd love to catch up with him after all these years.
The move to the flat nearly ended in the disaster as i was caught by the owner shepherding two blonde dames up the stairs in the early hours of the morning and i think we must of woken him up ! I can still picture my mate virtually bawling at me for trying to pull of this stunt !
Like most - I sometimes wondered how the hell I manged to get thru my tickets at FNC because I was having a ball especially in my last year !
The Red sports car ? are we talking LRB ?? If so I remember him 1st having a battered old 1950's Austin geeloppie ! This was then followed by a brand new white TR6 sports car which could of belonged to his missus who he met while she was teaching locally at a primary school nearby.

Sorry to read about Don's demise - hope he didn't suffer to much in his final hours. Like many - I will remember him having the ability to send his students to sleep during his lectures ! I think this was achieved by the speed of his voice and the fact that his voice hardly shifted in pitch !
I do hope you gave him a good send off last November.

Well it's time to sign-off so once again tks 
Look after yourself
Best Rgds / 73's 
Steve


----------



## jaydeeare

During my Nav. Cadet year, the Navs were billeted at the Wavecrest near the pier. they likened it to a place from Hell! I lived at home, so didn't 'enjoy' that pleasure,

I too remember Steve Musgrave. He took us for morse. As I recall, thre wasn't much difference between his morse sending and that of the infernal machine!

I'm also sorry about Don Bee. As kids, we used to visit his mum's shop on he way to the Saturday pictures at the Vic. She was a kind lady. Always seemed to have broken biscuit and lots of 'Lucky Bags'. But I digress.

Still can't find that photo yet


----------



## chadburn

Some months back one of the contributors queried the truth in the story of one of the Liverpool R.N.R's (Merchant Navy STUFT Instructors) who it was claimed shot a MIG jet down in Korea and I replied that it was true as I had met "Hoagy" Carmichael DSC, if the chap concerned can get hold of a copy of the latest "Navy News" he will be able to read an article on the incident as well as an excellent centre spread and cutaway on the HMS Ameththyst.(Thumb)


----------



## Graham P Powell

Onlu just joined so catching up. I went to Bristol tech. Remember
Bob Kneeshaw ( Senior) ex White Star Line and not averse to ripping up note books.
Bob Kneeshaw(Junior). Our class lecturer. Nice bloke wrote articles for Practical Wireless. 
Lofty Allan - Excellent morse and procedure instructor,
Mr Masters, Radar, Davd Heald (Cabin). Dave has had a stroke and is not at all well. We also had Mr Metcalfe,Rush, Jessop and ultra smooth morse
instructor Mr Anderson. I really enjoyed my time there. Better than grammar school anyway.
rgds
Graham Powell


----------



## steve Coombs

Graham P Powell said:


> Onlu just joined so catching up. I went to Bristol tech. Remember
> Bob Kneeshaw ( Senior) ex White Star Line and not averse to ripping up note books.
> Bob Kneeshaw(Junior). Our class lecturer. Nice bloke wrote articles for Practical Wireless.
> Lofty Allan - Excellent morse and procedure instructor,
> Mr Masters, Radar, Davd Heald (Cabin). Dave has had a stroke and is not at all well. We also had Mr Metcalfe,Rush, Jessop and ultra smooth morse
> instructor Mr Anderson. I really enjoyed my time there. Better than grammar school anyway.
> rgds
> Graham Powell


Yes i went to Brunel Tech in Bristol, think there are references to it earlier in the thread-great times


----------



## Trevor Clements

I am a bit disappointed that no one has mentioned (As far as I can see) Colwyn Bay. The late Tubby Nelson was a legend, and some photos of him can be seen on the CB web site. When I went back to attempt part two of my 1st, and was in digs, he ticked me off for coming in without shaving one morning, with the words "You wouldn't get away with that at sea". Little did he know the regime on my first ship! 

However Paddy Sweeney, is still in Colwyn Bay I believe and of course Bill Whale (Kipper) unveiled the memorial to the College. All three had the dubious honour of trying to teach me.

Trevor Clements R721744


----------



## Graham P Powell

Hi Steve, Bristol Tech was brilliant. So much better than ordinary school. Do you remember the bus stop outside the college in Ashley Down Road. Well, one day, one of the blokes who was back from sea to do First class went by and sent ..-./ --- on the horn of his scooter. Of course all the radio blokes, both students and lecturers waiting for the bus could read what he sent .Brilliant.


----------



## steve Coombs

Graham P Powell said:


> Hi Steve, Bristol Tech was brilliant. So much better than ordinary school. Do you remember the bus stop outside the college in Ashley Down Road. Well, one day, one of the blokes who was back from sea to do First class went by and sent ..-./ --- on the horn of his scooter. Of course all the radio blokes, both students and lecturers waiting for the bus could read what he sent .Brilliant.


Hi Graham

Yes think i do remember the bus stops also the student union across the road, good times there in the early 70s etc.

The college has now been turned into housing and flats


----------



## Graham P Powell

Funnily enough my son lived near there for a while. I worked at GKA and he
worked at the Police headquarter in Portishead which is on the site of the old radio station!. 
I went to see my mate in Newport the other day on the train and I could see the college had gone. It was an excellent college. Dave Heald has had a very bad stroke and is not at all well. I met him and his family in Wells and he was in a wheel chair and could hardly speak. Very sad.


----------



## Larry Bennett

Hi Graham,

Sorry to hear the news about Dave Heald, always got on well with him at college and we kept in touch from time to time after I left. Please pass on my best to his family when next you speak.

Re the above post, also had many a swift pint or 2 over the student union at lunchtime - resulting in a few sleepy afternoons learning aerial theory....good times.


----------



## Graham P Powell

Greetings Larry, Dave is a friend of Pete Treharne's and everytime I see him I ask how Dave is getting on. Not too well I'm afraid. Some very interesting stuff on this website. At least it gets me off the railway ones for a while!


----------



## Naytikos

I have seen no mention on this thread of anyone from Plymouth Tech. so this may fall on stoney ground; but I would like to mark the passing, last night, of David Balfour Millar, ex RFA and P & O, who lectured there during the mid 60s when I did my ticket.


----------



## roythwa

Denis Picot said:


> I am new to this site.
> I have a photo of seven lecturers at Soton including Mr. Hall ( 'enry Hall as we used to call him in 1956/8 ) when I sat my P.M.G. If you want it, how do I get it to you ??
> Regards,
> Denis Picot.


Hello do you you remember a small nervous guy with glasses ? Regards Roy Thwaites


----------



## roythwa

NoMoss said:


> One that springs to mind is in the Radio section and he was a lecturer at Southampton University and later Technical College and that was Bill Hall - one of Naure's Gentlemen if ever there was. Incidentally, another of the lecturers who was there when I took my 1st Class PMG was Richard Moody and he is now a good friend and fellow member of the Radio Officers' Association.


Welcome Ted perhaps you remember me I was so nervous in the Morse.

I am69 so you could have been at soton at the same time.

Used my bicycle when I ran out of money. The grant was a godsend but ran out towards the end. The things we used to eat.

Got me out of a poor wartime pompey we had lost all in the bombing.

I live in Australia now miss my folks in england.

Regards Roy Thwaites


----------



## hughesy

*Hull Tech*

Been on this site a couple of years now, and I'm suprised there are not more
people who went to Hull Tech posting, as when I was there, it seemed like there was loads of folk doing tickets or courses there?

all the best(Thumb) 
Hughesy


----------



## roythwa

I was at Southampton Tech at the time of the upstair outside stairway. I had no idea it was a fire escape! Failed first time with morse nerves but qualified second time with the Radar Certificate. Could not remember anyone from the course or the teachers. Went on to improve my speed at sea talking at 35wpm. I used to read the US stations as they were high speed.

Of course everyone said sarcastically Radio Operator didn't think about all the repairs I could do having trained in radio-tv service previously.

I think everyone wants one of those yank time regressions that are on TV now. Be nice to pop back to a point in time and see where it led.

Regards to all the students my first trip was the Esso Oxford and getting into the bay of Biscay the Esso Chatham blew her sides out. The bay was calm for the trip to Gib we were escort. First trip first SOS.

THink that Radio Officers should be put back on seeing all the ships sinking in the news.

Regards to all

Roy Thwaites


----------



## K urgess

hughesy said:


> Been on this site a couple of years now, and I'm suprised there are not more
> people who went to Hull Tech posting, as when I was there, it seemed like there was loads of folk doing tickets or courses there?
> 
> all the best(Thumb)
> Hughesy


Take pride in it, Hughesy.
A rare breed indeed, ain't we. (Thumb)
Cheers
Kris


----------



## Mo A

*Brunel Tech, Bristol 1972-74*

John Coates, wasn't he the one that sat on the desk, took snuff from the back of his yellow hand and told a story with that far away look in his eye,
wasn't he the one that took pity on us and declared "Smoko" when we'd had enough, and wasn't he the one that said "Whoops Nellie, down the pan, up the swany" every time the chalk skidded on the blackboard?

Even my kids know the Whoops Nellie saying now, such was his wonderful teaching skills.

Can't remember anything else he taught.

Mo
G4LAH


----------



## roythwa

RayJordandpo said:


> I have really enjoyed reading this thread, never laughed so much in ages. You sparkies are all bleedin' bonkers!


Tell us wot we dunno hohohahaha


----------



## Dutchy62

Doesn't seem to be any response on this thread from anyone who went to Norwood Tech. I was there 60-62, PMG1S/2S. I think the PMG blokes were the black sheep of the college because we were relegated to a disused chapel down the road from the main college for many of our lessons. It was all rather rickety where we did cabin, regs, some morse and theory. Occasionally we were allowed in the main college building to mix with the real students. Some of the lecturers at the time were Mayoh, Walker, Keane, Holmes (who wore a brown dustcoat and was a specialist in the morse creed machine). We also had a Kiwi guy called Rowe (I think). The top banana was Danielson. Anyone there from that period?


----------



## Mick farmer

Dutchy62 said:


> Doesn't seem to be any response on this thread from anyone who went to Norwood Tech. I was there 60-62, PMG1S/2S. I think the PMG blokes were the black sheep of the college because we were relegated to a disused chapel down the road from the main college for many of our lessons. It was all rather rickety where we did cabin, regs, some morse and theory. Occasionally we were allowed in the main college building to mix with the real students. Some of the lecturers at the time were Mayoh, Walker, Keane, Holmes (who wore a brown dustcoat and was a specialist in the morse creed machine). We also had a Kiwi guy called Rowe (I think). The top banana was Danielson. Anyone there from that period?


I was at Norwood 1956-58 and we also used the chapel down the road plus a junior school classroom with chairs for five year olds , I remember Mayoh and Danielson I think they were the originals Was mrs Rockingham there in your time

Cheers

Mick

Mick


----------



## Dutchy62

Mick farmer said:


> I was at Norwood 1956-58 and we also used the chapel down the road plus a junior school classroom with chairs for five year olds , I remember Mayoh and Danielson I think they were the originals Was mrs Rockingham there in your time
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Mick
> 
> Mick


Hi Mick the name sounds sort of familiar but memory a bit hazy now. What did she do? There was an old biddy who did the typing courses for the girls on the secretarial courses and was inflicted on us for rudimentary typing lessons (to music, no less - old 78 records!) - wasn't her I suppose?


----------



## rknibbs

I was Norwood 67 to 69 for PMG and Radar. Don't have anymore to add to what has been said, same lecturers in same buildings, I suppose Walker was still head of department as he was when I was there.


----------



## Mick farmer

Dutchy62 said:


> Hi Mick the name sounds sort of familiar but memory a bit hazy now. What did she do? There was an old biddy who did the typing courses for the girls on the secretarial courses and was inflicted on us for rudimentary typing lessons (to music, no less - old 78 records!) - wasn't her I suppose?


Hi

No she was an extremely sexy thirty something that did speech training

as they thought we did not speak like we oughta. I remeber the old lady 

she obviously lasted longer than we thought she would

Cheers

Mick


----------



## Dutchy62

Mick farmer said:


> Hi
> 
> No she was an extremely sexy thirty something that did speech training
> 
> as they thought we did not speak like we oughta.


Yes, I remembered who you meant after I had posted, she certainly was a bit tasty. 
It seems even more bizarre looking back that they could even think about giving us speech training. What were they thinking about? Had they never listened to live R/T?


----------



## norman hargraves

*Re Richard Moody*



NoMoss said:


> One that springs to mind is in the Radio section and he was a lecturer at Southampton University and later Technical College and that was Bill Hall - one of Naure's Gentlemen if ever there was. Incidentally, another of the lecturers who was there when I took my 1st Class PMG was Richard Moody and he is now a good friend and fellow member of the Radio Officers' Association.


Is richard moody, the guy who taught at Southampton Tech, the guy who was on Tug Turmoil which tried to bring in the 'enterprise' He told the story that although the Enterprise sank, the publicity enabled him to receive some prize money, for which he used for his marriage costs!


----------



## norman hargraves

Denis Picot said:


> I am new to this site.
> I have a photo of seven lecturers at Soton including Mr. Hall ( 'enry Hall as we used to call him in 1956/8 ) when I sat my P.M.G. If you want it, how do I get it to you ??
> Regards,
> Denis Picot.


I was at Soton for my tickets around 1960, and later for my radar ticket in 1966, i would love to see your photo of the lecturers and find out more about them. Any ideas as to how?


----------



## ian fears

Hi I was at Soton 1967/69 remember Moody well especially the odd times when he did morse , his morse was like music I thought he had done some time at GKA or is my memory going


----------



## Denis Picot

Info for Norman Hargraves..............To see photo, go back to Post # 29 d.d. 19th. Oct. 2008 on this thread.
Regards,
Denis Picot.


----------



## Doug H

*Lecturers*

Greetings, I've just been back to the beginning of this thread and looked at each contribution. Surprised there wasn't more mention of Hamble. Certainly, it the School of Marine Radio & Radar closed and moved to Bristol in the late 50s/early 60s (??) and some of the lecturers who (apparently) moved with it have been mentioned such as Mr Kneeshaw (Senior) who was a theory lecturer. Bob Kneeshaw (Junior) was in fact a student there in my time (1952/53). The prize (for me) was Lofty Allen, one of this world's true gentlemen. Also a Mr Bill (or Bob?) Slaney and Mr McMahon for radar.
I have a few photos including all of the above if anyone is interested. Rgds
Doug Howick


----------



## andysk

Dutchy62 said:


> ..... Doesn't seem to be any response on this thread from anyone who went to Norwood Tech. ......


I was there from Sept 68 to Dec 70, PMG 2nd Class - repeated second term following a fatherly chat from RS Walker ! and and BOT Radar

There was a thread started by me a while ago about Norwood Tech, see :

http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/showthread.php?t=6865&highlight=norwood+tech

I remember an extremely gorgeous 'young thing' usually dressed in black with long brown hair, who took us for non-core classes to 'broaden the minds' - of course most of us could only think of one thing !! The only thing I remember about the typing classes was leaving notes for the girls on the secretarial courses which didn't seem to res
ult in much.

Lecturers were Danielson, Mayoh, Walker, Tritton, Hawes, Phil Smith, Bob ? Douglas, Baxter and a few others, also Ziggy Brezinski (sp?) and someone who had a string of betting shops on the south coast.

I'm sure more will come back to mind ....

Cheers

Andy


----------



## ernhelenbarrett

I did my PMG at Leith Nautical in 1954 and had Fred Boettcher for morse and faults on the Oceanspan 1, Bogie was the theory Lecturer, used to fill the blackboard up with formulae, turn round and say "got all that eh" and rub it off! His son was doing his 2nd Mates at the College at that time too, ex Ben Line I believe as I remember his name from my time on deck with Ben Line. I believe he failed first time round. Joined Marcon who sent me off to AST Hamble to swat up on all their other Equipment, then off to my first ship as Trainee. M/V Avistone, with oceanspan so never ever worked any of the gear 
I saw at AST. Last time I was back in Auld reekie in 1980 Leith Nautical was no longer in Leith!!
Ern Barrett


----------



## Graham P Powell

Hi Doug,A lot of the lecturers at Hamble moved to Bristol. You were right about Lofty Allan.Lovely bloke. MY friend Pete Treharne was at Hamble and so I believe was Dave Heald. The Kneeshaws were excellent lecturers. I have nothing but brilliant memories about my time at Bristol Tech.


----------



## Graham P Powell

I noticed that the tug Turmoil and the Flying Enterprise was mentioned earlier.
One of the GKA R/O's Dai Burt was on the Turmoil as well. Picked up some quite interesting bits about that incident.


----------



## Mayday

I attended Northern Counties Radio School, early 70's.
Callaghan was the head, tall chap with Irish brogue.
MacCreedie, later took over as head.
Dunderdale, an elderly gentleman.
There was also a younger chap who was easily sidetracked to sea stories.
Radar was an ex RAF chap, complete with moustach.
All really nice people and very good at their jobs.
Two of them got MRGC nos 11 and 12, the first ten going to the examiners.
John.


----------



## M29

Graham P Powell said:


> Hi Doug,A lot of the lecturers at Hamble moved to Bristol. You were right about Lofty Allan.Lovely bloke. MY friend Pete Treharne was at Hamble and so I believe was Dave Heald. The Kneeshaws were excellent lecturers. I have nothing but brilliant memories about my time at Bristol Tech.


Just an update to say that Bob Kneewshaw is now happily retired after finishing his career working part time for University of the West of England.
Dave Heald is still with us although sadly suffered a major stroke several years back and is quite disabled. See my ealier contribution about the other Lecturers at Bristol.

Best wishes

Alan


----------



## Graham P Powell

HI Alan, If you are in touch with Bob Kneeshaw please pass on my best wishes.
I was there from 64 to 66 and him and his Dad were first rate lecturers. 
Dave Heald was in a wheelchair outside tesco's in Wells with his wife and daughter. Could hardly speak. Pete Treharne keeps me updated on his progress.
Often wonder if his stroke was due to being flung across the room after touching the HT on a Marconi Conqueror tx....


----------



## steve Coombs

Mo A said:


> John Coates, wasn't he the one that sat on the desk, took snuff from the back of his yellow hand and told a story with that far away look in his eye,
> wasn't he the one that took pity on us and declared "Smoko" when we'd had enough, and wasn't he the one that said "Whoops Nellie, down the pan, up the swany" every time the chalk skidded on the blackboard?
> 
> Even my kids know the Whoops Nellie saying now, such was his wonderful teaching skills.
> 
> Can't remember anything else he taught.
> 
> 
> 
> Mo
> G4LAH


I faintly remember John Coates but cant remember what he taught,think he only took us a few times. Was at Brunel until summer 74


----------



## Dutchy62

andysk said:


> I was there from Sept 68 to Dec 70, PMG 2nd Class - repeated second term following a fatherly chat from RS Walker ! and and BOT Radar
> 
> There was a thread started by me a while ago about Norwood Tech, see :
> 
> http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/showthread.php?t=6865&highlight=norwood+tech
> 
> I remember an extremely gorgeous 'young thing' usually dressed in black with long brown hair, who took us for non-core classes to 'broaden the minds' - of course most of us could only think of one thing !! The only thing I remember about the typing classes was leaving notes for the girls on the secretarial courses which didn't seem to res
> ult in much.
> 
> Lecturers were Danielson, Mayoh, Walker, Tritton, Hawes, Phil Smith, Bob ? Douglas, Baxter and a few others, also Ziggy Brezinski (sp?) and someone who had a string of betting shops on the south coast.
> 
> I'm sure more will come back to mind ....
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Andy


Thanks for this Andy, don't know how I missed the other thread but interesting stuff on there. As it was a bit after my time, the lecturers are not familiar apart from the first three. Teasdale mentioned on the other thread was there in my time though. As I said in the earlier post, I think the PMG guys were the black sheep of the college so not surprised at the lack of response from the secretarial girls. I had a 1½ hours each way journey to Norwood so extra curricular activity with them for me was a bit of a challenge.

The typing and some other stuff (which I believe included rudimentary info on IMR gear) were grouped together under the grand title of something like "Pre Sea certificate" which no prospective employer had heard of, of course! I probably have one kicking around somewhere. Can't remember what else it included, (anyone remember?) I doubt if speech training was one of them though - I still can't fathom what they could have been thinking giving us speech training!


