SS Arakaka sabotage?

May - June 1946  S.D.Co completed the S/S “ARAKAKA” for Liverpool owners.  The first sea trial was marred by hot bearings.  A second trial run a few days later and the bottom ends again gave trouble.  It was decided to renew all the white metal in the engine bearings and due to scoring of the journals the crankshaft was removed from the ship and returned to Fife Forge for reconditioning.  This meant the renewal of the LP Crank pinand the aftermost journal of the shaft.  Samples of the white metal were sent for analysis to King’s College, Newcastle and to the white metal manufacturers and both reports independently agreed that embedded in the white metal was small pieces of some steel balls.  A whole small ball being found in one sample.  The composition of the white metal being quite normal.  This seemed to point to sabotage by someone having inserted the steel in the bearings purposely.  No definite proof could be obtained as to how it had occurred.  After re-white metalling, etc. the final sea trial was run about five weeks later.  This caused much delay, expense and work.

14-20.07.46  Smith’s Dock holiday week.  Very moderate weather all the week.  Two days of sea trials, TSS `Geomitra’ A/s Tanker.  Some half days holiday.

Percy Matthews died 16 June 1946

I'm putting this on the web in case anyone is researching their family tree and happen to do a web search.

Percy Matthews - Collapsed in office 08.01.46 - Passed away  16.06.46

Of Welsh extraction, born in South Bank I think, and of parents in fairly comfortable circumstances of bank manager class.  He referred to having a nursery when they were young.  Educated at Middlesbrough High School,  His family suffered troubles due to father and drink but of this I am not certain.  Percy had to find employment and obtains junior place in S.D. clerical staff.  I cannot be sure that this was his first employ.  He `joined up’ early in the 1914-18 war and was a Writer in the Royal Navy.  He travelled across country to Greece and joined the fleet there.  He must have been anchored for a considerable time near Constantinople for he had many stories to tell of this place.  At the close of hostilities he was shipped back home and returned to S.D.Co.  When I commenced with this firm in 1928, Percy was the secretary to the Engine Works Manager (Jos Ostens).  He typed the correspondence and orders etc..  Bob Urwin being the E.W. cost clerk.  A few years later when shipbuilding was depressed, the costing clerk was moved to another department and Percy took on costing in addition to the letters, ordering, etc..  This work he retained to the end.

He made a keen study of Pitman’s shorthand and upheld it as the best system and also that the study of shorthand was never finished.  He taught shorthand at South Bank Council School evening classes two or three nights a week in winter session and many a rush he had to fulfil these appointments due to Jo Osten’s habit of being late to `sign up’ the letters.  He and Mrs M. took a great interest in tennis at S.D.Normanby Park.  During the 1939 war, when our forces were not doing too well and some had tendencies to express defeatist views, P.M. was very strong against this kind of talk and a great upholder of the British power and ability to pull through.  In the dark days he was a fine tonic and contemptuous of the reverse view.  He was a strong character and held his views firmly  but very reasonably.  He was a quick worker and a great asset to the E.W. Department.  His opinion was worthy of note and very valuable to me.  He was an ideal secretary.  Never exceeded his position but was also held in respect by his inferiors and superiors, due to his ability and willingness to assist in any difficulty.

They had no children.  Their early married life was spent in rooms due to the house shortage after the war.  They visited and were visited by Mrs M.’s relations and he was most patient in this as many of his holidays, away from home were not to his liking.  Mrs M. suffered for a few years from internal troubles and underwent some rather serious operations, but seemed latterly to be almost normal.  They resided in Hampden St., South Bank until about 11 years ago when they built a semi-detached house on a favourite site in Eston.  The furnishing of this house and garden gave them great pleasure and Mrs M. took an extreme interest in the house decoration and the tidyness of the garden.  He loved his pipe and after a morning’s work he would come to my office about noon and light up and puff away for a few minutes as though it was a great pleasure.   When blood donors were asked for during the war, he expressed his views that this was as little as he could do for the war, when soldiers were doing so much more and although he had a pale complexion, indicating in my opinion, no excess of blood, he gave blood on two occasions.  This impoverished his system and sometime later  he had chest trouble and underwent a serious operation at North Ormesby Hospital.  He partially   recovered and returned to his work at the office.  He kept going for a few months but always with a pain in the region of his lower body.  One day he felt unusually unwell and went to  the S.D. ambulance room and fainted there.  He was taken care of and a doctor brought.  He was removed to North Ormesby Hospital.  He admitted (later) that if this incident had happened almost anywhere, but in the ambulance room , he would have never survived it.

