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.