----------



## M29

Graham P Powell said:


> HI Alan, If you are in touch with Bob Kneeshaw please pass on my best wishes.
> I was there from 64 to 66 and him and his Dad were first rate lecturers.
> Dave Heald was in a wheelchair outside tesco's in Wells with his wife and daughter. Could hardly speak. Pete Treharne keeps me updated on his progress.
> Often wonder if his stroke was due to being flung across the room after touching the HT on a Marconi Conqueror tx....


Hi Graham, will do.
Re David, his stroke occured whilst abroard on holiday some time after he retired. It was so serious, he had to stay abroad some time before is was safe to fly him home. I suppose an old injury may have been waiting to cause a problem later but don't know if this is possible.

Best Wishes

Alan


----------



## norman hargraves

*Re Turmoil and the Flying Enterprise*



NoMoss said:


> One that springs to mind is in the Radio section and he was a lecturer at Southampton University and later Technical College and that was Bill Hall - one of Naure's Gentlemen if ever there was. Incidentally, another of the lecturers who was there when I took my 1st Class PMG was Richard Moody and he is now a good friend and fellow member of the Radio Officers' Association.


Dick Moody taught me morse at southampton circa 1960-1961 and later for my 1st class at the new tech college, and i was looking on the net regarding the ss Flying Enterprise cos i remembered he told us he got married , with the proceeds of the Turmoil's (Tug) efforts to rescue her. 
The interesting bit came in an article from a danish tv programme about Zirconium being carried on the Flying Enterprise and apparantly dick moody was interviewed by the FBI after the sinking....Can Mr Moody shed any light on this..?
Kind regards
Norman Hargraves


----------



## NoMoss

norman hargraves said:


> Dick Moody taught me morse at southampton circa 1960-1961 and later for my 1st class at the new tech college, and i was looking on the net regarding the ss Flying Enterprise cos i remembered he told us he got married , with the proceeds of the Turmoil's (Tug) efforts to rescue her.
> The interesting bit came in an article from a danish tv programme about Zirconium being carried on the Flying Enterprise and apparantly dick moody was interviewed by the FBI after the sinking....Can Mr Moody shed any light on this..?
> Kind regards
> Norman Hargraves


Dick told me that all the crew were interviewed by the FBI or someone after they got back. There were serious rumours about the Flying Enterprise carrying some radio active material as it was about the time the first Polaris submarine was being acknolwledged.
The crew of the Turmoil knew nothing about it and hadn't seen anything when the ship went down.
Funnily enough I am going over to Southampton tomorrow (Wednesday) to have lunch with Dick and some of the surviving lecturers at their monthly luncheon club at the Tech College.


----------



## valencia59

Glad to see I wasn't the only person to attend Northern Counties Mayday !
The young fellow easily sidetracked was probably Brian Boynes, ex marconi sparks.
The ex RAF radar lecturer eventually left to run a boddingtons pub on strand road.
It was McCreary who took over from Callaghan when he retired.
We had many happy times there, some even spent in the Blackamoor Head 
on the other side of lancaster road !


----------



## Christopher Knight

I am biased because I went to Riversdale, and none of the previous notes mentioned Riversdale. When I was at Riversdale the boss was Geoff Brown, had the most fantastic memory because he knew everybodies name that was at the college. Peter Jackson was my main course lecturer in Radio, Gerry Ludden in electrical principals, Morse was a mixture including Eddy Bruce, PJ, GL, Monty Wilkes and a gentleman something Loughlan, I cannot remember his first name. Year 2, was PJ Radio, GL, more or less the same guys for morse, but alot more practical in year 2, as in year 3 we had the dreaded MRGC Part II. In year 3, as well as the work for the MRGC Part II, we started radar, with Gordon Andrews (RIP). I was at times struggling with Morse code, so Gordon Andrews decided he would give me extra morse lessons, if you could not learn morse with Gordon driving you, with his very direct approach you were just not ever going to learn it! Gordons Andrews way did the trick! I therefore finished in 1974 and started work with Bibby's in January 1975!


----------



## Christopher Knight

*Christopher Knight*

I never had the opportunity of studying at Southampton, being a northerner, my radio training was all completed at Riversdale in Liverpool. One of the Lecturers to taught me at Riversdale, Brian Cotton, moved to Southampton probably around 1978. That is my only tie with Southampton, apart from trips on the Dart Altantic with Bibby Line.
The year I finished at Riversdale, Liverpool, the guys who were successful and moved to the MN from memory, were a Graham Beale, joined the RFA,
a Melvin Fowler and a Peter Harper-Roberts, who both joined Cunard. A David Kinrade who joined P & O.
Does anybody know or has heard of them, I assume they will of gone into some other industry, similar to what I did with the end of RO's!
cheers,
chris


----------



## docgk

Christopher - Brian Cotton got the job as Head of Department at Southampton when Ephraim Hall retired. He eventually became Dean of Faculty and further rose to become one of the Vice-Principals. David Heffer took over as Dean until he retired a year or two ago. When Brian retired he became a leading light in the ROA ( Radio Officers Association) - I haven't seen him for about a year, but he was OK then! He still has that Merseyside wit though! Marine Radio training of course declined in the '80s and some remnants went down to the school of navigation ( another faculty) at Warsash (GMDSS etc) while the Faculty became more generaly mainstream in electronics and in Computing. The College is now Southampton Solent University.


----------



## King Ratt

For Christopher Knight..ref Graham Beale. He was in the RFA up to a few years back and may still be there. Check out photo at http://www.rfaaplymouth.org/copperminepeople/displayimage.php?album=search&cat=0&pos=0

73

Rab T


----------



## Clive Kaine

Christopher, was Dave Kinrade from the Isle of Man? I've a feeling he relieved me on the ss Busiris/GHKZ in 1975. I know the name from somewhere anyway.


----------



## iancoombe

*Ian Coombe. I QSO regularly with Ron Carney if interested . E-Mail me at [email protected]*

I talk regularly on Skype to Ron Carney if anyone is interested. he has become an avid poker player. Contact me at [email protected].

Cheers,
Ian Coombe
Ex Watt School along with George MacConnachie 1958/9


Radiomariner said:


> James Watt School, Greenock. 1958/61
> I recall a Mr Bolton, always smartly dressed and shoes highly polished.
> 
> Mr Corcoran "Corky" who used to speak faster than I could think and introduced me to such words as "posive" and "negive". It was ages before I discovered that his "pawcam" was actually a "pawl Cam"
> 
> Mr. Carney. along with a Mr Rodgers taught me morse code. Carney also covered "Rules and Regs" and could easily be distracted into telling sea stories.
> 
> McEroy Covered radar maintenance, was a good instructer but I did not appreciate that way back then
> 
> Then there was the Head of Department a Mr Flemming, who painfully demonstrated his version of "Flemmings Right Hand Rule" when I was not paying sufficient attention! (EEK)


----------



## Bob Murdoch

Hi Ian,
Ex Watt Memorial, 1956-58, 2nd Class and Radar, then 1959 1st Class. Marconi till 1960 then Union SS Co (NZ) Ltd till 1962. Joined NZ Post Office as a radio inspector. Did a year at Scott Base in the Antarctic, 1966-67 as ionosphericist. When I got back to NZ, went into the data comms business and eventually went to Racal Electronics.
Mr McDonald did Electricity and Magnetism in my day, but I believe he had heart trouble just about when I left. Henry Bolton and his polo mints cor, he never gave any to us, did Radio Theory. Flemming never took regular classes in my time. He did run a course for IBM who were just setting up at Spango Valley. Mcelroy took theory and practical for Radar. Mr Elliot joined at the same time as me and did morse and regs, ex Paddy Henderson. Carney joined in 1957, I think. Dear old Corkey.  Match sticks and bits of paper to engineer faults. 
Great days, but glad to get my ticket and went straight to Glasgow and was signed up with Marconi within a couple of hours of getting it in my hot little hands. First ship a couple of weeks later, still 16.
Bob


----------



## landoburns

I was at the Watt Memorial from 1958 until I got my 1/cl PMG in early 1961. I travelled up daily from Irvine changing trains at Paisley Gilmour Street. I well remember Henry Bolton and his polo mints and him forever tapping out "BE5" on the desk. Ron Carney and his wire recorder going for the world speed record on the big Marconi 365 key at the door! Him trying to rope in players for the football team every weekend. His favourite ship must have been the Santa Maria/HPCQ as it featured in all the messages he taught us! Matt Rodgers, Pop MacDonald who was a lovely man but soon had everyone dozing off as he plowed his way thru the PMG handbook. Then there was Corky - Bob Corcoran - a one-off and a great practical man. I kept in touch with Bob through ham radio for many years. After Cal-Mac he retired to Fairlie and lived just along the road from Allan Murray, also a radio ham, who taught at the Watt at HND level. I visited Bobby in Fairlie and he had all the old Watt records and we sat going thru them for a couple of hours. Bobby died at age 85 and throughout the years kept his love of cycling and used to get out on his trike till well advanced in years. Last time I was in Scotland I listened on the ham radio net they used every morning (the Porage Net) but sadly the frequency had fallen silent so I don't know if Allan is still active. Rather inexplicably I was given the nickname "China" when I was at the Watt and strangely enough I went on to marry a Chinese girl, well 2 of them actually, not at the same time I hasten to add.
Mr Fleming fixed me up with IMR and I spent my first 2 yrs at sea with them. 
Great memories! 
Jack Plenderleith


----------



## peterngreenhalgh

I was at Brook's Bar, Old Trafford, Manchester 66-68, I'm afraid the only member of staff whose name I can remember was the Secretary - would you believe a Mrs Spark!!! Peter GTZX/G3XGE/RNARS2951


----------



## Troppo

Any Aussies remember the delights of Marconi School of Wireless?


----------



## majoco

Hi guys, a couple of references to Barking Tech and a Mr Bondermaeker teaching you morse. Is that Hank Bondermaeker? Seems strange to have another Dutchman in the same area. I did my ticket at the South East Essex Tech College (and School of Art - lots of dolly birds then - woopee...) where we had a "Hank" - a Dutchman ex PCH- for Morse. This was the first year (1962) that the SEETC ran an RO course so everybody was a bit green. The head of the section was "Mac" Mclelland, and ex-RO Paul somebody was operating, fault-finding and regs, another couple of guys whose names escape me for radio and electrical theory. In the second year, Hank was joined by "Percy", a large jovial man in a harris tweed 3 piece suit who had been an operator at GKA and just came to us part-time 'cos he enjoyed it. He sent us excerpts from the "Daily Mail" every morning, then had us send it all back as he listened on a switching device so that he could hear what we sounded like. When he was feeling mischievous (he had a very dry sense of humour!) he would send the stock exchange report or start upping the speed (all by hand on a Marconi key!) until we were floundering! Hank then complained that we were all starting to sound like Percy in our sending, so the school invested in a Creed perforator. Percy then typed ahead of the machine and we got 'perfect' morse. Fortunately the perforator was rather unreliable so it was back to Percy's "fist". It was quite amazing to us lads who were struggling to keep up to see Percy reading the paper while sending something from another page!

Anyway, I digress! Anyone know what happened to the SEETC school - did it amalgamate with Barking Tech? I have a friend out here who was a lecturer in the vehicle maintenance section of SEETC and he doesn't remember any RO course - even though our exploits of throwing the "Solas" into the swimming pool was legend....

I worked for Marconi 1964 to 1969 on anything from Liberty boats to the "Empress of England" ( and preferred the Libery boats!) then went to the CAA at Gatwick - installed ILS/VOR all over the UK. Emigrated to NZ 1974 and joined the CAA here, flew all around NZ and the South Pacific Islands inspecting all the navigation aids at the airports in our own specially-kitted Fokker "Friendship" aircraft. Then went to Mount Cook Airline and Air New Zealand as an avionics engineer, and finally a calibration engineer. Took early retirement in 2008 - don't know how I found time to work! Still playing around with radio and still read the code but not a lot happening on the marine bands these days....

Best regards - Martin ZL2MC


----------



## sparky1

niggle said:


> *Fleetwood Nautical College*
> 
> I was taught by a real gent and superb teacher for fundamentals and radio theory the late Dave Larter who got a whole class through the first year with 100% pass. Other lecturers were Don Bee radar lecturer who has just crossed the bar, Hughie Mc Gurk, Ray Bisby, Cheesy Howarth (cannot recall his christian name) Neville Watson, Steve Musgrave, John Laughland, Ray Pilgrim, Arthur Bill, John Holmes, Steve Egerton and Ted Hackett on the radio side.
> 
> 
> For those interested a small paper back book was produced celebrating the first 100 years of the college in 1992. ISBN 0-9517878-0-X author Tony Spreckley who I last saw at Blackpool and Fylde main campus at Bispham to which the college at Fleetwood is now part of.
> 
> Niggle


 I was there 69-71 started the course late on my 16th birthday, with much of the same bunch of tutors. I remember Hughie had lost part of a finger, story was that he'd been playing with a waveguide whilst it was on and disconnected, cooked from the inside. I think the old man of the college was called Carruthers.


----------



## meico

We ( the class of 57/59) used to follow her down Knights Hill to Brotherhood Hall and referred to her as Mrs Rockinbottom.
We were horrible !!!
Meico


----------



## Peterhr

*Peter Harper-Roberts*



Christopher Knight said:


> I never had the opportunity of studying at Southampton, being a northerner, my radio training was all completed at Riversdale in Liverpool. One of the Lecturers to taught me at Riversdale, Brian Cotton, moved to Southampton probably around 1978. That is my only tie with Southampton, apart from trips on the Dart Altantic with Bibby Line.
> The year I finished at Riversdale, Liverpool, the guys who were successful and moved to the MN from memory, were a Graham Beale, joined the RFA,
> a Melvin Fowler and a Peter Harper-Roberts, who both joined Cunard. A David Kinrade who joined P & O.
> Does anybody know or has heard of them, I assume they will of gone into some other industry, similar to what I did with the end of RO's!
> cheers,
> chris


Hi Chris - I remember you and Riversdale well - I spent three years with Cunard then left to go to Plymouth Polytechnic to do a degree in Communication Engineering. Have worked pretty much in the south west since then and live just outside Plymouth. Please have a look at my pages (peterhr) of some photos I posted. I remember communicating with Melvin once when I was at sea, but we never met up. All the best PHR.


----------



## BibliotheCarius

I have visited this site before, but not for some time. Larry Bennett's list of Brunel Tech Lecturers brought memories flooding back.

I left in 1973 to join P&O where I remained (more or less) until 1982. My recollection is that the chalk and board rubber thrower was Bob Kneeshaw.

Never say any off them again (except for a few visits in 1970's) except Alan Metcalf who I ran into a few years ago in Braunton, North Devon (where I now live) Alan Metcalfs trademark was the pipe which he smoked continuously, moving it from the middle of the mouth to the side to talk. I wouldn't have recognised him but for the pipe, and he certainly didn't recognise me. We exchanged a few words and moved on.


----------



## radiotech

*Brunel lecturers*



Larry Bennett said:


> Brunel Tech in Bristol in the late 1970s had numerous legendary lecturers - from memory can recall:
> 
> 'Lofty' Allen - morse code tutor extraordinaire and comms procedure expert. Famous for tuning into the 0930 GKA Wx and instructing the class to 'take this you buggers'....
> 
> Bill Donley - another quality morse code tutor - very quietly spoken but rumour has it he was a WW2 fighter pilot. He never spoke about it so we never really knew.
> 
> Norman Rush - Electronics lecturer. Famous for throwing chairs and board rubbers at those who fell asleep during lessons. Had a soft spot for McEwans Export and it was easy to wangle a day off if you left a pack of 4 on his desk!
> 
> Wilton Taylor - Mad electronics lecturer with a tendency to go off at a tangent when the mood took him. Used to line up his discarded cigarettes in a line on the desk in a vertical fashion for some reason.
> 
> Phil Brouder - the Sgt. Wilson of Brunel Tech. Mild-mannered cabin lecturer who used to regale us with stories of when he was at sea on a non-stop basis.
> 
> Dave Heald - Electronics lecturer with a great sense of humour which hid a volatile temperament - anyone who failed to hand in homework or not come up to scratch would feel his wrath...
> 
> Cliff Smith - another lecturer with a volatile side - I once learnt many new swear words when I inadvertently connected my Avo 8 to a radar PCB when still on, producing a firework display of sparks and smoke. Still managed to pass the DOT and CGLI Radar exam though!
> 
> Alan Metcalfe - one of the old school complete with pipe. Taught us aerial theory in a laborious monotone.
> 
> There were of course many more, but the above are the only ones who spring immediately to mind. Do any other ex-Brunel Techies have any more memories?
> 
> Larry (RAD186, 1976-1979)


I was in RAD123 1968-1969. Brilliant course set me up for life in electronics.

Remeber the principal Fred Baltrop, he had moved up from Hamble where he was something to do with air-comms.

Lofty Allen - loved him, he was a sparkie (on Dakotas ?) during the Berlin airlift. '...and if it wasn't for us (Berlin airlift crew) you buggers wouldn't be here !!' He also told us he could detune his tx down to 200kc/s to let his girlfriend know he was back safe !

Pete Masters, good lecturer, talking about setting up radars '... its no good being able to see the Canary Islands if you can't see the fishing boat under your bow' So true !!

Norman Rush definitely a Jehovahs witness, he would give us a task and then read the watchtower; he promised us the end of the world on at least one occassion. Our first lecture with him we were told we would have to give up girlfriends and drinking if we were to stand any chance of passing the PMG exam - I think the tittering was nearly loud enough for him to hear !
One day we caught him out; he'd drawn the coils for a bell electromagnet wrong, when we pointed out it couldn't work he said 'Just remember I may not be right, BUT I'm never wrong !!!' - cracked us up!

Theres more if I can dig it out.

radiotech


----------



## sparx

I was at Riversdale Tech. 1965 -1967. I seem to remember a guy by the name of Teadle or Tweedle? He used to tell us some amazing stories from ships he'd been on. Used to fart quite a lot too!

I was only 15-17 years old at the time and used to hang on to every word he said.


----------



## M29

sparx said:


> I was at Riversdale Tech. 1965 -1967. I seem to remember a guy by the name of Teadle or Tweedle? He used to tell us some amazing stories from ships he'd been on. Used to fart quite a lot too!
> 
> I was only 15-17 years old at the time and used to hang on to every word he said.


Hi Sparx
You must have been at Riversdale with me (Alan Melia), Simon Tudor-Jones (crossed the bar) Jimmy Loughlan, Richard Walton etc.
The lecturer you mention must be Mr Teasdale, who ran the lab sessions and appeared to us to be quite eccentric, but a brillant teacher. Remember experiment 99c? "The student killer" This involved charging a large capacitor up to a couple hundred volts. It would then be left around for some poor soul to pick up! Happy days.

Best Wishes

Alan


----------



## n. liddell (sparks)

What about Jock (james Stewart) Hamilton - I believe I was one of his first challenges when he arrived in about 1965 - thankfully he persevered and dragged me kicking and screaming through my PMG at South Shields - a gentleman and a scholar, he must surely be worthy of a mention


----------



## n. liddell (sparks)

Corky said:


> Did the MRRTC course at SSMTC starting in 1974. Of the 30 odd students, only 3 passed at the end of 3 years (no I was not one of them - I had to resit some C&G exams to get my Part 1 of the MRGC)
> Lectures I remember
> Mr Nicholson - senior lecturer
> Mr Ferguson - senior lecturer
> Mr Turner - lectured mainly electrical theory
> Mr Dunn - Morse tutor / Radio fault finding
> 
> Mr Hamed - Electrical principles
> Mr Johnson - the dreaded maths
> Mr Cunningham - Handbook
> Mr Doig - Radar lecturer
> 
> Mr Nicholson and Mr Ferguson looked after the MRGC crowd - which was mainly BP cadets. Shell and Houlder cadets did the longer Marine Radio / Radar Technicians Course.
> 
> The pass rate was dismal! I think that the MRRTC course was scrapped around 1979...
> 
> Never did get back to do the Marine Electronics Diploma - Houlders would not give me any study leave.


Was Charlie Anderson no longer there - Remember Mr. Ferguson well - he once told me that " The amount of time you have been at this college you should have your finger on the pulse of radio communication - where you have your finger there ain't no pulse -EXTRACT IT" This of course was in the late sixcties and the pass rate was v good - they insisted on it!


