George Gardner
George belongs to: The Doxford Engine Friends Association
George was born in 1940 in Hendon. He began his apprenticeship in 1956 and finished in 1961. From Doxford's George served in the merchant navy on tramp ships, cargo liners, container ships and oil tankers until he retired in 2005.
George was interviewed by Carl Greenwood on 26 January 2006. The interview took place at Sunderland Museum and lasted 31 minutes and 54 seconds.
Conditions on the ship
"The first ship I was on, as I say, everything was steam, so the engine room was hot"
The first ship I was on, as I say, everything was steam, so the engine room was hot and there were, there was no force draft ventilation, there were no fans, we just had wind scoops, these big rabbit ears, you see, stick them up on old pictures of ships. And these things were fine when you were going ahead and the wind was in your, you know, and the wind was coming towards you- great, and the wind would come howling down into the engine room. But the unfortunate thing was that the vent trunkings ended up under the floor plates. I think the idea of that was to keep the bilges nice and cool and clean and smelling sweet but it didn’t do much for us. And it used to be very, very, it was very hot, particularly when you’re on the West African coast, up the creeks in the jungle loading logs on rivers, you know, and you’re surrounded by bush and it’s damp and humid and stinking and horrible. It used to be hot then.
George has 12 memories in the memorynet:
George's memories with a Work theme:
Apprenticeship at Doxford's- Benefits of a Doxford apprenticeship
- The value of a Doxford's apprenticeship
- Safety and accidents at Doxford's
- The smell of whale oil
- Sailing with a Doxford engine
- Conditions on the ship
- Meeting Michael Wilson in Shanghai
Engineer's Certificate- Continuous Certificate of Discharge
- Africa
- Shanghai
This memory has these themes:
Environment | Living Conditions | Work
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