After a long spell in N. Ormesby Hospital he returned home and rallied a little, but always suffering a pain in his lower body.  This pain grew worse, he was taken to Newcastle for a further operation and passed away Sunday June 16th.  He and Mrs M. spent their free time together except that he was a freemason of Redcar lodge.  He advocated that a night with men only was a tonic.  Fond of radio plays.  One of his favourites music “La Pique Dame”.

Always close your discharge pipe!

09.04.46  Whale Catcher being reconditioned  at Dry Docks capsized alongside the jetty.  during transference of oil fuel the ship took a list and the main discharge valve had been left open and certain other small pipes disconnected which caused the inflow of water causing the ship to capsize.  Ship righted by a salvage vessel.

A rather similar occurance happened to a S.H.W.R.’s ship at a Pacific coast port where the ship was undergoing minor repairs.  During the evening when all the engineers were ashore, the ship took the ground due to the falling tide.  She listed and took water in at the bilge discharge overboard, the covers being “off” the M.E. bilge pump chest.  This caused the engine room to be flooded and consequently cost of putting it in order again.

NEVER LEAVE A SHIP WITH ANY SEA VALVE OPEN, SUCTION OR DISCHARGE

Going to sea on the SS Wragby

JB Summarises his early working years at one point in the journal -

Apr-09	Joined S/S WRAGBY as 4th engineer
Oct-10	Passed BOT exam. for 2nd Engineers certificate
Jan-11	Joined S/S LEVENPOOL as 3rd Engineer.  New Ship.  Left Stockton Corporation Wharfe  14.01.11
Sep-11	Left LEVENPOOL
Dec-11	Joined S/S COLLINGHAM as 3rd Engineer
Sep-12	Left COLLINGHAM
Nov-12	Passed BOT exam, for 1st class Engineer
Apr-13	Passed BOT exam, for Extra 1st class Engineer

The following extract is the start of his time on the Wragby -

            On reaching the age of 21 and having finished my apprenticeship of six years duration, I was anxious to progress my career and obtain a berth as a sea going junior engineer.  I had no particular friends in “engineering”, except Mr Pigg on whom I had to rely for a berth. I worked in the fitting shop for a year year waiting for a ship, mainly fitting up “Church” HP slide valves, which was a rather good piece of work, involving scraping steam tight joints.  However, at last Mr Pigg informed us that there was a 4th engineer vacancy on S/S Wragby of Messrs R. Ropner and co., West Hartlepool.  At this time all Ropner’s ships were built at Ropner’s shipyard at Stockton (now extinct) and engined by Blair and co. and hence many of the engineers were from Blairs.  The superintendent was Mr Nicholson.  So I packed my sea bag and other things to join this ship at Dunstan.

            At this time cargo ship owners supplied little if any amenities to their officers, who had to supply their own bed mattress, bed clothes, soap, matches, etc. and many tradesmen catered for these at the various ports.  I can still remember the load of Lifebouy and Sunlight soap necessary for a voyage of uncertain duration.  S/S Wragby was a typical Ropner tramp steamer, about 20 years old when I joined it.  The ship would be about 300 feet long, or a little more.  The crew living in the forecastle, the captain and deck officers in the poop and engineers amidship.  The triple expansion steam engine developed, I should guess, about 1300 I.H.P. at 60 to 70 R.P.M. , W.P. = 180 lbs/sq.in..  Two cylindrical boilers and two small vertical Donkey boilers, 100 lbs/sq.in., coal fired, natural draught, no electrical plant, paraffin oil lighting.  The ship carried

1 captain	1 cook
2 mates	1 boatswain
4 engineers	6 firemen
1 steward	? sailors
1 engineer’s steward	1 donkeyman

            When I joined this ship I was very little experienced, but I soon settled down to the new life.  Copy of a diary kept at this time, 1909,