----------



## Corky

*SSmtc lecturers*



n. liddell (sparks) said:


> Was Charlie Anderson no longer there - Remember Mr. Ferguson well - he once told me that " The amount of time you have been at this college you should have your finger on the pulse of radio communication - where you have your finger there ain't no pulse -EXTRACT IT" This of course was in the late sixcties and the pass rate was v good - they insisted on it!


Sorry - don't remember a Charlie Anderson. Do remember one of Fergusons quips - during a particulary boring lecture, he asked around the class for their thoughts on the subject. The last chap asked was a "coloured" gentleman, which when he finished his spiel, Mr Ferguson said "Gentlemen, there you have it, in black and white!" Not too sure if that would go down too well today?


----------



## sparx

*Hi Alan*



M29 said:


> Hi Sparx
> You must have been at Riversdale with me (Alan Melia), Simon Tudor-Jones (crossed the bar) Jimmy Loughlan, Richard Walton etc.
> The lecturer you mention must be Mr Teasdale, who ran the lab sessions and appeared to us to be quite eccentric, but a brillant teacher. Remember experiment 99c? "The student killer" This involved charging a large capacitor up to a couple hundred volts. It would then be left around for some poor soul to pick up! Happy days.
> 
> Best Wishes
> 
> Alan


Hi Alan,
Nice to hear from someone who might have been in the same class as me, but I honestly can't remember any names. I was originally at the private radio school in Liverpool, but towards the end of 1965, we were told that the lease was up for renewal and that the school would be closing down. Most of us moved to Riversdale Tech. I got my PMG II class in June 1967 and came back after the summer hols to get the Radar ticket. Joined Brit & Comm in December 1967 and signed-on my 1st ship, Rothesay Castle, in London January 1968.


----------



## 5TT

Hi Martin,



> Hi guys, a couple of references to Barking Tech and a Mr Bondermaeker teaching you morse. Is that Hank Bondermaeker?


I'm one of the Barking College posters, and the Mr Bondermaeker there was certainly ex PCH, that I recall clearly, we never knew him as Hank though, to us he was always Bondy, it does seem likely that it's the same gentleman though.

= Adrian +


----------



## M29

sparx said:


> Hi Alan,
> Nice to hear from someone who might have been in the same class as me, but I honestly can't remember any names. I was originally at the private radio school in Liverpool, but towards the end of 1965, we were told that the lease was up for renewal and that the school would be closing down. Most of us moved to Riversdale Tech. I got my PMG II class in June 1967 and came back after the summer hols to get the Radar ticket. Joined Brit & Comm in December 1967 and signed-on my 1st ship, Rothesay Castle, in London January 1968.


Hi Sparx
I well remember your group moving to Riversdale, I think the Head (was it Gerry Ludden?) moved with you to take a lecturing job at riversdale.
I think that you were one year behind as I got my PMG2 in 66 and came back from sea in Autumn 67 to top up to 1st Class. I reckon according to the dates that I was doing 1st Class while you were up in the radar lab!

Best Wishes

Alan


----------



## freddythefrog

SPARX
I too left Riversdale June 1967, also new Alan M29 above.
Yes it was Gerry Ludden who also came over from RUMFORD Street, Merseyside college of radio till it closed down and all transferred over to Riversdale. cheers ftf


----------



## keith ratcliffe

Hi Sparx. Like you I was at the Merseyside College of Radio, Rumford Street, Liverpool, but a little earlier (1960-1962). I remember Gerry Ludden but I cannot remember the name of his partner at the college. Gerry was an excellent tutor, he must have been for I passed the PMG. Cheers to all ex sparks. Keith


----------



## andrewwalker1234

*Leth Nautical*

Can anyone remember Taf Loyd at Leth you got hin started on the goons and that is all he talked about and White


----------



## andrewwalker1234

Mimcoman said:


> Good morning, Sir (What else can you call an Emeritus Professor?):
> 
> Is Fred Lloyd the same chap who was an ex-Canberra R/O?
> 
> Rgds/Bill


 Did Frank Mahon Teach can you remember a Mr Lamb


----------



## roythwa

Troppo said:


> Any Aussies remember the delights of Marconi School of Wireless?



Oh Yeh many a night after watch studying the tv lessons never did pass did some work when on leave for a TV company and learned more by doing finished up getting a first in color TV then lots of college at night last was computing so long from the 2650 chip to today I got a good mark and one years employment - now retired. Left the sea after getting married to an Aussie Shelia oh well.. Tried to go back in the recession we had to have and found we had been replaced by satellites not great things are they?

What with ships sinking everywhere with different crews.  Not up to the standard we had to be. My radar was always working and that showed up in my OT payment! The OM was well pleased.

I enjoyed my time at sea and no I was no genius just slogged at it until I got it right.

As far as the School Of Wireless all theory and no practical never worked for me.


All the Best Roy Thwaites


----------



## docgk

andrewwalker1234 said:


> Can anyone remember Taf Loyd at Leth you got hin started on the goons and that is all he talked about and White


My first teaching job was at LNC and I remember the staff very well. Fred Lloyd (Taf) was indeed unique. I always thought he looked like Harry Secombe! But yes he was good value if you got him started on the goon show. He has another distinction too ( I recall he had a Doctorate), and he was responsible for getting us all thrown out of the New Dock Tavern one Xmas party. The dockers complained about the bad language!
I don't think he was ever at sea - I remember him coming to LNC from the University of Dundee.

I moved to Southampton in 1974 and the Deputy Head of Dept. was Frank Mahon. I believe he is still around but not very well.


----------



## andrewwalker1234

docgk said:


> My first teaching job was at LNC and I remember the staff very well. Fred Lloyd (Taf) was indeed unique. I always thought he looked like Harry Secombe! But yes he was good value if you got him started on the goon show. He has another distinction too ( I recall he had a Doctorate), and he was responsible for getting us all thrown out of the New Dock Tavern one Xmas party. The dockers complained about the bad language!
> I don't think he was ever at sea - I remember him coming to LNC from the University of Dundee.
> 
> I moved to Southampton in 1974 and the Deputy Head of Dept. was Frank Mahon. I believe he is still around but not very well.


I must have been at Leith when you were there as I left in 72 for the big world


----------



## docgk

andrewwalker1234 said:


> I must have been at Leith when you were there as I left in 72 for the big world


I reckon. Do you remember Ian Natusch the Head of Dept? Principal Morgan? John Bonner, Ian Hey, Griff Griffin, Colin White, Fred Boettcher ( retired soon after I arrived).........I always thought there was a good atmosphere at Leith even if the building was a bit quaint.
When I was there I taught most topics on the R/O course, some C&G Telecomms Technicians course and Radar( just before I moved on to Southampton). 

I know Ian Natusch became a top civil servant in the Scottish Office when LNC was absorbed into a technical college in Portobello ( I think). Don't know a lot about what happened to the others......

Anybody know?


----------



## andrewwalker1234

docgk said:


> I reckon. Do you remember Ian Natusch the Head of Dept? Principal Morgan? John Bonner, Ian Hey, Griff Griffin, Colin White, Fred Boettcher ( retired soon after I arrived).........I always thought there was a good atmosphere at Leith even if the building was a bit quaint.
> When I was there I taught most topics on the R/O course, some C&G Telecomms Technicians course and Radar( just before I moved on to Southampton).
> 
> I know Ian Natusch became a top civil servant in the Scottish Office when LNC was absorbed into a technical college in Portobello ( I think). Don't know a lot about what happened to the others......
> 
> Anybody know?


Do not know what happened to the rest but can remember scottich music comming from freds room as we got the rythem for the morse. Well the only thing is that a few of us are now on the Rigs in the north sea waiting for retirement as well (==D)


----------



## Criffh

*Southampton*

I did my PMG course in Soton, 1965-66. Attached are a few photos from back then. I well remember Moody, Johnson and Fisher. Wasn't there a Mr. Tremaine too? Our maths teacher was the wife of the then-present mayor of Southampton. A mathematical genius whose masses of formulae and squiggles on the blackboard were a total mystery to us all.


----------



## ian fears

sure Mr Tremaine took us for theory for the PMG2 in 1967 , nice bloke a bit on the dry side


----------



## Criffh

Hi Ian

Glasses, fairly tall as far as I remember. I didn't manage to get a snap of that one!
Do you remember who took over the maths classes from the lady I mentioned? He was a laid-back chap who explained things in such a way that they were comprehensible.


----------



## ian fears

Hi Criffh 
yes that would be him , cant recall who done the maths will have to give it some thought , on the whole I thought Soton was a great go ahead college !


----------



## mikeg

Criffh said:


> I did my PMG course in Soton, 1965-66. Attached are a few photos from back then. I well remember Moody, Johnson and Fisher. Wasn't there a Mr. Tremaine too? Our maths teacher was the wife of the then-present mayor of Southampton. A mathematical genius whose masses of formulae and squiggles on the blackboard were a total mystery to us all.


Hi Criffh,

At Soton as well, got my ticket in March '65 (& radar cert a bit earlier). Remember Moody, Johnson, Fisher and Tremain well. Can't now recall who took the radar course though.

Mike


----------



## Criffh

Hi Ian, Mike,

Getting a 2nd class PMG stretched my brain cell to the limit, and I didn't stay on for PMG/1 or radar. Can't say I particularly enjoyed living in digs during the week, having to face a 60 mile each way journey to/from Worthing every weekend on a disintegrating Vespa that was well past its throwaway date, and being broke most of the time. Other than that, I had a great time!


----------



## mikeg

Hi Criffh,

Same here, I lived in Worcester back then. Had some really weird digs in Soton, one where the elderly landlady had a 3 legged poodle that continually tried to hump your leg! Also we wern't allowed to fill the bath past a certain mark and if she heard the water going through the overflow she'd go mental and hammer on the door. Her cutlery & crockery was all marked with shipping line logos. My second digs near Northam bridge was quite attractive landlady who sometimes supplemented her earnings by sleeping with her borders whilst her husband worked nights!


----------



## Criffh

Hi Mike

A very entrepreneureal lady by the sounds of it, and no doubt her husband was grateful for the extra cash! My firsy digs was with an ex-farmer, his wife, and 12 year old daughter. They were both around 70. I never did dare to ask how the daughter came about. I hardly ever saw the wife or daughter, having breakfast and the evening meal with the landlord. He had quite a few interesting theories, such as we got our power from the newer power station to the north of Southampton, as if we got it from the old one somewhere near the docks, it would have to flow uphill. One night there was a collision in the Solent. Radar can't see in the dark was his explanation! His finest though was when he accused me, at 17 years of age, of fancying his wife, and was going to throw me out. I managed to convince him not to worry, and stayed on for a while longer. But only because he charged £3 a week, when most other places charged at least £4.

Cliff


----------



## Varley

*Colwyn Bay*

I thought we were a bit thin on this ground, too. Tuby Nelson was befoire my time how about Popeye Davis - last I heard (in the earphones) of him was at GKA



Trevor Clements said:


> I am a bit disappointed that no one has mentioned (As far as I can see) Colwyn Bay. The late Tubby Nelson was a legend, and some photos of him can be seen on the CB web site. When I went back to attempt part two of my 1st, and was in digs, he ticked me off for coming in without shaving one morning, with the words "You wouldn't get away with that at sea". Little did he know the regime on my first ship!
> 
> However Paddy Sweeney, is still in Colwyn Bay I believe and of course Bill Whale (Kipper) unveiled the memorial to the College. All three had the dubious honour of trying to teach me.
> 
> Trevor Clements R721744


----------



## roythwa

Criffh said:


> I did my PMG course in Soton, 1965-66. Attached are a few photos from back then. I well remember Moody, Johnson and Fisher. Wasn't there a Mr. Tremaine too? Our maths teacher was the wife of the then-present mayor of Southampton. A mathematical genius whose masses of formulae and squiggles on the blackboard were a total mystery to us all.



I didn't go to that posh building ours was up a fire escape in a back road

Regards ROY(Smoke)


----------



## roythwa

The Esso Tanker that blew her sides out in the Bay of Biscay is the then Junior around

Roy


----------



## mikeg

Criffh said:


> I did my PMG course in Soton, 1965-66. Attached are a few photos from back then. I well remember Moody, Johnson and Fisher. Wasn't there a Mr. Tremaine too? Our maths teacher was the wife of the then-present mayor of Southampton. A mathematical genius whose masses of formulae and squiggles on the blackboard were a total mystery to us all.


Was anyone else here at St. Mary's college when East Park Terrace was being built? I remember the morse rooms being wired at East Park. When we finally moved colleges it was a delight to have everything new and working


----------



## docgk

Hi Mikeg

I started teaching at Soton in 1974 and looking through some old boxes of slides I found a couple that might interest you.... sorry the quality is poor but you should recognise that morse room ( Ron Fisher's domain) and one of the radio rooms - think it was R701 ( top floor at the end) - might have some other stuff if I look for it!


----------



## mikeg

Hi docgk,

Those pictures have brought my memories flooding back, thank you. The equipment there is more modern than in my day, the main transmitter was the oceanspan and instead of the Apollo receiver it was the Atalanta. I remember fault-finding for the PMG exam there. I remember the examiner raising an eyebrow when I answered a question about one of the 'Queens' and I told him the callsign GBTT (Queen Mary then QE2) I passed


----------



## Vital Sparks

andrewwalker1234 said:


> Did Frank Mahon Teach can you remember a Mr Lamb


I remember an LNC lecturer called Eric Lamb, an ex OCL sparkie with a chin strap beard who taugt morse/handbook.


----------



## Roger Bentley

*Mr Lamb*

Don't know if it is the same gentleman but recently on a cruise with P & O in June this year met Mr Eric R C Lamb who is currently GMDSS Chief Examiner for AMERC Ltd. He did have a beard and was a Scotsman. Regards, Roger


----------



## Criffh

East Park Tce was already up and running by the time I started my PMG course, although we regularly visited St. Mary's as the canteen was there.
Docgk's photo of the Morse room reminded me of the times Ron Fisher would tune into GRL on the lecturers' console, and then disappear for 10 or 15 minutes, leaving us to copy the traffic. One of the lads (not me!) would retune the Atalanta to Radio Caroline. It made better listening than nav wngs!


----------



## King Ratt

When I was doing my PMG at Leith in 1960 there was a student name of Eric Lamb in the year ahead of me. I believe this same Eric Lamb became Morse/Handbook lecturer after Ted Whitehead went Silent key very suddenly.


----------



## 31552

*Fred Seagoon LLoyd*



docgk said:


> I don't think he was ever at sea - I remember him coming to LNC from the University of Dundee.


Fred was never a sparks but spent some time on an island in the persian gulf possibly a decca installation (its a long time ago (MRRT 1976-9)) He was very friendly with the Iranian students in our year (we had 6 all employed by INOCO (BP as was).

Whenever it got too hot, or too cold, or when the subject was particulaly boring or otherwise dull; it was easy to get him off topic by asking about his experiences.

Ned Seagoon would often put in an appearance and the rest of the lesson would be like a goon show script.

Peter


----------



## 31552

King Ratt said:


> When I was doing my PMG at Leith in 1960 there was a student name of Eric Lamb in the year ahead of me. I believe this same Eric Lamb became Morse/Handbook lecturer after Ted Whitehead went Silent key very suddenly.


Eric was there for all of my 3 years... he used to disappear off to Calmac in the summer to keep up his ticket.

A very nice guy but there was no messing around in his lectures.

Chalky White, on the other hand, used to send us blue jokes.. I think he always forgot that we had a girl in our class. I often wonder what happened to Gillian (Saunders) She put the rest of us to shame; excelled at everything.

Chalkeys best remembered morse lesson was a series of telegrams; consisting of receiving the football results; a telegram to vernons or littlewoods reporting 8 draws; a further two to Chelmsford requesting immediate relief and then a resignation.

Ah! the good old days.

Peter


----------



## harry pennington

Ron Stringer said:


> In 1958/59 McKinnon and his brother (they were nearly look-alikes and both dressed very dapperly) were both lecturers at Manchester's Brook's Bar radio college (College of International Maritime Radio, I think was its full title). The brother with the oriental wife lived in the flat above the college, so his daily commute was very short indeed. The college was run by two partners, Woods and Tomlinson, and they also ran Wray Castle - Woods stayed in Manchester and Tomlinson was at Wray Castle.


I took my first class PMG at Brooks bar late 57/58 and remember the partners very well.Tommo when taking code practice had a laugh and included ICGGP in the group he thought it was very funny. Cheers Harry


----------



## docgk

Two more photos for the nostalgia buffs, this time from my time at Leith Nautical College. One shows my last radar class before moving to Southampton. Shamefully I don't remember the names but for one. The 'flautist' I think was called Kenny Ramsay ( could be wrong). The photo of the 'cabin' was the one run by Griff. ( his had a Crusader main tx whilst the one in the main building just had an Oceanspan at that time.) Both photos date from 1972.
Anyone recognise any of the reprobates?


----------



## Ron Stringer

harry pennington said:


> I took my first class PMG at Brooks bar late 57/58 /QUOTE]
> 
> Harry,
> 
> I have been trying to find out where the Brooks Bar records finished up when the place closed down. I have contacted the archivists at Trafford District Council, Manchester City Council and Lancashire County Council (Preston) but so far without any luck.
> 
> There is a small group of former Wray Castle students that have occasional reunions but nothing like that for Brooks Bar. I was hoping that someone would have had the forethought to archive the college records and that it would be possible to post a list of the students that went through the PMG pipeline. After all, in the 30 or so years that it was in existence, they must have provided the MN with a hell of a lot of R/Os.
> 
> There is another college thread running at
> 
> http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/showthread.php?t=35108
> 
> where there is mention of two former Brooks Bar lecturers, Terry Crowther and Pete Yarrow, but both of them had transferred to Plymouth well before Brooks Bar closed, so I don't think either of them could help, even if they could be contacted. Worth a try, I suppose.


----------



## holland25

I did my original ticket at the Wireless Telegraph College in John Dalton St Manchester, in 1956, and a retread, after a few years ashore, in about 1966 at Brooks Bar. The Principal at the WTC was Aubrey Curwen assisted by his brother and a couple of others, the system they ran must have been pretty effective because they manged to get me through. The only memory I have of Brooks Bar is of an Irish lecturer whose encouragement, at the time, prompted me to go on further. I also did a spell at the Marconi College at Chelmsford in 1970 and there were a couple of good lecturers there to whom I am eternally grateful.


----------



## harry pennington

Thanks for your reply, I did know of the john Dalton College but started at Brooks bar summer of 52 and got PMG2 early 54 then returned late 57/58 for PMG1.Gave up the sea late 62,would you believe it to get married,but still miss most of sea life.It would be interesting to be onboard now to see the comms setup.


----------



## R651400

King Ratt said:


> I believe this same Eric Lamb became Morse/Handbook lecturer after Ted Whitehead went Silent key very suddenly.


The flamboyant and chain-smoking Ted Whitehead joined the staff of LNC when I was taking my PMG 2nd Class circa 1955. 
A couple of years back I answered a car advert in the English language "French News. " 
The owner living in the Dordogne I am almost certain was called Eric who took over from Ted and was previously ex RAF. 
Afterward we had a short email exchange and Eric sent me Leith Nautical history "Sea Dominies" to copy.


----------



## sandy steel

31552 said:


> Eric was there for all of my 3 years... he used to disappear off to Calmac in the summer to keep up his ticket.
> 
> A very nice guy but there was no messing around in his lectures.
> 
> Chalky White, on the other hand, used to send us blue jokes.. I think he always forgot that we had a girl in our class. I often wonder what happened to Gillian (Saunders) She put the rest of us to shame; excelled at everything.
> 
> Chalkeys best remembered morse lesson was a series of telegrams; consisting of receiving the football results; a telegram to vernons or littlewoods reporting 8 draws; a further two to Chelmsford requesting immediate relief and then a resignation.
> 
> Ah! the good old days.
> 
> Peter



Peter,

I think the Gillian you mention is probably the young lady who worked at GKR for a short while in the early eighties. 

Sandy


----------



## Tai Pan

I was at Brookes Bar dec54/feb55 for 1st class. three of us took lodgings in whalley range, self Ray Buckles and cant remember 3rds name. digs were very smelly and dirty. went back to living at home in Liverpool, 3rd man also liverpool and had an Austin Atlantic drop head coupe, travelled each day. spent a considerable amount of time in the annex ( pub opposite). got ticket by sitting at Waterloo Bridge, only candidate, very cosy


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## harry pennington

Tai Pan, Our paths very nearly clashed.I left Brooks Bar early 54 then with Marconi on Lanarkshire/Clan line to Aussie. Late 54/June 55 to Korea via states then west coast Canada with timber home. Stores from Korea was dried fish as they had nothing else, it was the aftermath of the war. Then our 3 week run to Canada with many ways to serve fish for three meals a day. We have never looked forward to a real meal more than when we got to Vancouver. Brooks Bar college was not in the best of places, I was lucky, it was only two buses away.I remember looking out of the first floor front room, the morse practice room with steel tables. The building opposite seem to have been a treatment centre ????? the curtains were open then closed several times a day with the 'gents' going in and out. On my second time at Brooks Bar 57/58 I ended up being offered a job there [ I must have impressed them ] on the practical side,faults and the like. I declined the offer and off again. Cheers Harry


----------



## Roger Bentley

*Eric Lamb*



Roger Bentley said:


> Don't know if it is the same gentleman but recently on a cruise with P & O in June this year met Mr Eric R C Lamb who is currently GMDSS Chief Examiner for AMERC Ltd. He did have a beard and was a Scotsman. Regards, Roger


Just remembered he did tell me that he had been with OCL.


----------



## Kiwiradio

Vital Sparks said:


> I'm sure there must be a few out there who remember John Bonner a.k.a Uncle John, a dry witted Lancastrian who taught radio theory at Leith Nautical College in the 70s. Famous for sounding (and looking) exactly like Harry Corbett there were many who expected Sooty to appear at any moment. He was, if I remember correctly, ex RAF.


Uncle John Bonner still alive and kicking now living in Orkney. Son Andrew is Captain of Kirkwall Golf Club. Visited recently and although health is deteriorating hasn't lost his sense of humour and remembers staff from LNC and Jewel & Esk as the transfer took place. Staff at that time Ian Natusch, Gordon McFadzean, Graham Griffin, Sandy Aitchison ex Wick Radio, Mike Collinson - moved to Australian Maritime College, Eric Lamb - now GMDSS Chief Examiner, John Mooney, Eric Hay, Derek Landells, Keith Mitchell, Tony Nadauld, Chalky White and Chris the department secretary with Ian Boetcher as technician ( Freddie Boetcher's son)


----------



## Kiwiradio

R651400 said:


> The flamboyant and chain-smoking Ted Whitehead joined the staff of LNC when I was taking my PMG 2nd Class circa 1955.
> A couple of years back I answered a car advert in the English language "French News. "
> The owner living in the Dordogne I am almost certain was called Eric who took over from Ted and was previously ex RAF.
> Afterward we had a short email exchange and Eric sent me Leith Nautical history "Sea Dominies" to copy.


The Eric in France was Eric Hay who taught at LNC along with Eric Lamb. Eric Hay retired to France with his wife and ran a holiday gite attached to his property. Eric Lamb replaced Walter Ronaldson teaching Morse/Handbook/Cabin at LNC and did return to sea during the vacations but with Container Fleets Ltd, his former company, not Calymac


----------



## Ron Stringer

Tai Pan and Harry Pennington

There is a web page for Brooks Bar (College of IMR Brooks Bar) on Friends Reunited web site, but most of those registered seem to be from 1960 and later.


----------



## Trevor Clements

I searched in vain on here for mention of three Instructors famous at Colwyn Bay. Tubby Nelson, he could correct you from the sound of key clicks in a room full of key clicks; "Would you go on watch unshaven Clements"? Dear old Tubby he hadn't been on a couple of the ships I was on, unshaven was de rigeur for the Captain, never mind the rest of us.

'Kipper' Bill Whale, Radio Theory; "Huh Clements, you're a fund of useless information".


Paddy, Practical; "Clements you have a particularly penetrating voice".

As my shipmates often used to say "You only remember the good times". I suppose Colwyn Bay was character forming.


----------



## R651400

I take it you're aware of this site Trevor?

http://www.wirelesscollege.freeserve.co.uk/


----------



## Trevor Clements

Yes thanks. I've been to a few reunions, and saw Bill Whale unveil the memorial plaque to the college.. Funny thing was Bill didn't look much older than I had remembered.

To be honest after getting through the PMG exam I think I learned more in the first year at sea than I ever did at Colwyn Bay. My second chief R/O taught me to splice aerials...Adrian Thomas, where are you now I wonder? I learned about frequency selection the hard way...by failure to get GKL from lake Marcaibo. I learned of the need to take DF check bearings regularly from mr Ianson at Cardiff S.R.I.O.


Happy days though. (R721744)


----------



## RMM

*Lecturers at South Shields*

Lecturers at South Shields in 1963 were: Messrs Nicholson, Ferguson, Brown, Hunter, Leatham, Anderson, Turner, Robson and Grassby and for radar, Doig. Head of Department was Mr Kraal.


----------



## PaulH-OSR

*Hi Mayday*



Mayday said:


> I attended Northern Counties Radio School, early 70's.
> Callaghan was the head, tall chap with Irish brogue.
> MacCreedie, later took over as head.
> Dunderdale, an elderly gentleman.
> There was also a younger chap who was easily sidetracked to sea stories.
> Radar was an ex RAF chap, complete with moustach.
> All really nice people and very good at their jobs.
> Two of them got MRGC nos 11 and 12, the first ten going to the examiners.
> John.


I'm a little earlier than you at NCWS, Mayday. Callaghan was there as head/owner then, and already ageing somewhat so I'm amazed to hear that he was still around in the 70's. The main lecturer when I was there in the mid-50s was George Rawcliffe; 'Seamus' did the odd thing or two - fault-finding on the Oceanspan comes to mind - but George's son, whom we called 'Smalley George', went straight into lecturing after he'd qualified for his PMG Ticket. I'm not sure if he ever went to sea. Looking back I'm amazed that any of us qualified there in that ramshackle above-shop set of rooms in the middle of Preston. Wonder if 'Charlie's' Market Cafe was still going in the 70's.


----------



## M29

*Peter Masters-crossed the bar*

Many of you will be sad to hear that Peter Masters has crossed the bar.
Peter was head of the Radar Department at Brunel College in Bristol for many years and many of you will have studied your "tickets" under him.
He had a long and active retirement and was 85 when he passed away.
His funeral was well attended including some of his colleagues from his college days.

Alan


----------



## Larry Bennett

Saddened to hear the news of Pete Masters. It was due to his quality of teaching and infinite patience that I passed the DoT Radar exam back in '79. He also was kind enough to give me a lift part of the way home on a few occasions when I missed my bus from college.

Fond memories of a top bloke.

Larry +


----------



## Graham P Powell

I thought they were all pretty good lecturers at Bristol Larry. I certainly did a lot better there than at school. Perhaps I was more motivated but you were also treated like adults as well. I wonder if Bob Kneeshaw Jnr is still around?.
rgds
Graham


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## garwatts

Sorry to hear about Pete Masters - he was a gentleman and certainly got the best out of people and yes he definitely had infinite patience and he got me through the DoT Radar exam back in '75. As previously stated the lecturers back then certainly had the knack of getting the best out of their pupils. I also did a lot better there than I ever did at school. Happy days.


----------



## M29

Graham P Powell said:


> I thought they were all pretty good lecturers at Bristol Larry. I certainly did a lot better there than at school. Perhaps I was more motivated but you were also treated like adults as well. I wonder if Bob Kneeshaw Jnr is still around?.
> rgds
> Graham


Graham
I can confirm that Bob Kneeshaw is well, he attended Peters funeral on Monday.

Best Wishes

Alan


----------



## Steven Lamb

They ("The Lecturers") were all memorable @ Fleetwood in their own unique way. Wonder what happened to Frank Martland ? He had some good stories to tell ! Frank was one of the several pipe smokers that the college had on it's books. At times that Staff Room must of resembled a Kipper House with the amount of smoke produced !


----------



## sparkie2182

True, Steve.

Arthur Bill is still around.

Rememeber "Doris"?

Bob Abrams ?


----------



## Steven Lamb

sparkie2182 said:


> True, Steve.
> 
> Arthur Bill is still around.
> 
> Rememeber "Doris"?
> 
> Bob Abrams ?


Remember them well Sparkie.
Bumped into Arthur & his missus in Southport some 10+yrs ago and he looked well. He was the "Soldering Mystro" at the college as he tried to perfect the art onto some of us upstarts !
"Doris" was that the silver-haired chap they dragged out of retirement to teach morse ? Think he was half deaf & needed an hearing aid ?
Bob - ex RAF ? Think put in charge of keeping an eye on the "Dorchester" mob ? He also taught morse. His he still knocking about ?

Rgds
Lamby(Scribe)


----------



## sparkie2182

Doris was the ex GPO chap........took tech elec for Year 1..........Mr. Moore.

Bob Abrams disappeared from the scene quite early in the piece.

I wonder if you remember Fred "Cheesy" Howarth.......ex W.W.2 R/O ?
He was Hugh Mcgurks techie in the "Cabin".

Tom Kellaway....... remember him??

Pete (Q.E.2) Smith ?

How about Ray Davies (short statured Welsh Rugby loving maths teacher with the zapata moustache)..........great guy.


----------



## Steven Lamb

sparkie2182 said:


> Doris was the ex GPO chap........took tech elec for Year 1..........Mr. Moore.
> 
> Bob Abrams disappeared from the scene quite early in the piece.
> 
> I wonder if you remember Fred "Cheesy" Howarth.......ex W.W.2 R/O ?
> He was Hugh Mcgurks techie in the "Cabin".
> 
> Tom Kellaway....... remember him??
> 
> Pete (Q.E.2) Smith ?
> 
> How about Ray Davies (short statured Welsh Rugby loving maths teacher with the zapata moustache)..........great guy.


Sparkie "Your digging up some names" !

Your right Fred Howarth
Tom Kellaway - did Cabin - ex Marconi Base Manager in Fleetwood was out here on the rigs for a while.
Pete Smith - briefly took us for Part2 Commercial Working me thinks ?
"Taff" - mainly taught the Navs & mustard @ rugby
"Doris" Should of been a University Lecturer insteadof trying to teach us reprobates !
Memory Lane(Thumb)


----------



## sparkie2182

Mr Egerton????

and Maurice the librarian??


----------



## niggle

Hi Sparkie2182,

Steve Egerton is the name you are looking for, Maurice Wilson is the librarian you named. The librarian I remember during my tenure was Maureen O' Brien. During the nineties the Librarian was a chap called Tony Spreckley who wrote a small paperback with the history of the first 100 years of Fleetwood Nautical College.


----------



## sparkie2182

Thanks Niggle...........


----------



## jaydeeare

Discusssing FNC Lecturers, how about Mr. Ellarby? He taught Magnetism and electricity as part of Physics. I believe he used to design transformers at one time.

There is another whose name escapes me, but as Nav Cadets put the fear of God into us. He was of a burly build and took the Mates Courses. When we heard he's be testing us on our knots, bends and splices for 'O' Level Seamanship, we nearly died! On the day, we did find him to be fair.


----------



## Steven Lamb

jaydeeare said:


> Discusssing FNC Lecturers, how about Mr. Ellarby? He taught Magnetism and electricity as part of Physics. I believe he used to design transformers at one time.
> 
> There is another whose name escapes me, but as Nav Cadets put the fear of God into us. He was of a burly build and took the Mates Courses. When we heard he's be testing us on our knots, bends and splices for 'O' Level Seamanship, we nearly died! On the day, we did find him to be fair.


John - think the lecturer's name was Ray Ellarby who left Fleetwood during the 1970/71 college term to go to Hull Nautical college. 
I can't help you with the other blokes name - Radio students use to "steer a wide course" of the Nav fraternity back in those days !

Rgds
Lamby (Thumb)


----------



## Steven Lamb

sparkie2182 said:


> Mr Egerton????
> 
> and Maurice the librarian??


Paul Kelloway - Steve Hunt's No.2 ?

(How many pipe smokers can you remember ?)


----------



## sparkie2182

Yeah.............Not my favourite recollection.

As for the pipe smokers...........Hugh McG for starters.


----------



## sparkie2182

This is an account of an accident involving an Italian alpine cable car in in 1998 which was struck by an American fighter aircraft which was flying improperly through a gorge.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavalese_cable_car_disaster_(1998)

On the B.B.C Newsflash bulletin a British holidaymaker was interviewed who had the most lucky escape, as he and his wife were next in line to enter the cable car before the doors closed when it had it's full complement of 20 persons onboard.

20 died...........they survived.

The holidaymaker was Laurence Rivers-Bland.


----------



## Steven Lamb

sparkie2182 said:


> Yeah.............Not my favourite recollection.
> 
> As for the pipe smokers...........Hugh McG for starters.


next Dave Larter


----------



## sparkie2182

Just been on the phone to Ted............trying to get him on SN.

If i dont see him here by the weekend, i'll chivvie him again.

He sends his salaams Steve.


----------



## Joe w

*Hull Nautical College*

I think a lot of people will remember the teacher of signals at Hull College as well as Trinity House and that was Nobby Clark.
He was a true gent and not only did and got you passed signals but also gave his own time on a saturday for rules of the road and every day lunch time to practice your morse code.
He certainly likes his **** and a drink, nothing was too much trouble for him, The likes will never be repeated.
RIP Nobby Clark


----------



## Steven Lamb

(Thumb)


sparkie2182 said:


> Just been on the phone to Ted............trying to get him on SN.
> 
> If i dont see him here by the weekend, i'll chivvie him again.
> 
> He sends his salaams Steve.


Sparkie - Would that be the famous "Hackett" ?
Pls pass him my return greetings & tell him i'm out in the N.Sea. He "laboured intensely" on the GMDSS course back in 93 - not that I had an issue with it - but for some it was "White man's magic" Believe he was ill recently but hope he's now better.
Must go and QRZ the supply boat on 2177 Khz !
Rgds Lamby
(Thumb)

Dick Ryhmes (No.3!)


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## sparkie2182

QSL ur last Lamby.............


----------



## alan ward

Does any of you sparkies know of a Eddie Murphy or John Saphier who were fellow students of mine at Riversdale.Eddie I know became an instructor there


----------



## SparksG1714

*G7tm*

Was at Soton 1962-64 and _Mister_ Hall was, as you say a real gent. For years I belived (coz I was told) he was actually the bandleader Henry Hall who gave it all up to be a sparkes! Had some hi-faluting degree or other...

Ron Moody was a commercial procedure/CW lecturer when I was there, ex GKA. Years later went to GKA myself for a whole £918 per year. Did the telex/area scheme course +others, got offered GNI and also freelance work/foreign flag for £200 per month tax free +6 month contracts. I chose the latter and never looked back.

My last act at Soton was to take out the dummy load on the Argunaut, plug in an aerial, and call up GNI on ch16 as G7TM. Frightened everyone, didn't go back, ever. Well, living on £6.5s per week from which came £4 for digs for two years was a pain and not something I'd do again, ever

73s de Richard


----------



## mikeg

Richard, we probably met. Got my PMG at Soton Mar 65 & radar June 65.

73's Mike


----------



## sparks30

peterngreenhalgh said:


> I was at Brook's Bar, Old Trafford, Manchester 66-68, I'm afraid the only member of staff whose name I can remember was the Secretary - would you believe a Mrs Spark!!! Peter GTZX/G3XGE/RNARS2951


principle mike soutern, parter Woods, harry burgoyne - morse, bob beulah practicals, jimmy hill lecturer


----------



## alan ward

Mr.Palmer from Riversdale for one reason.Our desks had old hasp and staple fasteners datin from the days when one stayed in the same room.During one particularly tedious afternoon a scholar noticed a long piece of string hanging from said fastener so what else could you do?he started wrappin this strin around and around his testicles in an ornate figure of 8 pattern,how nautical we all thought.Eventually Palmer realised that he was losing his classes attention and shouted`What`s going on over there?``Nothing`answered youth strugling to disentangle his balls from this cats cradle of lashings.`Well somethins makin`Woods laarf`luckily the lad managed to get his gear free,but we were in tucks.


----------



## frank fawl

*Lecturers we knew!*

Anyone out there remember Mick O'Connell at Limerick Marine Radio College? the best lecturer of radar theory and practical fault finding I or anyone who attended radar courses at Limerick will testify to.
His teaching skills were such that you understood how radar worked from A to Z and could fault find in a logical manner every inch the radar he was lecturing at the time (In my time it was the raymarc 12 and Hermes)

Every Monday Mick would put you through your paces with a theory exam and God help anyone who did not achieve at least 60 percent.
He was the most dedicated teacher and more often than not achieved 100 per cent pass rate with his students.
Sadly Mick passed over the bar some time ago but will never be forgotten by those of us he instructed in the mysteries of radar technology.They don't make em like that anymore


----------



## freddythefrog

ALAN WARD
John Saphier and Eddie Murphy were both in my year at Riversdale.
Yes I believe Eddie went to sea for a while then became an instructor at Riversdale. John Saphier I have not seen or heard of since leaving in 1967.
cheers 73's de freddythefrog


----------



## alan ward

freddythefrog said:


> ALAN WARD
> John Saphier and Eddie Murphy were both in my year at Riversdale.
> Yes I believe Eddie went to sea for a while then became an instructor at Riversdale. John Saphier I have not seen or heard of since leaving in 1967.
> cheers 73's de freddythefrog


in that case so was I,I lived in Southport and the commute was a real pisser,walk to Birkdale station,train to Exchange street,82c or H1 then down to college.Discovered how good a monday morning lie in felt and that was it.I have tried Googling both of them,Facebook and all the usual stuff no joy.I got on well with both of them and a lad with a scandinavian surname.After I`d been at sea a bit I called back to the college and saw them.


----------



## freddythefrog

Hyer Alan
Used to get same train and buses from exchange to Riversdale 82C if memory serves me ok. Used to get on train at Formby station with Steve Mullen, Phil Chesters, Mike Goulbourne.Was the guy with Scandinavian surname Tom STUB?? (Norwegian Name)
by any chance, a good friend of mine and still in contact.
cheers freddythefrog


----------



## alan ward

freddythefrog said:


> Hyer Alan
> Used to get same train and buses from exchange to Riversdale 82C if memory serves me ok. Used to get on train at Formby station with Steve Mullen, Phil Chesters, Mike Goulbourne.Was the guy with Scandinavian surname Tom STUB?? (Norwegian Name)
> by any chance, a good friend of mine and still in contact.
> cheers freddythefrog


That`s right,was his dad at sea?and didn`t a load of our classmates bail out and join Norweb or Manweb whatever the local equivalent was.Sadly the magnestism etc.didn`t do it for me,morse,regs,fault finding was great fun and I can remember thinking`Why do we have know HOW it works to make it work`I don`t for the life of me understand how my laptap works but use it all day every day in my business.Never regretted my career change of choice and loved my job and life,whatever happend to that Rhodesian ex-air force guy who could send at about a million words a minute?he could just do it couldn`t he?

I spent many years an antique dealer and have bought and sold shed loads of ships clocks,in fact have an 19c american one at home now but never ever have I found an old radio room clock with the silence periods marked on the face,if I found an one I`d have it for old times sake just as a reminder of Riversdale days.

Speaking of Formby,I used to have a friend who lived there in Butt Lane John Davies also Marcus Theorides,Tina Stamatiou,Hilary and Jackie Lawlor.We`ll be staying in the Vincent this weekend and seeing another old friend from Ainsdale,small world isn`t it?Say hello to Tom for me.


----------



## athinai

Limerick Marine Radio School. 3 The Crescent Limerick City.
Larry McDonald and Jim Stack, Two of lifes Gentlemen, way ahead of their time in both Marine Radio and Career Guidance. 
I still think of them when looking out at the Passing Ships here high up in Kissonager Village looking South over the Eastern Med, They are both now Deceased, R.I.P.
We shall never see their likes again. 
Athinai


----------



## freddythefrog

Alan Ward
I will send you a PM.
cheers ftf


----------



## ex ro

John Holmes was a tall fair haired man some called him Jonny Carrot because of his long nose.


----------



## Treborvfr

niggle said:


> Hi Sparkie2182,
> 
> Steve Egerton is the name you are looking for,


Steve used to knock around with my dad when they were kids/in their late teens. He used to live round the corner from me, when i lived in Morecambe over 11 years ago, and I bumped into him quite regularly. Unfortunately he died not long before I moved. A really nice guy.

Bob


----------



## sparkie2182

Sorry to learn of Steve's passing away.

It was reported here a few days ago that Dicky Rhimes crossed the bar and was buried in Fleetwood on Thursday.