May 17th	Joined the S/S Wragby at Felling
May 20th	“Signed on” as 4th engineer
May 22nd	Departed Dunstan at 3.45am. with a cargo of coal
May 25th	Entered Bay of Biscay.  Drill hole in aft bulk head, at end of tunnel. Rather sea sick.
May 29th	900 F engine room temperature.  Passed St Vincent.  Fine view of its lighthouse on a rock.
May 30th	Passed Gibraltar.  Land seen at each side.
May 31st	In sight of the coast of Spain all day.  Mountainous coast and snow clad mountains.
June 3rd	Passed Corsica. Also similar, mountainous and snow clad.  Prepare for entering port, soap, matches sealed.
June 4th	Arrived Leghorn, or Livorno (Italian name), breakwater, enter harbour at 9.00am..  The colour of the sea and land was wonderful and a contrast from Tyneside.
June 6th  & 8th	Visit ashore (seamen’s institute)
June 9th	bathed in harbour
June 13th	Visit PISA with 2nd and 3rd Engineers.  Train journey from Leghorn, climbed steps to the top of the Leaning tower, near the cathedral, had tea and bought a small replica, in marble, of the tower (which lasted at home until Mother washed it in hot water which caused it to fall to pieces).
June Thea	Left Leghorn with a small quantity of cargo, coal, in the holds.  This was transferred, en voyage, to our bunkers.
June 19th	Passed Gibraltar during the night.
June 24th	Passed Azores.  ER. temp. 1060 F
June 29th	M.E. feed pump gland stud breaks.  Work all night to renew.
July 8th	Arrive Grindstone Island (Bay of Fundy) after many stops for fog
July 12th	Chief Engineer takes a defective, copper main feed pipe to St Johns  (Newfoundland) to be repaired at the loco shop
July 17th	2nd, 3rd and self have a weekend ashore at Harvey, lodged at  the pilot’s Victoria Hotel, a comfortable wood hotel and a pleasant change from aboard a cargo ship.  Walked to Albert in the afternoon.

Several pages later -


            I stayed with the “Wragby” until my time was sufficient to qualify for the 2nd Engineer’s Board of Trade exam.  It was a fairly comfortable cargo tramp ship with plenty to do.  My routine work was to take breakfast at 7.30am (alone) and relieved the 2nd Engineer in the Engine Room at 8.00am.  Here I stayed until 12.30pm, so that the 3rd Engineer had his mid-day dinner before going on watch, then had my dinner(alone) and generally had at least two hours work (field day) on winches, etc., finishing somewhere about 3.30 to 4.00pm.  At 5.00pm I relieved the 2nd Engineer on watch for tea and had mine afterwards.  At 8.00pm was my second watch 8.00 to 12.00  When I look back, I think, although a junior, I did more than my share of relieving, but my feeling of independence was less than my feeling to get my time put in smoothly for engineers exams.

            We lived on preserved food after the first day or two out of port, when fresh meat and vegetables were exhausted.  In accordance with Board of Trade law lime juice was made available to all each day, a relic of the sailing ship days when the men suffered from scurvy during long voyages.  The lime juice was taken at the mid-day meal and was very nice.  The men’s was made in a clean bucket and placed on the forward hatch for them to help themselves.  The food was saltbeef and pork preserved in brine in oak barrels.  The salt beef was good meat but generally it retained too strong salt flavour.  Dried fish, tinned foods and always potatoes.  I enjoyed the food, especially the soup when in port using fresh meat.  Except the dish “rice and curry” which I could not eat.  This was a breakfast and many a time, or most times when this was served, I had to be content with bread, butter and marmalade.  The bread was made daily by the cook, who I think had the longest working hour on the ship, from about 5.00am until after 6.00pm..  One ship on which I served signed on a cook who, when we exhausted our shore supplies after leaving port, we found could not make bread, at least his attempts could not be eaten.  This was a calamity of the first order.  We lived on ship’s biscuits(a most unpalatable unsalted food) and attempts at breadmaking by a sailor or anyone who could attempt to make bread.  At the first port we changed the cook and I think his follower was a black man.  Three meals a day were served and I supplied my own cocoa and a sea biscuit for my 12 to 4am watch.