----------



## Jim Wallace

Further to Frank Fawl and Athinai, I was one of the original students who signed up at the Crescent in March 1957. John Spencer was the nominal Head, but the real jefe was Larry McDonald. Jim Stack came in as Morse lecturer about two months after the school started - don't remember the name of the man he replaced. 

In march 1958, 21 of us sat the PMG writtens and 18 passed. Of that 18, six passed the practical in April 1958 - Jim Sadlier, John Moloney, Gabriel McGrath, Don Carney, John (?) and myself. Went to sea as 2nd R/O in May on Fyffes Line SS Changuinola. 

Took my First Class PMG in Limerick in 1964 and was among the first group to qualify for the radar ticket under Mick O'Connell in 1967.

Came ashore in October 1975 as a lecturer at the Limerick Marine Radio School. Larry, Jim Stack and Mick O'Connell were all there and it was somewhat odd to become a colleague after being a student on three occasions!

All three of those men had a defining influence on my life and work and I shall be eternally grateful for it. All three have now crossed the bar and it is my earnest hope that they are comfortably settled in good berths in Heaven - no more traffic lists to take or recalcitrant students to deal with.

Micko was a shipmate of mine also, on Olsen Lines M.V. Blenheim in summer 1974 - he did a stint in my place to let me get some leave and then sailed as my number two to let our 2nd R/O get leave.

The Radio School came to an end in the nineties, but by then I had become a lecturer in Video & Sound for a new degree course, and that saw me to retirement in 2005.

As of now I'm well dug in in Mallorca, though I do make a visit or three back to Ireland and keep in touch with former colleagues.

JW


----------



## James Clarke

Treborvfr said:


> Steve ......Unfortunately he died not long before I moved....
> 
> Bob


Dear All

I *spoke by phone with Steve a few weeks back *in connection with the 2012 Reunion and I am sure he was on this Earth at the time. So, I guess "Bob" is mistaken. He has had several knee operations over the past few years - with mixed success.

I have his contact info if anyone wants it just e-mail me on the *FNCPS&SA* e-mail [email protected]

James
_Voluntary Organiser
FNCPS&S Association_


----------



## James Clarke

*Alan "Olly" Ollerton*

Good news. I have just heard from "Olly" that he has been chosen to receive a prestigious award from _Trinity House _for his long service to the maritime sector.

I am hoping to receive something more specific which I will post on the _*FNCPS&SA *_website 

*www.fleetwoodnauticalcollege.org.uk *as soon as I get it from him.

His investiture will be in London 28 November 2012.

James
_Voluntary Organiser
FNCPS&SA_


----------



## Treborvfr

James Clarke said:


> Dear All
> 
> I *spoke by phone with Steve a few weeks back *in connection with the 2012 Reunion and I am sure he was on this Earth at the time. So, I guess "Bob" is mistaken. He has had several knee operations over the past few years - with mixed success.
> 
> I have his contact info if anyone wants it just e-mail me on the *FNCPS&SA* e-mail [email protected]
> 
> James
> _Voluntary Organiser
> FNCPS&S Association_


I sincerely hope I am wrong, and apologies for the false information, especially to Steve . 
(I'm fairly sure I got the news from the obits column in the local newspaper at the time.)

Bob


----------



## jaydeeare

James Clarke said:


> Good news. I have just heard from "Olly" that he has been chosen to receive a prestigious award from _Trinity House _for his long service to the maritime sector.
> 
> I am hoping to receive something more specific which I will post on the _*FNCPS&SA *_website
> 
> *www.fleetwoodnauticalcollege.org.uk *as soon as I get it from him.
> 
> His investiture will be in London 28 November 2012.
> 
> James
> _Voluntary Organiser
> FNCPS&SA_


'Olly' took us for most subjects, Seamanship, Signals, Rule of the Road, Navigation chartwork and sailing.

One point I certainly do remember, was when we got a mast and rigging from one of the old mud hoppers about to be scrapped. We were in the boat shed scraping and chipping rust of the block and tackle before red leading them, when he came down to see how we were getting on and said,"Get used to this lads, you'll be doing a lot of this when you get to sea!"

Unfortunately, I never did, but as a testament to his teaching, I still remember a lot of what he taught me after 43 years!

Thanks, Olly! A reward well and truly justified.


----------



## snowboardinal

Have u ever spoke to Ray davies


----------



## 5TT

Of Waterloo Sunset fame?


----------



## SparksG1714

*G7tm*



mikeg said:


> Richard, we probably met. Got my PMG at Soton Mar 65 & radar June 65.
> 
> 73's Mike


Sri for delayed post. Retired in March this year, since then been doing preventative maintenance on the body. Just one op (non-urgent) to go now. Yeah, we could've met. Did PMG 62/64, then summer on a steam trawler with Redifon out of GKZ then came back for radar under Mr Mahon on a RadioLocator IV (bloody death trap!). 
Only ever seen one other student from my class who was John Wuille (also from Worthing) He joined Mimco and was on City line and then started (with another earlier PMG student, Neil Collins) a firm making dimmer switches

73 de G1714


----------



## mikeg

Hi Richard,

Good to hear from you. After getting my PMG & Radar I also joined Redifon but sailed mainly on Shell Tankers. I later joined Shell direct employ as they offered a far better salary plus a much improved pension package.
I remember well that RadioLocator IV, the radar lecturer Mr. Mahon must of seen a few folk 'bitten' by that unit.

My recollections of those days was most of the equipment was valve based but with some solid state questions creeping into the PMG exam. I haven't met any others from Soton thus far.

73's de Mike


----------



## SparksG1714

Ah, Redofon with their wonderful receivers = R50M (grrr!) R408 which periodically shed its dial film, and R551 which was supurb on HF but worse than useless on MF. Mind you they did do the R554 which, given the transitional state between discrete transistors and solid state at the time of its development, was excellent.

The other chap who went into business (and was at Soton) was Neil Collins (1960-62) That would've been at the old buildings by the side of the railway track in St Mary's. 1962-1964 we moved into the "new" building. I took my ticket there. Examiner spun the dial on the Lodestone and yep, it landed right on 180 degs. With a sense aerial not known for its ability to sort out reciprical bearings, of course I got the wrong reciprical. Luckily, examiner just asked me in to do it again. 

Years later navigated with it!

They talk about the "good old days" but actually, they wern't IMO

Good to chat with you and hope that all has worked out ok since coming ashore?

73 de Richard


----------



## mikeg

I believe hitting the end stop caused the R408 to let go of its dial film, easily done if not paying attention, though not the best of designs the receiver was quite good. When I was at East Park Terrace I'd had a new 750cc Norton Atlas motorbike, the first week in the college car park someone had put a deep scratch on the tank, looked like someone had climbed aboard and caught it with a shoe. A bit upsetting as I'd saved years to get it.


----------



## epearson

*Southampton Tech in the 60s*



mikeg said:


> Denis,
> 
> I remember 'enry from the 60's. You can just attach his picture to your next post by click to attachment - I'd like to be reminded of my happy days at East Park Terrace & St. Mary's.
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Mike


I've only just discovered this website - what an amazing collection of stories. I hailed from the Shetlands and always wanted to be an RO . I would have gone to Leith but my mother said it was far too dangerous to go to sea - memories of family torpedoed duing the war. But I did go to Southampton Tech (East St) in 1960 and did the Comms Engineering & Electronics course on the floor below the ROs training.

Shared digs with one Peter Fensome from Shoreham who went off to sea with a 2nd Class PMG never to be heard of again.

The photograph of the staff brought back memories of the Head of Department, Everitt, who we only saw once. The building, I believe, had once manufactured sacks, and the noisy deisel trains ran along the back to the Ocean Terminal (or was there also a docks station?).

Started work as a BBC engineer in TV studios but joined the RN in response to an ad which said "Earn £1,000 pa teaching in the Royal Navy" (the ratings one said "Join the RN for a life of fun, travel and adventure").

I finally got my Amateur Radio certificate (15 wpm) in about 1971 and I think I must have gone to Southampton to do my practice (I was living in Titchfield at the time).

Years later in the early 80s, I was working for Solartron in Farnborough who made Radar and Navaid trainers (for Deck Officers of course). I was priveledged to visit all 13 Marine Colleges which we had in the UK in those days.

It's a bit sobering (in a manner of speaking) to think that everything we knew about the 807 valve and hf aerials is almost completely obsolete - I still can't figure out how we send pictures down a pair of wires which I always knew had a bandwidth of 3KHz.


----------



## NoMoss

All this talk of Southampton brings back memories and also makes me feel my age.
I took my 2nd Class PMG when the course was at the University in Bassett - a collection of wooden huts and an old laundry! That was in 55/56.
The course had moved to St Marys, in the old sack factory, for my 1st Class in 1959 and it wasn't till I got my Radar ticket in1963 that East Park Terrace was being used.


----------



## mikeg

NoMoss said:


> All this talk of Southampton brings back memories and also makes me feel my age.
> I took my 2nd Class PMG when the course was at the University in Bassett - a collection of wooden huts and an old laundry! That was in 55/56.
> The course had moved to St Marys, in the old sack factory, for my 1st Class in 1959 and it wasn't till I got my Radar ticket in1963 that East Park Terrace was being used.


Hi Ted,

If you're in contact with Richard Moody would you please pass my regards (Mike Gilmour). In the back of my mind is seem to recall that Richard served on the Tug Turmoil during the Flying Enterprise incident.

Mike


----------



## roythwa

Yeh Well we sailed away from the ladies. It was a free education of the world.

Settled in NSW thank god now that the UK is orribel


----------



## roythwa

Sure do swotting theory at night eventually did a practical during my leave. I was hungry for electronics 

Finishe my last course at age 56 with computing with distinction.

Loved doing that too now 71 wish I could get a job

Whats this too old junk?


----------



## mking437

Hi All 

Just joined the site - bit late! did my MRGC and Radar at Lowestoft leaving in 1978 worked for a short while offshore on pipelaying barge then decided to come ashore and been there ever since!

This does bring back great memories of time at college - anyone here at Lowestoft from around 1975-1978


Still keep up the Morse via amateur radio

Mike


----------



## G4UMW

Hi Mike,

I was a bit before you at Lowestoft, MRGC and radar in 1973. Bill Holton, George Fennel and Dick Crisp were the lecturers then.


----------



## mking437

Hi Rob

Thanks for the reply - yes I remember Bill and George and I recall it was John Crisp but maybe wrong - it's a long time ago!

Bill was the head of the Radio department, George mainly taught us Morse and Mr Crisp was the Maths and Radar guy.

We used to have some good end of term parties at the Crown pub in town!!


cheers 

Mike G4GLI


----------



## Robert Wheeler

Hi Mike, I too was at Lowestoft a bit before you - 1970 till '72.
And, yes, it was Dick Crisp. 
And Rob, were you the same year as Dave Horkan?


----------



## G4UMW

Hi Robert,

Guilty! I was one of those who lived at the YMCA in Park Road. I remember you, Dick Nourse and Charlie Terry amongst others.

Regards,

Rob


----------



## Mimcoman

For those interested, Jim MacKinnon, ex Aberdeen Technical College, is alive and well and training amateurs in morse at Aberdeen Amateur Club. I was there at a talk he gave on morse recently and when I closed my eyes, was transported back 46 years (!!) to room 705.


----------



## Robert Wheeler

G4UMW said:


> Hi Robert,
> 
> Guilty! I was one of those who lived at the YMCA in Park Road. I remember you, Dick Nourse and Charlie Terry amongst others.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Rob


Hi Rob,
That's now the dim and distant past but , yes, I remember you there now. Rose King was your year too I think - she's been on this forum. There was a load of us staying at that place, wasn't there.

Regards
Robert


----------



## G4UMW

Hi Robert,

Yes, Rose was on my course too. Met my wife at the YMCA - we'll have been married for 35 years come September. Time flies!

Regards,

Rob


----------



## sandhopper

BobDixon said:


> Corky, Carney & McElroy all transferred to the new Glasgow College of Nautical Studies in the late 60's, Mr McElroy becoming Head of Department.


.
Mr McElroy was head of department at GCNS when I did my MRGC. He peeled my photo off the card index for me to use on a job application. He also suspended me for sloping off early.
Never did get to sea. Threw the MRGC in the bin, met loads of others in much the same boat (pardon the pun). It seemed a pig learning all those Q codes. Still automatically try to read morse when all todays modern electronics beep at me.


----------



## charles henry

Anyone remember "Duke" Ellerington's wireless college in Ibrox. Glasgow in the fifties.
Chas


----------



## expats

I was at S'ton (St. Mary's) from 61/63 and remember the lecturers well. 

Mr. Hall (a real gentleman) interviewed me (in June 1961) with General Knowledge Questions...(the guy before me came out bemoaning that he hadn't known that 'East London' was in South Africa...needless to say, when asked, I did) 
My first day I wore a (at least to my mind) a stylish pair of 'Winkle Pickers'and the first words 'Johnny' Johnson said to me were, "What the hell are those?"..I remember the female ex-mayor teaching maths and 'Moody's Morse'; it was perfect...

A bunch of us travelled up daily from Bournemouth on the train so no digs but does anyone remember "The Pantry Cafe" just across the road from the main old college buildings (we called it "Pedro's" after the owner) they did a great '*******, beans and chips'....
Life was so much simpler then

I went back to do a radar course in autumn 1969 and the first words 'Johnny' Johnson said was, "What happened to those shoes of yours?"

Did a 'General' in 1979 and, if memory serves, Mr. Johnson was head of Radio???...


----------



## ian fears

Moodys morse at soton was about the best morse i ever heard it was like music


----------



## SparksG1714

My dates were 62/64, and went back to Soton for 1st Class in '68
You could afford Pedro's ? I could only afford to eat once a day in the Refrectory...
eeeeh, y'don't know your borne lad...
Did go to German Eadies once a month though (a bit down East Park Terrace opposite a park if hazy memory serves)

Dick Moody's morse was impeccible. He taught CP mostly though. I used to try and copy his fist. Glad I did, compared to some of the senders I had to contend with when later at GKA. There was only one other distinctive fist, and that was a bug key operator at KPH ...now that was music

Eventually, graduated to a Vibroflex (when on another rythmic call sign tanker ZFPS) which was nicked I think by a SAIT techie while in OSA and I was back home for a week. Wonder how much one of them would be worth today? I didn't even ask SAIT to attend. But agents were on a "slice"


----------



## expats

..............My dates were 62/64, and went back to Soton for 1st Class in '68
You could afford Pedro's ? I could only afford to eat once a day in the Refrectory...
eeeeh, y'don't know your borne lad...

Pedro's was cheaper than the refec. and, as a 'regular', I got the odd meal free (useful at year end)....

In those days there was a little bar on every corner; usually with a landlady and one customer. How they made a living I don't know.
By 1969 most had been pulled down but I still remember an enormous sign looming over the wasteland "Beanz Meanz Heinz"....


----------



## Stephen James

*Lowestoft..!!*



G4UMW said:


> Hi Mike,
> 
> I was a bit before you at Lowestoft, MRGC and radar in 1973. Bill Holton, George Fennel and Dick Crisp were the lecturers then.


A late reply but had to respond.... GREAT times at Lowestoft !! (71 to 74 ??)....the 3 lecturers quoted did their best to get us through the courses...Bill even had Friday arvo left blank on the Radar Maint course as he knew we wouldn't be back from the pub after lunch...!! He knew us too well..!!!!
Left the sea after 7 years and now have 23 years in Australia, haven't been back to the UK in 17 years..


----------



## Searcher2004

I've come in a bit late on this thread but I wonder if any members did their college time at Newport in S. Wales? I was there 1966-67. I recall two principal lecturers, one I think was called MacKinnon (or McKinnon) and the other Chapman aka "Chubby" to his pupils - but not to his face! Chubby was also a staunch Cornish Nationalist and sometimes managed to weave his views into lectures! 

I got a bit of flak for being a ham prior to getting on the course and they were deeply unimpressed with my shaky Morse but they did take the time to teach me to send properly. "Newport and Monmouthshire College of Technology" is still on my CV, as they ran a parallel course for the C & G Telecoms Technicians certificate. Due mainly to a lot of doom and gloom in the British fleet about lack of berths at that time, I took my C & G and ran before the second year so never did get my PMG or go to sea as an R/O. However, my training and C & G was good enough to get me into the DWS for a short spell as a tech and then onto Decca Navigator where I got my foot in the door of the oil industry, where I still work offshore. Can't say I enjoyed Newport that much, apart from the scrumpy, (==D)but I think the training was good. 

73 All de G3VKM, (at present /MM)

Roger Basford


----------



## G4UMW

*Lowestoft*



Stephen James said:


> A late reply but had to respond.... GREAT times at Lowestoft !! (71 to 74 ??)....the 3 lecturers quoted did their best to get us through the courses...Bill even had Friday arvo left blank on the Radar Maint course as he knew we wouldn't be back from the pub after lunch...!! He knew us too well..!!!!
> Left the sea after 7 years and now have 23 years in Australia, haven't been back to the UK in 17 years..


Hi Steve,

I remember you - we were on the same courses at Lowestoft. I stayed at sea for 4 years and have worked in aviation, mostly flight simulators, ever since.

Bet the weather in Oz is better than it's been here!

Cheers,

Rob (Browning)/G4UMW


----------



## Austinsparks

radiotech said:


> I was in RAD123 1968-1969. Brilliant course set me up for life in electronics.
> 
> Remeber the principal Fred Baltrop, he had moved up from Hamble where he was something to do with air-comms.
> 
> Lofty Allen - loved him, he was a sparkie (on Dakotas ?) during the Berlin airlift. '...and if it wasn't for us (Berlin airlift crew) you buggers wouldn't be here !!' He also told us he could detune his tx down to 200kc/s to let his girlfriend know he was back safe !
> 
> Pete Masters, good lecturer, talking about setting up radars '... its no good being able to see the Canary Islands if you can't see the fishing boat under your bow' So true !!
> 
> Norman Rush definitely a Jehovahs witness, he would give us a task and then read the watchtower; he promised us the end of the world on at least one occassion. Our first lecture with him we were told we would have to give up girlfriends and drinking if we were to stand any chance of passing the PMG exam - I think the tittering was nearly loud enough for him to hear !
> One day we caught him out; he'd drawn the coils for a bell electromagnet wrong, when we pointed out it couldn't work he said 'Just remember I may not be right, BUT I'm never wrong !!!' - cracked us up!
> 
> Theres more if I can dig it out.
> 
> radiotech


I was between both your timelines, in RAD149 and various 150s, depending on how many people had dropped out and how well or badly I had done in the latest exam! I remember all the same people - I think there was also a Mr Chapman, who sat (professionally) between Mr Barltrop and the lecturers.

I became an expert at forging Mr Barltrop's signature onto the end of bizarre public messages!

I was frequently on the receiving end of Mr Smith's catch phrase - "Can't you do anything right?" There usually seemed to be some humour attached to it - or maybe that was wishful thinking! Whatever the intention, it usually motivated me to do just enough, a phrase which probably sums up my whole stay at Brunel...


----------



## Graham P Powell

I was at Bristol Tech. I cannot remember now whether it was class Rad 96 or Rad99. Only about eight of us anyway. Tech Lecturer was Bob Kneeshaw Junior. Morse was Lofty Allan. We also had a very smooth character called Anderson for morse. He came from Bath every day in a silver XK 120 Jag. Sent us passages out of a very risque book about New Orleans. Just at the crucial point he would stop and say "That'll do for today gentlemen". I failed 2nd class on the cabin and went on to do First with R. Kneeshaw Senior. 
Bob Burslem was another lecturer. 
A few years ago I was waiting for the Mrs outside Tesco's in Wells.
I saw a chap in a wheelchair with a young woman. I thought the face of the chap looked familiar so I asked(Pint) who was his name was. The woman said Dave Heald. He was of course our cabin lecturer and he had had a very bad stroke and could hardly talk. He has since passed away.
After 5 years at a very indifferent Grammar school, Bristol tech was a revelation. I thought the training there was excellent. From there I went to sea for a while, then I worked as a Post Office engineer and finally ended up at GKA. We had 300 operators there of which only four were ex Bristol Tech. I wonder what happened to all the others...?
rgds
Graham Powell


----------



## bhill

I am trying to recall the name of the Gentleman who ran the Radio College in Manor Gardens off Holloway Road London N7 

I was there for a short while, but was unimpressed, and went on to the London Telegraph Training College at Earls Court


----------



## steve Coombs

Austinsparks said:


> I was between both your timelines, in RAD149 and various 150s, depending on how many people had dropped out and how well or badly I had done in the latest exam! I remember all the same people - I think there was also a Mr Chapman, who sat (professionally) between Mr Barltrop and the lecturers.
> 
> I became an expert at forging Mr Barltrop's signature onto the end of bizarre public messages!
> 
> I was frequently on the receiving end of Mr Smith's catch phrase - "Can't you do anything right?" There usually seemed to be some humour attached to it - or maybe that was wishful thinking! Whatever the intention, it usually motivated me to do just enough, a phrase which probably sums up my whole stay at Brunel...


Was in Rad 144-remember all of the people you mentioned especially Norman Rush. Normans clock was always fast or slow by 10 minutes, when we complained he said it was correct and was "NMT"-Normans Mean Time!!


----------



## LucyKnight

*Brunnel College*

I remember the lecturers you have mentioned but the lads in our class and a few of our lectureres used to call one of them l think it was Mr Chapman 'Bonzo'. Not to his face of course. l don't know why because l completed the lst year of the MRRT elsewhere and joined the group in the 2nd year. Our tutor was Mr (Chris) Smith for most of the course and he taught telecomms principles and Mr (Bob) Burslam lectured us in communication radio for our 'City and Guilds'. Lofty was our morse lecturer and Mr Brewster taught us initially for gear (and regs) and then Mr Heald took over. Mr Brewster used to tell us about a so called 'Colpitt's' oscillator in the Commander transmitter frequently and we all believed him until Mr Smith took over and when he asked us what sort of oscillatior it was and we all replied 'Colpitts' in unision. He shouted rubbish at the top of his voice. "Who told you that" and had a mini brainstorm". He also used to tell us a lot of sea stories from his 10 yrs or so at sea in the national service period. 

I also remember the non productive general studies periods. They tried to teach us the basics of navigation. It failed. Each time one of the lecturers from the navigation dept. faced the white board to explain the lads picked up books and practical wireless magazines. He turned around at one point and found about one person listening. 

It wasn't much better when one of them who'd been a pilot (I think it was Harwich) wanted to teach us every twist and turn in the river drawing it on the white board. That seemed to have an effect of sending us to sleep. 

I think Mr Metcalf was number two and l think Mr Burslam took over some years later. The head of the course was Mr Barltrop.

At the end of the 2nd year there, Shell and BP started radio cadetships and visited the college and we were encouraged to take them up. Wilbur and l went with Shell and a lot of the others went with BP. It was a good thing the lecturers encourage us or some of us probably wouldn,t have managed to get taken on for our junior time as during the 3rd year the job situation changed considerably. By the time l left after the 3 year couse in 75 the ones that hadn't been sponsored weren't finding it that easy to find employment. 

I paid a visit a couple of years later when the SS Hemitrochus l was R/O on called into Avonmouth and saw Mr Smith and Mr Burslam.
Their humour was just the same as when l was a student. I think Mr Smith's favourite phrase when telling us to do something was alway prefixed 'Lads and Lucy'

Lucy Knight



Austinsparks said:


> I was between both your timelines, in RAD149 and various 150s, depending on how many people had dropped out and how well or badly I had done in the latest exam! I remember all the same people - I think there was also a Mr Chapman, who sat (professionally) between Mr Barltrop and the lecturers.
> 
> I became an expert at forging Mr Barltrop's signature onto the end of bizarre public messages!
> 
> I was frequently on the receiving end of Mr Smith's catch phrase - "Can't you do anything right?" There usually seemed to be some humour attached to it - or maybe that was wishful thinking! Whatever the intention, it usually motivated me to do just enough, a phrase which probably sums up my whole stay at Brunel...


----------



## R/O

Criffh said:


> I did my PMG course in Soton, 1965-66. Attached are a few photos from back then. I well remember Moody, Johnson and Fisher. Wasn't there a Mr. Tremaine too? Our maths teacher was the wife of the then-present mayor of Southampton. A mathematical genius whose masses of formulae and squiggles on the blackboard were a total mystery to us all.


I Did the course from 1972-75. I remember John Johnson, Moody, Ron Fisher morse teacher and I beleive ex RN. Eric Tremaine and Mr Hatcher maths lecturer. Mr Hall was still head of Marine Radio and Radar dept at East Park Terrace.


----------



## sparksatsea

*Brookes Bar Manchester*

Remember well those days from 1972 - 1975 - excellent establishment.

Mr Wood's - Principle
Mrs Sparks [Honest] - Secretary
Mr Southern - Theory and C&G London - excellent lecturer.
Mr Harry Burgoine - Morse and Comms brilliant on the key.

There were other extrememly good lecturers', their names I am afraid 
have slipped my memory.

Happy Days

Geoff Valentine


----------



## Austinsparks

Steve and Lucy - I remember you both! 

Lucy, you're right about Mr Chapman being known as Bonzo, but I don't know the reason either.

Wasn't there also a lecturer named Mr Coates? Someone else I recall being angry with my work!


----------



## steve Coombs

Austinsparks said:


> Steve and Lucy - I remember you both!
> 
> Lucy, you're right about Mr Chapman being known as Bonzo, but I don't know the reason either.
> 
> Wasn't there also a lecturer named Mr Coates? Someone else I recall being angry with my work!


Yes there was a Mr Coates, cant remember much about him-did he have a small mustache and wore a tweed type jacket


----------



## Austinsparks

steve Coombs said:


> Yes there was a Mr Coates, cant remember much about him-did he have a small mustache and wore a tweed type jacket


That's him. He was the class teacher when I was in RAD150 (on my way from 151 to 149 - I did the grand tour). I remember him as knowing his stuff but being a disciplinarian (he probably had good reason).


----------



## steve Coombs

Austinsparks said:


> That's him. He was the class teacher when I was in RAD150 (on my way from 151 to 149 - I did the grand tour). I remember him as knowing his stuff but being a disciplinarian (he probably had good reason).


Yes he he did not stand any messing about.

Also I remember general studies (or something similar), Not sure if it was regular, where the person taking it came from the Falklands, He used to show us films and his slides of life on the Falklands. interesting but not connected to the course


----------



## Varley

Ah, general studies. As I recall it was central government requirement for this to be part of a full time course and that it could NOT have a direct connection with the course subject.

If the weather was fine we put a note on the door inviting the lecturer to join us at bowls. One thing I did learn which put me in good stead thereafter - a report, especially of the personnel variety, is seldom reveals more about the subject than it does the author.


----------



## steve Coombs

Varley said:


> Ah, general studies. As I recall it was central government requirement for this to be part of a full time course and that it could NOT have a direct connection with the course subject.
> 
> If the weather was fine we put a note on the door inviting the lecturer to join us at bowls. One thing I did learn which put me in good stead thereafter - a report, especially of the personnel variety, is seldom reveals more about the subject than it does the author.


Thanks Varley, did not realise it was a requirement that we had to do this, it also explains why the subjects discussed had nothing to do with the course.


----------



## LucyKnight

*Brunel Ashley Down Bristol*

Were you there in the academic year 1974/1975 when l was in my 3rd year MRRT. One of the lecturers you have mentioned in your posts thought it was me that applied for a job for him back at sea. He asked me to stay behind after a lecture and tackled me about it. It was the first thing I knew anything about it. Apparently the shipping company made him a very tempting offer. There had been one of those shipping company careers convention in the adjacent Mary Carpenter building one Wednesday afternoon. I was a Shell cadet at the time having been taken on with their first radio intake at the end of my second yr summer 74. I wasn't looking for another job but it got construed wrongly when l went for a wander round. I was just trying to show some interest in other shipping companies. Just after that Mr Metcalf came in a gave the ones in my class who were now cadets BP and Shell a strong talking to about how the college would black us with every shipping company if we didn't give 3 yrs work back if we were cadets and moved onto another shipping company before that. Since l was the only one of the class who had been there it was pretty obvious who it was aimed at. Then a few weeks later Mr ----- thought I had applied for a job for him to go back to sea. I often wondered which joker got me into trouble. Did you ever here about that one.
Lucy 






Austinsparks said:


> Steve and Lucy - I remember you both!
> 
> Lucy, you're right about Mr Chapman being known as Bonzo, but I don't know the reason either.
> 
> Wasn't there also a lecturer named Mr Coates? Someone else I recall being angry with my work!


----------



## richardwakeley

it wasn't me lucy! i did the pmg at ashley down 1968-69, then radar 1974, and electronics 1977. maybe you were there when i was learning all about marconi mkIV and hermes radars!


----------



## LucyKnight

*Brunel college*



richardwakeley said:


> it wasn't me lucy! i did the pmg at ashley down 1968-69, then radar 1974, and electronics 1977. maybe you were there when i was learning all about marconi mkIV and hermes radars!


You omitted the Marconi raymark.


----------



## Austinsparks

LucyKnight said:


> Were you there in the academic year 1974/1975 when l was in my 3rd year MRRT. One of the lecturers you have mentioned in your posts thought it was me that applied for a job for him back at sea. He asked me to stay behind after a lecture and tackled me about it. It was the first thing I knew anything about it. Apparently the shipping company made him a very tempting offer. There had been one of those shipping company careers convention in the adjacent Mary Carpenter building one Wednesday afternoon. I was a Shell cadet at the time having been taken on with their first radio intake at the end of my second yr summer 74. I wasn't looking for another job but it got construed wrongly when l went for a wander round. I was just trying to show some interest in other shipping companies. Just after that Mr Metcalf came in a gave the ones in my class who were now cadets BP and Shell a strong talking to about how the college would black us with every shipping company if we didn't give 3 yrs work back if we were cadets and moved onto another shipping company before that. Since l was the only one of the class who had been there it was pretty obvious who it was aimed at. Then a few weeks later Mr ----- thought I had applied for a job for him to go back to sea. I often wondered which joker got me into trouble. Did you ever here about that one.
> Lucy


I was there during that year, although I finished and went to sea in the spring of 1975. I don't recall either the careers event (maybe it took place just too late for me to need it) or the bogus job application. I was only responsible for the signed announcement that the departmental head was going to streak around the radar scanner...


----------



## steve Coombs

I Went to sea first trip in Aug 1974, so left just before that-we never had any career events or info during my time there


----------



## LucyKnight

*Brunel*



steve Coombs said:


> I Went to sea first trip in Aug 1974, so left just before that-we never had any career events or info during my time there


I don't think it was well advertised. It was another female radio student who told me and suggested I had a look around. She was called Sarah and was on the parallel course to mine (6 months shorter) who hadn't opted for an oil company cadetship and was having trouble finding someone to take here on for her junior time. She went with Redifon in the end. 

At Brunel they also ran pre sea courses and well as 2nd mates, mates, masters tickets (not engineering tickets or nav/eng cadets) so it was probably for their benefit. It was in the Mary Carpenter building hall which was adjacent and ran secretarial and hairdressing courses.


----------



## Austinsparks

LucyKnight said:


> I don't think it was well advertised. It was another female radio student who told me and suggested I had a look around. She was called Sarah and was on the parallel course to mine (6 months shorter) who hadn't opted for an oil company cadetship and was having trouble finding someone to take here on for her junior time. She went with Redifon in the end.
> 
> At Brunel they also ran pre sea courses and well as 2nd mates, mates, masters tickets (not engineering tickets or nav/eng cadets) so it was probably for their benefit. It was in the Mary Carpenter building hall which was adjacent and ran secretarial and hairdressing courses.


I remember the terrible haircuts people used to have on returning to class after popping next door to model for a free trim!


----------



## LucyKnight

*Brunel college hair cuts*



Austinsparks said:


> I remember the terrible haircuts people used to have on returning to class after popping next door to model for a free trim!


It wasn't just the haircuts Austin, one in our class when asked if he wanted it processed thought they meant conditioned, not permed. He fell for that one. I expect they wanted some practice. Early seventies was a bit before perms on men's hair became popular because of footballers.

One of the hairdressing students did help out one of the students on the January MPT intake (small class) He lived with another student in the same class in a flat on Cromwell Road, can't remember his name. When the part 2 MPT exam (the one where the examiner was in attendance for the best part of a week morse, fault finding etc.) and everyone smartened up as people did since they were terrified on them, the student went from having shoulder length hair to a really neat short haircut The next week it was the same as before. One of the hairdressing students had fitted him out with a wig. I'm not sure the examiner would have found it amusing if it was the same who was in attendance for our exam.


----------



## steve Coombs

I Remember Mary Carpenter Building and the hairdressers, sadly the whole of the college on that side of the road is now converted into flats/housing


----------



## Austinsparks

LucyKnight said:


> It wasn't just the haircuts Austin, one in our class when asked if he wanted it processed thought they meant conditioned, not permed. He fell for that one. I expect they wanted some practice. Early seventies was a bit before perms on men's hair became popular because of footballers.
> 
> One of the hairdressing students did help out one of the students on the January MPT intake (small class) He lived with another student in the same class in a flat on Cromwell Road, can't remember his name. When the part 2 MPT exam (the one where the examiner was in attendance for the best part of a week morse, fault finding etc.) and everyone smartened up as people did since they were terrified on them, the student went from having shoulder length hair to a really neat short haircut The next week it was the same as before. One of the hairdressing students had fitted him out with a wig. I'm not sure the examiner would have found it amusing if it was the same who was in attendance for our exam.


I remember the wig incident as I was in the same class! There was incredulity when he arrived on the Monday looking so smart, and much hilarity when his normal appearance was restored at the end of the week! Unfortunately I'm struggling with the name too; I can't shift one particular name from my mind yet I doubt I have the right one; I will post again if I get beyond that. 

If you were examined by Mr Tyson, I don't expect anything would have been amusing! He took an instant dislike to me and seemed determined to mark me down, even on my stronger subjects. This arose from our being (until he arrived) allowed to make some notes on our circuit diagrams. He noticed mine first and practically exploded, having to be placated by the college staff. That exam continued with my diagrams having been confiscated, but not those of the rest of the candidates who had just as many notes on theirs. The "wig week" was my retake a term later, which fortunately was overseen by someone much more human (which was not difficult) named Hopwood.


----------



## LucyKnight

*Brunel*



Austinsparks said:


> I remember the wig incident as I was in the same class! There was incredulity when he arrived on the Monday looking so smart, and much hilarity when his normal appearance was restored at the end of the week! Unfortunately I'm struggling with the name too; I can't shift one particular name from my mind yet I doubt I have the right one; I will post again if I get beyond that.
> 
> If you were examined by Mr Tyson, I don't expect anything would have been amusing! He took an instant dislike to me and seemed determined to mark me down, even on my stronger subjects. This arose from our being (until he arrived) allowed to make some notes on our circuit diagrams. He noticed mine first and practically exploded, having to be placated by the college staff. That exam continued with my diagrams having been confiscated, but not those of the rest of the candidates who had just as many notes on theirs. The "wig week" was my retake a term later, which fortunately was overseen by someone much more human (which was not difficult) named Hopwood.


I remember several of the faces of that small intake and drinking with them in the student Union bar on Wednesday Lunchtimes in their last couple of terms. The year before I arrived during what would have been my lst year if I hadn't been at Plymouth) Brunel worked 5 days a week 9-5 and no sports afternoon. The year I arrived they agreed to allow Wed afternoon off for sport but the hours on the rest of the days were increased to 5.30pm. I don't think maby did any form of sport unless lifting a pint pot was one form Difficult to get food shopping after college especially as bedsits in those days didn,t have fridges. One of that course unfortunately had a traffic accident on his scooter after one of the Weds afternoon socials and was hit by a lorry and sustained brain damage. Nice guy but unfortunately he never returned that year. Another one was standing for Student Union president egged on by his mates. He might of been called Steve, and the guy who wore the wig and his flatmate were right behind encouraging him.

I was told by one of the lads on the MRRT course that the year before (lst year) Mr Metcalf used to make the appointments at the hairdressing college for them. Good thing I wasn't there then. If you remember I had rather a lot of a wild dark brown mane which I did put up intially but when I didn't was called Gipsy Rosalee by Mr Heald, the lecturer who took fault finding in the gear room.


----------



## Austinsparks

LucyKnight said:


> I remember several of the faces of that small intake and drinking with them in the student Union bar on Wednesday Lunchtimes in their last couple of terms. The year before I arrived during what would have been my lst year if I hadn't been at Plymouth) Brunel worked 5 days a week 9-5 and no sports afternoon. The year I arrived they agreed to allow Wed afternoon off for sport but the hours on the rest of the days were increased to 5.30pm. I don't think maby did any form of sport unless lifting a pint pot was one form Difficult to get food shopping after college especially as bedsits in those days didn,t have fridges. One of that course unfortunately had a traffic accident on his scooter after one of the Weds afternoon socials and was hit by a lorry and sustained brain damage. Nice guy but unfortunately he never returned that year. Another one was standing for Student Union president egged on by his mates. He might of been called Steve, and the guy who wore the wig and his flatmate were right behind encouraging him.
> 
> I was told by one of the lads on the MRRT course that the year before (lst year) Mr Metcalf used to make the appointments at the hairdressing college for them. Good thing I wasn't there then. If you remember I had rather a lot of a wild dark brown mane which I did put up intially but when I didn't was called Gipsy Rosalee by Mr Heald, the lecturer who took fault finding in the gear room.


That was RAD 153, which I dropped into after my disastrous encounter with Mr Tyson - which was particularly annoying as it wasn't really my fault, for once. My recollection is that by then many of that class were people who had similarly dropped a term at some stage. 

Of the people you mention, the guy who had the serious accident was Martin Windmill; I remember it being announced in radar class. I think I heard that he returned to finish the course the following year. The unlikely president was Stephen Green. He was up against someone named Greep, so his slogan was "don't be a greep, vote Green!"

I thought we always had Wednesday afternoons off "for sport". I remember my first Wednesday afternoon off, which would have been in the autumn of 1972, asking where the sports hall was and finding that there was no such thing. After a while three of us from my class walked to Unity Street, near Park Street, which must have taken a while, and took up badminton.

I remember you there, although I may be sketchy about the hair. I don't think our paths crossed much, which must have been because you were on the new syllabus while I was on the "traditional" one. You may have lived in Sefton Park Road, or somewhere beyond that; I lived there throughout my time at Brunel and sometimes used to walk in with someone named Xenophon Protopapas; we had lived in the same house share when I first started at Brunel and were near neighbours later. I remember that we used to greet or speak with you sometimes as you walked briskly past us; you must have been more keen to start studying than we were!


----------



## J. Davies

Brunel Tech 2011. Now a posh condo. No radars of course ! Bob Andrews student 1974 and John Davies 1979... it was a pilgrimage. The hairdressers were in a building to the left. We went there a lot and had very short hair because of it !!


----------



## trotterdotpom

Didn't the building have a brick wall in front of it when idt was a college? Or is my memory plaing tricks?

John T


----------



## J. Davies

Yes .. the wall is still there, a big old granite wall. The photo was taken inside. The old students bar across the road is long gone of course. "Sigh".
John D


----------



## Austinsparks

J. Davies said:


> Yes .. the wall is still there, a big old granite wall. The photo was taken inside. The old students bar across the road is long gone of course. "Sigh".
> John D


There used to be a driveway which became a circle at the front entrance. I see that this has gone, from looking at an apartment there on Rightmove (a great site to be nosey on!). 

Shame the radar scanners have also gone. I think they made the Victorian building even more distinctive, in a quirky/steampunk way! 

Converting college buildings like this seems to be happening a lot, including where I live (St Albans). I saw another conversion on Rightmove which looked like the old Poly building on Unity Street; the flat for sale was much more expensive than the one at Muller House, given its central location.


----------



## Austinsparks

*Muller orphanages*

I found a slightly older picture of the place...


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## J. Davies

The Orphanage.... yes I remember it was one originally. What great research and great picture! I can see why Bristol wanted the building facade kept as original for the condo upgrade.


----------



## Austinsparks

J. Davies said:


> The Orphanage.... yes I remember it was one originally. What great research and great picture! I can see why Bristol wanted the building facade kept as original for the condo upgrade.


That may have been the last time anyone parked easily in Sefton Park Road!!