            Long voyages are an opportunity for men to try personal stunts, such as growing temporary beards, etc..  The Wragby captain and chief engineer had an idea that shaving the head was conducive to improving the growth of hair.  So for about a month they had their heads carefully shaved.  At first sight it is a laughable thing to see, a man thus shaved.  They persisted with the practice and when their hair was allowed to return to normal, I don’t remember any improvement.  In fact they were far from bald men to start with.

            The Engineers accommodation was port side, a room for the 2nd Engineer and another room for the 3rd and 4th together.  On the opposite side was the Chief Engineer’s room which led off the messroom and next to the messroom a room fitted with a bath, with no water connections and never used.  The messroom was fitted with a bogie(a fire), but the remaining rooms had no source of heat.  In cold weather these berths were uncomfortably cold, as the alleyway between them and the Engine Room Casing was of the open type.  The washing water had to be carried to the berth.  Generally, ships trade in warmer climates than ours and lack of heat in the rooms was not often experienced, it was generally warm.  The fresh air of the open ocean counteracts any shortcomings.  In fine weather, say in South Atlantic, to stand on the bow of the ship and see the blue sea ahead and take in the ozone is a very pleasant state, to say the least.  The weather near the equator is naturally warm, and sultry at times, followed by those very heavy local rain falls (Doldrums).  It can be pouring down at one side of the ship and dry at the other, if you happen to be in the correct position.  I have seen the mate spread a tarpaulin on the deck to catch the fresh water, which can be used as washing water at least.  It is in the warmer waters far away from land that the small flying fish are found.  On a loaded cargo ship where the decks are low from the sea these fish often find themselves stranded.

            On regular watch on this class of vessel is one engineer, one fireman and one coal trimmer.  When the bunkers are full the coal trimmer assists in the stoking.  The `Wragby’ had two mates who did 4hours on and off, day and night.  The mate (a Norwegian) was a good carpenter and generally busy with some improvements to the ship.  The second mate was an old Irishman from sailing ships, who had passed his examinations before they required candidates to know semaphore signalling and I have often seen this mate practising this in the corner of the bridge when on watch.

            Washing clothes is a problem and we juniors did our own, which generally consisted of a singlet, socks, dungaree trousers.  We wore no light laundry clothes except in port and then if our supply is exhausted it is often possible (if time permits) to have a wash done ashore.

            The loading and discharge of coal cargo can be a very unpleasant experience.  South Wales is the worst I have experienced.  The coal is run down chutes to the ship’s hold and the decks and everywhere become covered with fine coal dust.  The port lights and skylights are therefore closed and every place becomes too warm.  The coal dust even gets into the soup.  The loading is generally a quick operation, but at many of the discharge ports it is a slow primitive operation.  The men filling the coal into baskets in the holds and the winches lifting them to the deck and then generally to barges moored alongside.  It is a great relief, especially after a loading port to get to sea where the sailors soon make the ship clean with the wash deck hose.  Ashes from boiler cleaning and general rubbish also accumulate in a corner of the deck.  This is dumped overboard at the earliest moment after leaving port.  Fresh water is valuable on board ship as it must be taken in at port and stored in tanks.  A hand-pump is the source of supply and if it is getting used too quickly or the voyage is long, the mate applies a padlock on the pump.  We washed at the end of each watch and it is a fine feeling to strip at the back of the engines and have a sponge down.  The water being taken from the steam drains collected in a barrel. Of course this water must be made good by the evaporator and costs fuel.

            Another pleasant experience is the cup, or pot of tea and slice of toast brought by the mess-room boy to awaken us, in the morning in port or en-voyage in the middle of the afternoon.  The engine room temperature is generally high , especially in the warmer climates, and although we dressed in singlet and dungaree trousers only, it was a sweating 4 hour watch and we drank a considerable amount of water, especially during the later portion of the watch and even the trousers get wet through with perspiration.  The main engines were hand oiled, which meant a major portion of your watch was taken up with oiling, which was done each half hour on most of the bearings.  The oil supply was stored in a daily service oil tank with three divisions, one for each engineer and each had a master key for his own division only.  The lubricating oil needed watching in case the supply was exhausted too soon.

Apprentice at Messrs. Blair and Co.

JB doesn't provide any dates for this time but it would have been around 1902 has he did six years apprenctership in total and finished at the age of 21.