----------



## M29

Hi all you ex Brunel guys.
To bring you up to speed, as well as Muller House becoming flats/apartments, College House has been demolished and has been replaced by new flats and a Co-op store.
Allen House is also in the Hands of the developers and is being turned into more flats. The college is now in the the three remaining buildings, Brunel, Cabot and Davy. The name is now "City of Bristol College" and it is on several sites including a large 6 story building on College Green.
Your old faculty evolved into communication engineering and computing specialising in shore employment as the MN faded.
John Coates was ex redifon. Not sure if he is still around
David Heald sadly passed away
W Taylor Retired
D Weston Retired.
J Whithead, sadly passed away.
"Bonzo" transfered to another faculty. Assume well retired.
Robin Metcalfe, retired and moved away, no further news
Bob Kneeshaw, retired.
Peter Prance, retired and sadly passed away.
A. Melia (Me) still working at College, partially retired ( I remember you Lucy)
R. Lancaster (Radar specialist) retired.
Phil Brouder (morse, regs etc) sadly passed away.
Pete Masters (radar) retired and sadly recently passed away.

Best Wishes

Alan


----------



## LucyKnight

*Brunel staff*



M29 said:


> Hi all you ex Brunel guys.
> To bring you up to speed, as well as Muller House becoming flats/apartments, College House has been demolished and has been replaced by new flats and a Co-op store.
> Allen House is also in the Hands of the developers and is being turned into more flats. The college is now in the the three remaining buildings, Brunel, Cabot and Davy. The name is now "City of Bristol College" and it is on several sites including a large 6 story building on College Green.
> Your old faculty evolved into communication engineering and computing specialising in shore employment as the MN faded.
> John Coates was ex redifon. Not sure if he is still around
> David Heald sadly passed away
> W Taylor Retired
> D Weston Retired.
> J Whithead, sadly passed away.
> "Bonzo" transfered to another faculty. Assume well retired.
> Robin Metcalfe, retired and moved away, no further news
> Bob Kneeshaw, retired.
> Peter Prance, retired and sadly passed away.
> A. Melia (Me) still working at College, partially retired ( I remember you Lucy)
> R. Lancaster (Radar specialist) retired.
> Phil Brouder (morse, regs etc) sadly passed away.
> Pete Masters (radar) retired and sadly recently passed away.
> 
> Best Wishes
> 
> Alan


You haven't mentioned Mr (Cliff) Smith or Mr (Bob) Burslam. Are they still around?

There was also a lab technician who was an ex sparts who lived on Cromwell Rd called Steve. In the 3rd yr MRRT we spent some time with Mr Smith learning a bit about installation and had us moving some of the gear about. If he sent me down to get a tool and I didn't call it by the exact correct name Steve wouldn't lend it to me.


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## Larry Bennett

Alan,
Thanks for the update, quite startling to see how many of them no longer with us. Mind you, it was around 35 years ago that I was there (1976-79, RAD186). I was only chatting last week to my brother Ed about the technicians - there was one who helped us with cabin faults and sometimes took us for practical work (and also helped Phil Brouder run the Radio Amateur course). Can't for the life of me remember his name. After I left, one of my RAD186 colleagues Pete Woods got a job as a technician, as did my brother later on. Still look back on Brunel Tech as some of the best few years of my life but
must admit Muller House doesn't look right without the radar scanners.


----------



## steve Coombs

J. Davies said:


> Brunel Tech 2011. Now a posh condo. No radars of course ! Bob Andrews student 1974 and John Davies 1979... it was a pilgrimage. The hairdressers were in a building to the left. We went there a lot and had very short hair because of it !!



I Think I Remember Bob Andrews was he in Rad144 same as me


----------



## M29

Sorry Lucy

Bob Burslem, retired,
Cliff Smith, retired.
Colin Huchison, retired, passed away.
Bob Walker, retired, no recent news

Alan


----------



## sparksatsea

*Brunel Technical College*

Remember most of the lecturers mentioned whilst there in 1976 for the Advanced Marine Diploma course- only seems like yesterday I was there. After completion regained employment with the Bibby Line.

Have attached a photograph of the college with radar scanners, and also one of the antenna array on Portishead hill associated with GKA

Geoff Valentine


----------



## M29

Hi all you Brunel guys
Some more names.

Adrian Patterson, moved to Ireland to teach. Retired now.
Tony Sedman, left to take up teaching in the RAF.
Bill Donley, retired and now sadly passed away.
Norman Marsh, retired no further news but assume passed on by now.

Alan


----------



## steve Coombs

sparksatsea said:


> Remember most of the lecturers mentioned whilst there in 1976 for the Advanced Marine Diploma course- only seems like yesterday I was there. After completion regained employment with the Bibby Line.
> 
> Have attached a photograph of the college with radar scanners, and also one of the antenna array on Portishead hill associated with GKA
> 
> Geoff Valentine


Thanks for the Photos-they bring back memories


----------



## George McCaffery

Hi N Liddel, I take it as Norman. I was at SSMTC at the same time and would agree that Jock Hamilton was a first class man who understood his students took time with them and got a lot of us thro it.


----------



## Christine Heald

*David Heald and others*

Hello all, this is David's wife, Christine Heald here. I have recently discovered this site as I was interested reminiscing about David's days at sea with Brocklebanks, to name just one company. I found this thread by accident and I am so pleased I did as I have really enjoyed reading all your memories of David and his colleagues during his days at Brunel Tech. As you are aware, David passed away in January 2010 after bravely living with a severe stroke for 8 years. I will be able to give you a few more updates on many of the other lecturers you remember, having recently attended Cliff Smith's Golden wedding anniversary celebrations! As I am not very computer literate, I am relying on my daughter to help me so may not be very quick to reply but will happily answer any questions you may have. Hello Alan by the way! Christine


----------



## Graham P Powell

Hello Christine, I have very good memories of Dave who was our cabin lecturer when I was at Bristol from 64 till 66. A few years ago I was waiting for my wife outside Tesco in Wells. A chap was there in a wheelchair whom I thought I recognised so I asked the young woman who was with him ( Your daughter I think) what his name was and it turned out to be Dave. He looked much the same as ever but had great difficulty talking. Very sad. We have mutual friends I believe in Pete and Jenny Treharne. Pete and I worked at Portishead Radio. The lecturers at Bristol were great and I did much better there than I ever did at school. Do you know how Bob Kneeshaw is these days?
rgds
Graham Powell


----------



## Dick Ware

mikeg said:


> I can remember Hall, Thatcher and Mudie (or Moody) though can't now remember the radar lecturer or the principles names at East Park. I remember the radar chap had written a tech book on radar circuits, he used to fill the blackboard with formulae and lengthy calculations and periodically say 'is everyone following this?' the whole class said yes even though I'm sure most were lost within the first few minutes ;-)


I was at Southampton in 1966-67. I can remember Dick Moody (who took us for commercial working), Eric Tremayne (the Tech-Elec lecturer), some ex-naval bod called Ron who took us for Morse, and Pete "Piggy" Hatcher (or was it Thatcher?) who was another lecturer alongside Eric Tremayne. Piggy used to drive an old Morris 1000 shooting brake, and Ron's favourite saying was "last one today lads, make it a good one". The radar chappie when I was there was Dennis (?) Brown, or Browne, who had a broad Scots accent and kept drilling into us that when you soldered A to B one wire had to be "one and a thaird tairns" round the other wire before you applied the electric glue (solder). 

I can remember the chap who took us for the practical sessions. His teeth were like a bar piano keyboard - one black, one white, one missing. Damned if I can remember his name though but I'm sure he was another Scot. Was *he* Mr. Hall ?


----------



## Dick Ware

Dick Ware said:


> I can remember the chap who took us for the practical sessions.... Damned if I can remember his name though but I'm sure he was another Scot. Was *he* Mr. Hall ?


I remember now. The 'cabin' chappie was Mr. Johnson


----------



## steve Coombs

Christine Heald said:


> Hello all, this is David's wife, Christine Heald here. I have recently discovered this site as I was interested reminiscing about David's days at sea with Brocklebanks, to name just one company. I found this thread by accident and I am so pleased I did as I have really enjoyed reading all your memories of David and his colleagues during his days at Brunel Tech. As you are aware, David passed away in January 2010 after bravely living with a severe stroke for 8 years. I will be able to give you a few more updates on many of the other lecturers you remember, having recently attended Cliff Smith's Golden wedding anniversary celebrations! As I am not very computer literate, I am relying on my daughter to help me so may not be very quick to reply but will happily answer any questions you may have. Hello Alan by the way! Christine


Christine

Nice to read your message i remember David Well and learnt alot from him during my time at Brunel.
Sorry to hear that he is no longer with us


----------



## M29

Christine Heald said:


> Hello all, this is David's wife, Christine Heald here. I have recently discovered this site as I was interested reminiscing about David's days at sea with Brocklebanks, to name just one company. I found this thread by accident and I am so pleased I did as I have really enjoyed reading all your memories of David and his colleagues during his days at Brunel Tech. As you are aware, David passed away in January 2010 after bravely living with a severe stroke for 8 years. I will be able to give you a few more updates on many of the other lecturers you remember, having recently attended Cliff Smith's Golden wedding anniversary celebrations! As I am not very computer literate, I am relying on my daughter to help me so may not be very quick to reply but will happily answer any questions you may have. Hello Alan by the way! Christine


Hi Christine.
Welcome to the site, hope you are well. Glad you have seen some nice posts about David. He is mentioned in many threads concerning Radio Colleges, lecturers etc. It will be nice if you can supply ex staff/students with any news of other ex lecturers still around. Glad to hear Cliff is still around as I don't remember a card from him recently.

Best Wishes

Alan


----------



## Christine Heald

Great to read all the nice things people have said about David. I do see Bob and Jackie Kneeshaw from time to time. Also, Pat and Don Weston. At Cliff's get together, I also met up with Bob Walker, John and Eve Barclay-Hill and Jackie Whitehead. Age is inevitably catching up with all of us but we are ploughing on!
Does anyone remember Les Kellitt? He was my bowls partner for a season but sadly suffered a stroke and passed away last year.


----------



## Bill.B

Another Lowestoft 70-72 sparkie. Had great lecturers, Fennell, Crisp an Holton. Loved every minute of it. Lived in Park Avenue with a family who tried to convert me but failed where the RFA succeeded if you get my drift. Robert Wheelers antics kept us all entertained. Passed with him, Steve Youngs, Charles Terry. Believe Steve is still in RFA but Charlie left the RFA and went ashore. Remember Rose King starting just as we started radar. It was a good time with good people.
Bill Bonner


----------



## George McCaffery

It is with great sadness i inform anyone who attended South Shields Marine school
around 1960 probably until 80s the Stewart James Hamilton passed away on 23rd October. Stewart was a excellent teacher and a wonderful Human being.


----------



## JWJ1

*Brookes Bar*

I was at Brookes Bar 1956 - 1958. Used to travel in from Warrington by train then 81 bus from Princess St (?).

College was run by Mr Tomlinson and Mr Wood. Tomlinson spent most of his time at Wray Castle in the Lakes. 

There was a Mr Walker who lectured on radio theory (bit of a boffin)and Mr Webber, a younger guy who chain-smoked. The secretary was the aptly named Mrs Sparks.

At lunch time there was wide-ranging activities available. A hot Vimto at a shop around the corner, (I was too young for the pub), cards in the cellar, snooker at the Temperance Snooker Hall about half a mile away or bowls in Alexandra Park.

We had an Asian lad named Burke in the class, very clever, particularly at maths. He ALWAYS got the calcs right. At he end of the exam paper there was a split of about 50-50 on the answer. Burke had a different answer to me. I thought it was the end. But, after a lot of argument and smoking slide-rules, Burke was proved wrong !!
Unbelievable !

Mr Wood had a very nice silver grey citroen with large head-lights.

Went back with a few friends 18 months later for a 1st but spent most of the time in the cinema/snooker/pub etc. 

I enjoyed it all though. Straight from school then straight to sea with Marconi.


----------



## shorep

I was in rad 78,remember Mr Rush for his constant chewing on Jacobs crackers,his dictating the theory notes.
Remember also in the class,Paul Jordan,Paul White(ex Caltex officers),Dave Strange,Duncan Keith,Colin Webber,Ian Tullit,&two Ghana fellas(don't ask),Failed the theory exam,and took it as an omen,and left.


----------



## minty

mking437 said:


> Hi Rob
> 
> Thanks for the reply - yes I remember Bill and George and I recall it was John Crisp but maybe wrong - it's a long time ago!
> 
> Bill was the head of the Radio department, George mainly taught us Morse and Mr Crisp was the Maths and Radar guy.
> 
> We used to have some good end of term parties at the Crown pub in town!!
> 
> 
> cheers
> 
> Mike G4GLI


i'm sure it was John Crisp

'Budgie' Bird 1973-75


----------



## Robert Wheeler

Dick Crisp


----------



## minty

Robert Wheeler said:


> Dick Crisp


'John' to his mates!


----------



## trotterdotpom

shorep said:


> I was in rad 78,remember Mr Rush for his constant chewing on Jacobs crackers,his dictating the theory notes.
> Remember also in the class,Paul Jordan,Paul White(ex Caltex officers),Dave Strange,Duncan Keith,Colin Webber,Ian Tullit,&two Ghana fellas(don't ask),Failed the theory exam,and took it as an omen,and left.


I'm guessing you mean Mr Norman Rush at Bristol. Rumour had it that despite preaching fire and brimstone in the city on weekends (Jehovas Witness?), he was also a fair pisshead. Maybe the crackers helped his stomach. Note: I can't confirm any of the foregoing, it was just the talk round the place.

I do know he was ex RN and quite knowledgable. I remember I always understood his explanations of things when he gave them, I just couldn't remember them. My fault, not his.

John T


----------



## Robert Wheeler

minty said:


> 'John' to his mates!


So I wonder why I remember him so clearly as Dick Crisp - just looked at LCFE end of term reports (somewhat variable) and there he is signing JC. Proof of less clear in the memory than I thought!


----------



## minty

Robert Wheeler said:


> So I wonder why I remember him so clearly as Dick Crisp - just looked at LCFE end of term reports (somewhat variable) and there he is signing JC. Proof of less clear in the memory than I thought!


Too many Bank Line boats maybe ??

They were a strange mix of lecturers at Lowestoft COFE, all likeable even Bill who used more red ink on my work than anyone else i'm sure. His favourite word to decribe my work was 'WAFFLE'....
John & George could be softened up in the Crown or Trowl and Hammer....


----------



## M29

trotterdotpom said:


> I'm guessing you mean Mr Norman Rush at Bristol. Rumour had it that despite preaching fire and brimstone in the city on weekends (Jehovas Witness?), he was also a fair pisshead. Maybe the crackers helped his stomach. Note: I can't confirm any of the foregoing, it was just the talk round the place.
> 
> I do know he was ex RN and quite knowledgable. I remember I always understood his explanations of things when he gave them, I just couldn't remember them. My fault, not his.
> 
> John T


Hi John
Worked alongside Norman for several years before he retired from college in about 1982/3.
Yes he was in the RN during WWII specialising in gunnery control which is where his electronics background came from. He was the only member of the lecturing staff who was not an ex R/O

One amusing story he told me was about when his destroyer was sunk by bombs during the Dunkirk evacuations. As the ship was rolling over, he jumped over the side only to be ordered from the bridge to get back on board as the "abandon ship order" had not yet been given!

Whenever Jehovah's Witnesses came to my house I would say "Do you know Norman Rush? well I work with him" they would leave immediately on the basis that if Norman couldn't convert me, they had no chance. Such was the respect he was held in.

Best Wishes

Alan


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## trotterdotpom

Thanks Alan. Probably an experience like that would drive anyone to drink. Actually, nothing like that ever happened to me and I still turned to drink.

He never mentioned religion in my hearing. Still got a vague notion of PNP transistors though. Do any of todays electronics whizz kids still learn that stuff or is it just magic going in a little box and different magic coming out?

John T


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## M29

trotterdotpom said:


> Thanks Alan. Probably an experience like that would drive anyone to drink. Actually, nothing like that ever happened to me and I still turned to drink.
> 
> He never mentioned religion in my hearing. Still got a vague notion of PNP transistors though. Do any of todays electronics whizz kids still learn that stuff or is it just magic going in a little box and different magic coming out?
> 
> John T


John
We still teach fault finding to component level although of course the components are more difficult to replace (surface mount IC's etc). There is still a call for this in professional comms equipment as it is too expensive to throw a circuit board away and slot another one in, all same aircraft electronics. So we are still using all the test gear. This is facilitated by the equipment being designed to be maintained much as in our day of marine electronics.

As for theory, we don't teach basics of semi-conductors anymore except for heavy electronic components such as silicon controlled rectifiers etc. All the basic laws, ohms, Kirchoff's etc are still on the syllabus but mainly for the purposes of exams!

Digital electronics of course and computer hardware dominates most electronic engineering programmes of study.

On the software side its all, databases, software engineering, programming etc.

The big changes in study are that a full time course is about 16 hours a week (2.5 days max) I expect you can remember when you were at college that you probably worked 4.5 days approx. 30 hours per week. So the level and intensity of study back then was much more vigorous plus our modern students get half terms that you didn't get.
The academic year in your day was 38 weeks, its now down to 32.
So all in all, its no wonder that most R/O's were pretty versatile and most that I knew from college days, had good careers after leaving the sea.

Anyway, I best stop my impersonation of an "old git/dinosaur" and get back to work

Best Wishes

Alan


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## trotterdotpom

Thanks Alan. I forget the exact cir***stances, but a few years ago some electro-nerd was explaining something to me about a telly and A tiny voice from the "space cloud" in my head was calling out: "He's full of sh1t, he's full of sh1t...."

John T


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## Varley

#379.

I'd agree about the ability of those R/Os that got to sea (not necessarily the inclination but the ability!).

What that statement ignores 'though is the huge wastage in getting there. Of some 30 or so 'starters' in the final year at Riversdale in 1971 several of us having transferred from Colwyn Bay which we had managed to ruin in our first year) only three of us passed first time. A fourth, me, at the morse re-test on the same day.


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## M29

Varley said:


> #379.
> 
> I'd agree about the ability of those R/Os that got to sea (not necessarily the inclination but the ability!).
> 
> What that statement ignores 'though is the huge wastage in getting there. Of some 30 or so 'starters' in the final year at Riversdale in 1971 several of us having transferred from Colwyn Bay which we had managed to ruin in our first year) only three of us passed first time. A fourth, me, at the morse re-test on the same day.


Hi Varley
Yes agreed. I started at Riversdale in 1965 and if memory serves there were 3 groups of us with about 17 or so in each group. During the first year, we were reduced to two groups.
The pass rate amongst us survivors was very high, so I guess the policy was to eliminate doubtful candidates early on. Two friends who started with me never made it to the end, not because of lack of ability but I think they thought they had made a bad career choice.

Best Wishes

Alan


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## alan ward

M29 said:


> Hi Varley
> Yes agreed. I started at Riversdale in 1965 and if memory serves there were 3 groups of us with about 17 or so in each group. During the first year, we were reduced to two groups.
> The pass rate amongst us survivors was very high, so I guess the policy was to eliminate doubtful candidates early on. Two friends who started with me never made it to the end, not because of lack of ability but I think they thought they had made a bad career choice.
> 
> Best Wishes
> 
> Alan


I think I was one of them,I started in 1965 with Eddie Murphy,John Saphier and Tom,with me it was the wrong choice of seagoing careeer,too long a commute and being too thick for the physics and magnetism.I was once told that Teasdale had seen me on Lord Street Southport with a`triode of young women`when I failed to appear on monday.


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## BobClay

It was policy when I did my PMG2 at Leith 67-70 to incorporate the syllabus of the City and Guilds Telecommunication Technicians course in parallel with the PMG. That meant you should have at least a C & G Intermediate as well as the PMG if you survived, so you'd have some sort of shore side recognized qualification. You could then go on to get the Full Tech if you so wished. For me that took a few more years.
They also slid in the C & G Radio Hams as that syllabus was pretty well covered by the Telecomms Techs course and PMG. It was over ten years after leaving Leith before I took the Radio Hams morse test at GKA, I'm not sure why (it meant a long days driving down and back) but I've never used either.
I've always assumed this was the same for the other colleges but I've no direct knowledge if that is so.


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## Varley

Bob, yes. I think most public establishments required that too but as we had started off at Colwyn Bay (which did not teach C&G) we would have needed a year to catch up and our group continued along the narrower MRGC route.