            Before I was apprenticed to Messrs. Blair and Co., Marine Engineers and Boilermakers, Stockton-on-Tees, My father and I were shown round the works.  It was rather bewildering to me to see so much machinery in motion and so many departments such as Fitting Shop, Machine Shop, Brass Foundry, Iron Foundry, Pattern Shop, Blacksmith’s Shop, Boiler Shop, etc..  This firm at that time had a good reputation for the triple expansion steam engines and boilers, which were installed in all merchant ships at that time.  The originator must have been a farsighted and clever engineer.  The firm made all their large and small castings and all forgings including shafting and had their own electric power plant.  This is not now the practice for marine engineers generally buy in the shafting, etc. from specialist firms.

            After our visit to the firm, it was decided that I should be an apprentice fitter and turner, although I had a very vague idea what this was.  The working hours being 6.00am to 8.00am, breakfast, 8.30am to 12.00noon, dinner, 1.00pm to 5.00pm.

            The apprentice rates of pay

1st year	4/- per week of 53hours
2nd year	5/-
3rd year	6/-
4th year	8/-
5th year	9/-
6th year	10/-

            The question arose at home of my introduction to the works on the first Monday morning at 6.00am.  Roland had a boy friend, Harry Jennings, whose father, Arthur Jennings, was a fitter at Blairs and he agreed to take me the first morning.  I was taken to Mr Gregory the head foreman and he sent me to assist on the “marking off” table in what was called the arcade.  The assisting I did was to whitewash casting and forgings for the marker off, bring drawings and being generally useful to this man.  There were many apprentices and men in this fitting shop and the foreman, Frank Brotherhood, spent his time walking up and down the shop, overlooking and generally chewing tobacco.  If he left the shop it was a sign for relaxation, which sometimes took a rather rough form, such as throwing hard wood block about and such like activities.  The shop was full of benches served by hand blocks for lifting purposes and lighted by flat flame gas burners.  A boyish trick was to blow down one of the gas burners, resulting in the extinguishing of many adjacent burners and of course by this time the culprit had walked away to another place.  The shops were also illuminated by carbon electric arc lamps.  The heating was coke fires placed at suitable places with a short chimney which terminated inside the shop.  The overhead cranes in the adjoining erecting and machine shops were steam and their boilers heated by coke.  This also increased the dust in the shop.

            The draughtsmen worked the same hours as the shops except that they commenced at 7.00am, instead of 6.00am.  The works provided a steam heated plate for warming the tins of tea carried by the men, but no other facilities.  Outside the main entrance, on the public road, was a coffee stall, where some took an early cup and bun, but it was not an inviting place and I never patronised it.  For first aid a bandage box was kept in the storekeeper’s office.  This being the total welfare arrangement except a works library adjoining the works.  I never visited the library, but did purchase “Engineering” for 6d per half year, there being no demand for it.
           
            I found getting up in the morning at 5.10am a task, especially in the winter, but I always aimed at being in bed at 10.00pm.  I well remember the tired feeling at night the first week or so, for in the works you are on your feet all day.  There was a certain amount of monotony experienced and also the deadening effect of having to appear busy when there was nothing to do.  Even the making of tools, like callipers and squares, was forbidden by the foremen, but we did make them.  The day seemed long and to ease to take short walks around the shop and through the blacksmiths shop adjoining, just for the change.  Each time I walked in a different direction and had “up my sleeve” an excuse for going and always passed the clock to see how long to a break.  The foreman must have got on my nerves, for I used to waken up in bed with the idea that Frank’s coming.  He was not a bad sort, it was the policing duty of his that I felt.  On the whole the works were well conducted and the tradesmen of a good steady type.  As apprentices we were moved from one “fitting” job to a different one each 3 months approx..  This time being very approximate.  In this way I travelled through the various fitting shop benches and later to the lathes, which was interesting as you were alone on the machine, except when moved to the shafting lathe.  This was a large lathe for turning the line and propeller shafting from the rough forgings, which were also forged in the works forge, run on contract to a Martin Forster.  This lathe was interesting, partly because of its large size and the size of its equipment.  It was fitted with two slide rests and each slide rest with a back and front tool.  The apprentice worked the slide rest nearest the headstock and the journeyman the other.  The shafts turned were generally fairly large, about 14” diameter and this lathe was capable of taking large cuts off, which were needed, considering the amount of metal to be removed.  The propeller shaft, complete with brass liner, was turned on this lathe and the “finish” on the outside diameter of the brass liner was as smooth as silk, the secret being that the finishing tool had little or no cutting clearance and “rubbed”.  The firm had another lathe, much larger, for turning the 3 throw crankshafts which were made from forgings.  This lathe was of gigantic dimensions and fitted with a large 4 jaw chuck.

            Up to the age of 18 the law would not permit boys to work overtime before that age.  I worked the hours 6.00am to 5.00pm.  We carried our breakfast, the practice being to carry tea i a tin or enamel tin and lid, and the food in a tin, rectangular, hinged lid box.  My mother would prepare this food the night before as I had an alarm clock for wakening me and made myself a cup of cocoa and took a “snack” before leaving home and the rest of the family asleep.  Well do I remember a Xmas present we received from Mr H.Proctor, who lived next door.  It was a wooden box containing, perhaps a gross of Fry’s cream chocolate bars and I had my share of these generally at about 5.30am.  I also can still taste the Yorkshire ham, which was often supplied in sandwich form for my works breakfast.  The dinner hour was short, one hour, and the time required to reach home was 20 minutes, so that left 20 minutes for the meal, etc. , which meant that mother had to have it ready, and she did.  Coming home was alright, but the return, carrying perhaps a boiled suet pudding for a sweet course was not so pleasant.  The start time at the works was very strictly adhered to.  At 6.00am the gate was shut, also at 1.00pm, after dinner.  The time keepers seemed grumpy people to we apprentices.  I was told that before my time the firm allowed the men an extra 10minutes grace at 6.00am, but they abused it by stopping outside to smoke until 6.10am.  Smoking not being allowed in the works.  This may have been the cause of the fairly common practice of tobacco chewing and spitting.

            In busy times much overtime was worked in the shops.  “All nights” were very common and it was a surprise to me to find that a man worked a full day, then a full night following and also the next full day.  This seemed to me a terrible long time, but I found that one “all night” was common and also two, say Monday and Friday.  In fact, Friday on which followed Saturday was quite a usual occurrence to a large number of men.  I knew men (Mr Sawden’s brother Frank) who worked three “all nights” a week and lost no day time either, and this not a single week, but extended over a few.  I think this was too much burning the candle at both ends and the above mentioned man did not live to an old age.

            During busy times, when the firm could turn out a complete cargo ship propelling equipment per week, the men worked much overtime and this included coming out on Sunday night and starting at 12.00 midnight, for some of the larger machines.  I suppose this was beneficial to the firm, in that it saved the cost of paying double time wages as it was virtually Monday and the rate would be time and a half rate.  Sundays were never worked.  When a slump in shipbuilding was experienced, the number of men was reduced to a minimum.  In these busy times, a complete double shift was worked, i.e. dayshift 6.00am to 5.00pm and the nightshirt 5.00pm to 6.00am with half hour and one hour breaks for meals.  There were plenty of skilled men to be obtained.  I worked one all night and wanted the experience, but I did many months of night shift as this was the only means of getting the experience on some of the machines (such as shafting lathe, etc.).  The nightshirt work was alright and we seemed to settle down to output, but the sleeping during the day I found difficult, at least not difficult, but I never seemed to get enough.  My bedroom windows were curtained to darken the room and although I managed to retire to bed about 7.00 or 7.30am when wakening up time arrived, about 3.30pm, I felt anything but ready for it.  I was well looked after at home and one thing, at this time I can never forget.  The nightshirt supper time was from 9.00pm to 9.30 pm and I generally carried my meals with me, but two or three times, I forget how many, my brother Will would ride our “common” bicycle to the works to meet me coming out.  I would ride the bicycle home and take a cooked supper, which was ready, and then return on the bicycle to the works in time for 9.30pm.  In the meantime my brother had spent his time just walking about, until I returned.  This he did after his own days work in Gargett’s hosiers shop.  His hours were 8.00am to 8.00pm each day except Thursday and Saturday.  Thursday 8.00am to 1.00pm and Saturday 8.00am to 11.00pm.  There is no wonder he was ready for a “lie in” on Sunday morning, but he did not get much as we attended Sunday morning service at Paradise Row, Primitive Methodist Church.