I am happy to have taken to C&G on a broader industrial electronics basis in 1975. Taking T3 in Electrical Engineering and Industrial Electronics (rather easy) and then T5 in industrial electronics (not quite as easy as I thought!). Missing T4 we did not qualify as 'Full Techs' although those with radar tickets were considered as equivalent (I never got round to 'doing' radar).


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## trotterdotpom

I did C&G Intermediate - reckon I could have done it at school. Never did me any good. The higher levels of C&G were very useful but I couldn't be bothered doing them. The Radar course was the best thing I did, learned more from that than anything else.

John T


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## BobClay

Problem with marine certificates, certainly for sparkies, they didn't mean much ashore. Radar ticket got mentioned at job interviews got the reply: 'What the frak is that ?' (adjusted slightly for publication.) :sweat:

Surprisingly when I started training for GCHQ the instructors told us there were three types of students on these courses:

Ex services ... brilliant at practical, struggle with theory.
Fresh out of college types ... brilliant at theory, struggle with practical.
Ex merchant navy ... brilliant at everything.:sweat:

We still have services obviously, we still have colleges, just as obvious ... we don't have much of a merchant navy anymore.

Spot the deliberate mistake. [=P]


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## Varley

Was your instructor ex MN by the smallest of chances?

I remember a formidable lady from Radio-Spies coming to a discussion on a suitable syllabus for E(T)Os (whatever). She was most disappointed that there was to be no morse.

(I do hope that wasn't an official secret)


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## BobClay

Morse was dying a death when I joined, still had to do the training though. End of the cold war meant World War 2 style operations pretty much faded away.
Nearly all the instructors I remember were ex-services, this was the primary recruitment source at that time for obvious reasons. Nonetheless they seemed very eager to take ex MN, sometimes straight from college with no actual job experience !
After my interview (which was the toughest interview I've ever had, and I've had a few) they took me into a side room to test my claim to be able to touch-type (Sight and Sound course in Edinburgh in the 60's, pure brain-washing, but it works.) I knew then I'd got a job because testing somebody's pecking at a keyboard abilities after that interview had to be a good sign. (==D)


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## Brian Davidson

BobClay said:


> Problem with marine certificates, certainly for sparkies, they didn't mean much ashore.
> 
> . [=P]


One organisation that did recognise marine certificates was the BBC, particularly for their transmitter department. If I recall correctly an MRGC got you in at the basic level of 'Techinical Assistant' with 3 years broascast training to follow. MRGC + Radar + Electronics Cert entitled entry as a 'Direct Entry Engineer' with broadcast training reduced to just over 1 year. There are still quite a few MRGC's working in broadcast engineering, most of which have never been to sea.

Brian


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## Varley

But you forget the regulations. We were forbidden from broadcasting!


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## Peter Eccleson

Varley said:


> #379.
> 
> I'd agree about the ability of those R/Os that got to sea (not necessarily the inclination but the ability!).
> 
> What that statement ignores 'though is the huge wastage in getting there. Of some 30 or so 'starters' in the final year at Riversdale in 1971 several of us having transferred from Colwyn Bay which we had managed to ruin in our first year) only three of us passed first time. A fourth, me, at the morse re-test on the same day.[/QUOTE)
> Dave
> Your morse was always shocking ? ......almost as bad as my theory! Have to admit it though....you were always a technical 'geek' and a good one to go to for help....(Applause)(Applause)(Applause). I had forgotten the first time pass statistics for our course.


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## Varley

Peter Eccleson said:


> Varley said:
> 
> 
> 
> #379.
> 
> I'd agree about the ability of those R/Os that got to sea (not necessarily the inclination but the ability!).
> 
> What that statement ignores 'though is the huge wastage in getting there. Of some 30 or so 'starters' in the final year at Riversdale in 1971 several of us having transferred from Colwyn Bay which we had managed to ruin in our first year) only three of us passed first time. A fourth, me, at the morse re-test on the same day.[/QUOTE)
> Dave
> Your morse was always shocking ? ......almost as bad as my theory! Have to admit it though....you were always a technical 'geek' and a good one to go to for help....(Applause)(Applause)(Applause). I had forgotten the first time pass statistics for our course.
> 
> 
> 
> I was going to mention you in that dispatch, Peter, but I couldn't remember the other two? EBAY has just provided me with an Instructograph. Perhaps I will try to refute your presently truthful criticism instead of having it as an 'Objet de Geek'.
Click to expand...


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## M29

Varley said:


> Was your instructor ex MN by the smallest of chances?
> 
> I remember a formidable lady from Radio-Spies coming to a discussion on a suitable syllabus for E(T)Os (whatever). She was most disappointed that there was to be no morse.
> 
> (I do hope that wasn't an official secret)


The Association of Marine Radio and Electronic Colleges (AMERC) realised the end was coming and so pressed for and got a full time HNC to replace the R/O quals. This was a BTEC qualification and was thus well recognised.
We still had pressure from students who wanted to go to sea (There were still some jobs at sea) and from GCHQ for fully morse trained operators, so the Part Two regs, morse, solas etc hung on for a couple of more years. Around about this time, our Navigation department closed for good, finishing Brunel as a Marine College.
After this we moved over to BTEC ND's and HND's. We re-equipped and went into GMDSS training along with the other Marine Radio colleges, however the way the system was set up, the pressure from ships owners etc. meant that this training was never as thorough as we thought it should be. We ceased this a few years back and now concentrate on Communication Engineering along with most of the ex marine colleges.

Best Wishes

Alan


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## BobClay

Given that, somebody will have to explain to me (economists and other bean counters need not apply) how an island nation can cease to become a seafaring nation in so short a time. I'm not talking about sparkies here ... technology moves on, we of all people know that ... I'm talking about putting all our trading eggs in baskets in which we have no control even at an advisory level.


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## IAN M

When I went to Leith Nautical there was only two lecturers - Andrew Bogie (Head of Department) and Mr Watson. 

Fred Boettcher and I both got our 1st Class PMGs in April 1948. Like myself, Fred was a Dundonian and we sometimes travelled home together. Sadly, he died in harness, but is in the photograph on page12 of THE SEA DOMINIES (The Story of Leith Nautical College) by Iain Crawford. Regrettably, information on the earlier days is sparse, as it would appear that a history of the College was thought of only shortly before it closed. 

The College I went to was in Commercial Street. A new purpose-built college, costing £4 million and sited at Milton Road East in Portobello, was opened by Prince Charles on 11 July, 1978, and closed in 1986.


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## BobClay

I found that book on Amazon Ian, but at £72 for a 55 page book I'm sadly going to pass it by. 
My time there was 67-70 and one thing I thought was great was Henry Robb's shipyard at the back, where in the course of a term you could watch a ship take shape.
I did PMG2 and BOT Radar there, the Radar being in a strange little classroom at the very top of the building. I think then they had a Marconi Raymarc and a Decca 45, covering transistors and valves. I visited Commercial Street some years back and was sad to see the building standing empty and looking a little neglected. I've just looked at it on Google Earth street-view dated last year and it still looks deserted.


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## IAN M

Hello Bob

I mean no disrespect to the author, who did a good job with the material he had to work with. £72 is ridiculous. My brother picked it up in a charity shop some years ago for a few quid. 

As the picture in the book is captioned 'about 1969', you may be one of the students shown with Fred. I have scanned it, and if you send me a private message giving your email address, I will send it to you.


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## BobClay

Much appreciated Ian. Sent PM.(Thumb)


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## beedeesea

Bob/Ian,
There's a copy available for £12 from a shop in Edinburgh, well, according to list on Bookfinder.com there is:

http://www.bookfinder.com/search/?a...q=author=iain%20crawford&title=sea%20dominies

Brian


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## BobClay

Many thanks BeeDee ... at that price I'm willing to buy it.
(Thumb)


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## R651400

The picture with Fred Boettcher is much earlier as it features someone who was originally in my class of '55. 
Bob I've only just noticed your £72 rip off. If your referring to the LNC Dominies I have it somewhere on cd and if I can find it your welcome for free. Bizarrely I responded to a car advert on French News an expat rag here and the vendor turned out to be an ex LNC radio lecturer whose name escapes me but I think he may not have been ex seagoing but from the RAF.


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## BobClay

R651400. Thanks a lot for the offer but I've ordered it from the Edinburgh bookshop at £9 plus £3 postage which seems a fair price. 
I got the picture from Ian and I too thought that was from a much earlier period than the late 60's. The hair cuts alone suggest that.:sweat:


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## BobClay

Ian asked me about the DF in the picture, a Marconi Lodestone I think. When I was there in the late 60's the equipment I can remember on the radio room was:
Atalanta, Lifeguard, Salvor, Lodestone. In the corner was a Marconi Crusader transmitter and a Redifon R408 receiver, featuring the new wonder gadget, the transistor :sweat:
There was some other stuff ... but the brain cells containing that memory have long since leaked away.
Upstairs was the small Decca valve radar, rather nice to work on as I remember, and a Raymarc.
The first ship I sailed on (Bendearg) featured no hoity toity new fangled transistors but a bog standard Marconi Oceanspan set up and a big Marconi valve radar whose name I cannot remember, think it began with an A.


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## R651400

BobClay said:


> Given that, somebody will have to explain to me (economists and other bean counters need not apply) how an island nation can cease to become a seafaring nation in so short a time. I'm not talking about sparkies here ... technology moves on, we of all people know that ... I'm talking about putting all our trading eggs in baskets in which we have no control even at an advisory level.


Think you should have tried this sling-shot on Stormy Wx and invited the bean counters (plenty available on SN). 
Re £12 instead of £72 for LNC Dominies a much more realistic price for what I thought a boring tome if ever there was..


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## Paul Braxton

Bob, would that big valve radar been an 'Argus'? Often paired with the 'Hermes'. Good for their time, Quite nice to work on.


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## BobClay

Ah yes I think that's it. Argus Hermes. My mind may be playing tricks on me but I seem to remember they used a bloody great cable wrap for a delay line. Yes I remember it being nice to work on because my senior didn't have a radar ticket so he dropped the radar in my lap, but it was a very well behaved machine.(Thumb)


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## Shannoner

Brian Davidson said:


> One organisation that did recognise marine certificates was the BBC, particularly for their transmitter department. If I recall correctly an MRGC got you in at the basic level of 'Techinical Assistant' with 3 years broascast training to follow. MRGC + Radar + Electronics Cert entitled entry as a 'Direct Entry Engineer' with broadcast training reduced to just over 1 year. There are still quite a few MRGC's working in broadcast engineering, most of which have never been to sea.
> 
> Brian


I got my MRGC in 1979 and my Radar in 1980, from the Ulster Polytech, Belfast. Back then the main employers for students were, BBC Tx's, GCHQ, RUC Radio Workshops and RACAL-DECCA Survey.
Out of my Radar class of 12, most obtained employment with one of the above, I don't think any of us got to sea as RO's. I got a job as an Offshore Engineer with RACAL-DECCA Survey after a 5 minute telephone interview! Interview took place on a Thursday and I was told to report to their training college in Brixham on the Monday! 
All the above had great respect for lads and lasses with an MRGC and DoT Radar, and through out my career I have never had any problems in the UK or Ireland with recognition of these qualifications, although I have been in the same job now for 17 years, and I'm certain it would be different now if I was job hunting.


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## BobClay

I do remember that when I got my Radar ticket in 1970 Decca were recruiting on the strength of that based I believe in Croydon.
However when I left the sea in 1986 I had a number of interviews from the local hospital in Stafford (now world famous for all the wrong reasons) to Severn Trent Water Board, none of the interviewers had a clue what the MRGC and BOT Radar even was !! They expressed some interest in the C & G Full Tech because they'd heard of that. My attempts to tell them that marine qualifications were actually quite tough fell on deaf ears.
In all fairness this was the Midlands, shipping was something of a mystery to Midlanders. I worked for a while at MOD Donnington, then BT but I had to give up my idea of staying locally if I wanted a decent wage and go to someone who actually understood what sea-going tickets were about.


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## J. Davies

I did my MRGC and Radar plus C&G intermediate at Brunel, Bristol, in 1979. I was the only one on my class to get to sea. The rest all seemed to get jobs with BT as technicians. I think if you joined them straight after college you would have a good future. I left the sea in 1991 and tried to go ashore. Even with a MED I got in 1983, it was tough. At that time nobody seemed to understand marine qualifications ashore. I worked for Sperry for a while but the pay was awful. I was working with guys that hardly knew Ohms law, and who only had a couple of O levels. 
That didn't last long and I returned to sea again in the engineroom as ETO earning a very good whack, and only retired last year. 
I reckon that those people who left college and went straight to a shore job probably did OK and worked themselves higher up the scale. 
I still maintain that MRGC plus C&G and MED was a great foundation.


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## BobClay

Don't get me wrong, I'm not decrying sea-going tickets. A PMG2/BOT Radar/MED/MRGC track represents three years or so of full time college education, not counting the C & G bits and pieces stuck in there as well. Good education too, with tough practical training. Stick 16 years of sea going experience onto that and I foolishly thought getting a decent job would be a formality, even in the Midlands.

It was just the lack of recognition in general I found annoying.

For example when I interviewed for BT in order to climb poles and replace drop-wires on a three month contract they brushed over all that at the interview and asked me to connect two wires to two terminals that were fastened to a piece of wood !!

I did four of those contracts and was offered a permanent job but the pay was feeble and as far as I could see the future bleak. (Especially hanging off a pole on the top of Biddulph Moor in Winter with a cold east wind blowing.)

So I moved on, which meant moving out of my hometown.


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## Zl2axh

King Ratt said:


> Ted Whitehead was indeed a character. Fond of a *** and a pint of Bass. Sadly Ted died before he reached retirement. His well remembered words were " A failure in the handbook means a failure in the complete Part 2 exam." Words which proved very accurate in my own case! The others in the dept at LNC when I was there were Harry Watson and Fred Boettcher and Andrew Bogie the Head of the radio dept. All good lecturers.


These are old posts but I have just found this forum and remember Ted, Fred and Andrew well from 1958. Started at age 15 and the first person I met was Ted with flakes of cigarette paper stuck to his lips. He asked if I knew any morse code, I said yes, and he said 'wrong, you know nothing, take a seat" His keying was the best I have ever heard.


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## radiotech

Two memories of Norman Rush. 1.He'd give us work to do then put up his briefcase on the front of his desk; he'd then study 'watchtower' JW publication.
He even predicted the end of the world while we were at college, but nobody dare ask why it hadn't happened. 2. He drew the circuit of a bell with two coils but he'd drawn them so the two coils were in opposition, so the bell couldn't work. We had two senior trainees ex Diplomatic wireless service who pointed out his error. His response was 'I may not be right, but I'm never wrong - don't forget it. !!!


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## Larry Bennett

radiotech said:


> Two memories of Norman Rush. 1.He'd give us work to do then put up his briefcase on the front of his desk; he'd then study 'watchtower' JW publication.
> He even predicted the end of the world while we were at college, but nobody dare ask why it hadn't happened. 2. He drew the circuit of a bell with two coils but he'd drawn them so the two coils were in opposition, so the bell couldn't work. We had two senior trainees ex Diplomatic wireless service who pointed out his error. His response was 'I may not be right, but I'm never wrong - don't forget it. !!!


Norman was awesome. Easily bribed with copious cans of McEwans Export but did not take kindly to students falling asleep during his lessons. Have seen individuals woken up by accurately-thrown board rubbers (and even a chair on one memorable occasion). Very insistent on using the correct SI units in calculations too....many of my calculations had his comment "units U nit" appended when they were returned to me.

Had a heart of gold though - remember him taking me aside as he noticed I was getting into bad company and told me to 'knuckle down' or words to that effect. Excellent advice as it turned out.

Lovely bloke - had plenty of time for him.


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## J. Davies

I remember Norman telling us about his family holiday in Romania, which at that time (late 1970s) was a pretty exotic destination. He was always full of surprises.


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## jlarder

*lecturiers we knew*

can ayone remember lecturers at NEWT otley during 1942 I recall a Mr Mc Cloud only Thanks J Larder


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## Roger Bentley

J Larder, Sir, Did you read my reply to you in the wireless college thread posted on 1st March? Cheers, Roger


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## jlarder

Sorry no I didnt please forward again Many Thanks J Larder


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## Roger Bentley

*Re thread*



jlarder said:


> Sorry no I didnt please forward again Many Thanks J Larder


JL, All you need to do is go back to the wireless telegraph schools thread on this item for radio operators and you will see my reply. Cheers Roger


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## Dimples82

At Plymouth CFE & Plymouth Polytechnic. 
At the CFE I remember Graham Sargent, (covered Part 1 of the MRGC), Alan Pink (did Morse)
At the Poly, Robbie Robinsin (did morse & regs), Pete Yarwood (Covered MRGC Part 2 Electronic Theory), Ted Howarth (Head of department).
Are they familiar ?
Best Regards, Charles Marshall


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## severnsider

dje4816 said:


> I did my 2nd and 1st classs PMG ticket at Barking College of Tech. The senior lecturere was a wonderful old Dutch guy called Bondermaeker, known affectionaly as "Bondie." This was in 1966-8. A Brian Evans lectured on electronics, but can't recall the names of the rest of the faculty.
> 
> I did my radar ticket in 1969-ish at Rush Green College of Technology, but once again can't recall the names of the staff.
> 
> Anybody out there know those people?
> 
> Dave Ellis.


It was known as "Barking College of Technology" when I went there 1974 - 1977. The names I recall are Mr O'Callaghan, Mr MacMahon, Ollie Sinnicks (pipe smoker, Radar), Roger Johnson, Mr White and the Dutchman, Mr Boendermaker, who taught the morse. I rather enjoyed my time there........


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## peekairns

Kiwiradio said:


> The Eric in France was Eric Hay who taught at LNC along with Eric Lamb. Eric Hay retired to France with his wife and ran a holiday gite attached to his property. Eric Lamb replaced Walter Ronaldson teaching Morse/Handbook/Cabin at LNC and did return to sea during the vacations but with Container Fleets Ltd, his former company, not Calymac


I know it is a long time ago but do you have contact details for Eric Hay? I knew him in our birth city Aberdeen but lost contact with him when I went to work with the Bank of Zambia. I have unearthed a very short sequence of film taken in the lat 50's in which Eric appears. I want to ry and send this to him but cannot trace him neither France or the UK. He might have left France as his wife was ill and may have been in Edinburgh. Any assistance would be gratefully received.
Thank you. Peter Cairns [email protected]


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## R651400

It is indeed such a long time ago Peter and very sorry I cannot help...
All I know is he returned to the UK because bizarrely I first had contact with Eric when I replied to his car advert in the English language newspaper Connexion and that may be just a long shot as he may have given them a UK forwarding address or some other info...
Good luck with your search.





French News and Views in English | The Connexion







www.connexionfrance.com


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## peekairns

Thank you for that. Believe it or not, because 'Wanadoo' stopped using its email in France I took a chance and sent an email to eric hay using the features of his old address to Gmail.com. I hit the jackpot and after over 50 years we are back in touch. He is on the other side of Scotland from me but it is not all that far.


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## R651400

Good news...+
Please pass my best regards to Eric and tell him am still enjoying (coming up to thirty years) life in "La Belle France."


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## David Olivant

K urgess said:


> Only remember Ron Wright from that list, Hughesy.
> He's the one who stopped to clean up the mess on the radio room floor caused by a smashed coffee percolator he'd bought for his Mum in New York that fell off the desk when the torpedo hit. He always said he couldn't bear to think of the ship going to Davey Jones with a dirty radio room floor.
> 
> I have a feeling that Ron Meeker may have been there the same time as me but as a student. Name seems familiar.
> 
> I know one of the lads in our "gang", Pete(?) Brown, went back as a lecturer later.
> 
> Cheers
> Kris


It was John Meaker…knew him after college last seem in the 90s


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## Dave McGouldrick

peekairns said:


> Thank you for that. Believe it or not, because 'Wanadoo' stopped using its email in France I took a chance and sent an email to eric hay using the features of his old address to Gmail.com. I hit the jackpot and after over 50 years we are back in touch. He is on the other side of Scotland from me but it is not all that far.


Eric Hay was the person who taught me how to solder properly (LNC 1968), and I managed to pass that knowledge, many years later, on to an American 'tech' who was suitably impressed.
Glad to hear Mr Hay is still with us. If you're still in touch pass on my best wished - although it's unlikely he'd remeber a very average student from more than half a century ago.
rgds
Dave McGouldrick


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