Trevor was born on Teesside and educated at  Sir William Turner’s School, Coatham, Redcar, a school of which he was very proud. In 1947, he was apprenticed to the Tees Pilotage Service and for the next three and half years served as a Boat Hand on the Cruising Pilot Cutter B.O.Davies.  In 1951, he went away to sea and was placed by the Authority with The Blue Funnel Line, serving in the Dardanus, Dolius and Bellerophon.  He obtained his Second Mate’s Ticket in 1953 at South Shields Marine College.  Whilst waiting for a Pilot’s Licence on the Tees he went back to sea, first with Cairn Line in the Cairnavon and then with Constantines in the Edenwood, Gartwood and Southwood.  At last, the call came and in 1957, a Fourth Class Licence was granted.  Rising through the ranks, he became a First Class Pilot in 1963  and a very successful career of thirty-seven years ensued.  One which he enjoyed enormously and ended when he retired  aged 64 in 1994. So much for the bare statistics but what an interesting man lay behind them. In the 1970’s he led the way and with several of his colleagues chartered yachts on the west coast of Scotland for a number of years.  They liked to think of themselves as the scourge of the Hebrides.  Trevor also had a Private Pilot’s Licence for light aircraft and there are many anecdotes that could be told of that activity, some of them quite hair-raising.  He gave twenty-seven years to the Redcar Lifeboat Station, twenty-one of those as Chairman of the Management Committee receiving a Silver Badge in recognition.  He wrote two books, the first about his time as an Apprentice and the second about his time as a Pilot.  Apart from being a good read the books illustrate quite clearly that Trevor was a shrewd observer, that he had a way with words, a keen sense of humour and the ability to capture a situation with a sketch.  His passion was classical music, but he also enjoyed his cars, travel, football on T.V. and John Wayne films. His family was all-important.  He married Kathleen in 1960 and three children, Robert, Louise and Susan followed.  They, together with their families including the  grandchildren, are giving Kathleen a huge amount of support in her and their loss. He will also be sadly missed by the colleagues he worked with and among his many, many friends.

John Johnston.  (Retired Tees Bay Pilot)

It was with great sadness that the Belfast Pilots learnt of the “passing west” of their retired colleague and friend Andy Brines.

Andy went to sea as an apprentice in 1946 working his way up to master in 1956. He joined Belfast Pilots as tradition would have it and drove the pilot cutter for some years. He first started piloting in 1963 and retired in 1993 with ill health. The 1987 act was probably one of his low points in his life. His removal from self-employment into employment was never smooth and it took its toll on him in many ways. Andy was a fighter and never gave up trying to restore the rightful position for pilots in Belfast. I can remember his joy when he heard that we had gone back into self-employment in December 2006. As well as being a pilot, Andy ran a successful boat yard in Carrickfergus and was an active member of the local sailing club. Unknown to me, I was to work briefly with the man who once worked on my small yachts, and was an elder of my club, when I was a young lad.

The service to celebrate his life was held in St. Nicholas’s church Carrickfergus, on a cold December morning, in front of a congregation who could probably have a place in the Guinness book of records for a record on combined sea service. His passage from the church, passing under the church spire, which has acted as a safe leading mark for Carrickfergus Harbour for hundreds of years, was undertaken by 4 serving pilots of the Belfast Lough Pilotage Services Ltd. each one of us being proud to have known him, and honoured to take him to his final resting place. Andy was always a joker, and he was, even after death, still about to play one last joke on us all. At the grave yard, his coffin took some persuasion to enter the hole in the ground. Was he playing with us, or should we have buried him on Belfast Lough?

It is to his wife Elizabeth, and sons Andrew Jnr & Michael, and the family circle to whom we offer our deepest sympathy.

Brian Wilson

BLPS Ltd.

Eulogy

Given by Captain Keith Cederholm

Tuesday 12^th January 2010.

1030

Centre Chapel Landican

In Memory of

CAPTAIN MICHAEL JAMES PENGELLY

30^th September 1949 – 1^st January 2010

Eldest son of Captain and Mrs. Ron Pengelly

(Ron and Hilda)

Husband of Lynne

Father of Caraline and Ross

Grandfather to Joshua

Brother of David

And

My Best Mate

Mike was born in Swansea on 30^th September 1949. His dad Ron was a merchant navy officer and they lived on the Wirral; however when dad was away mum Hilda would go and stay with her family in Swansea. As a result Mike spent a lot of time in Swansea and would go to the Vetch and watch the Swans. He was, all of his life, a “closet” Swansea fan and his proudest moment was when they played Liverpool at Anfield in the FA Cup 3^rd round in 1962. Swansea won 2 – 1 (Ronnie Moran missed a penalty for Liverpool) He has all of the newspaper cuttings and would describe every kick of the game to anyone that was prepared to listen.

He went to school in Bebington and the New Ferry Secondary School where in his third year the career’s master spoke to his class one day and suggested they should all talk to their parents that night regarding the jobs they should be looking towards.  Mike went home and after tea asked his parents :

“What is the best job in the world?”

To which without hesitation his father replied;

“You want to be a Liverpool Pilot.”

So the seed was planted!

About the same time Ron and Hilda moved with the boys to West Kirby and by coincidence my father and Ron where colleagues in the MD & HB. My father told me they had moved in nearby and I should go and introduce myself as they had a son about my age:

SO WAS BORN A LIFELONG FRIENDSHIP

Mike and I were just ordinary lads who passed our time doing things lads do! Along the way Mike had developed an allegiance with Tranmere Rovers (and didn’t very often mention “The Swans!”) So when we teamed up I was duly inducted into the “Cow Shed” at Prenton Park, where we spent many a Friday evening and latterly our sons did likewise; although by then we all had to sit down and behave ourselves. Throughout the rest of our time at school we became bigger and bigger friends because we both shared a common burning ambition:

You see my father had given me exactly the same advice Ron had given to Mike – “Be a Liverpool Pilot!”

Time advanced, Mike joined the service and was appointed to No3 Pilot Cutter, as Mike was a year older than me it was to be another 12 months before I was finally appointed as a boathand to No1. Due to a technical hitch (No1 ran aground the morning I was due to join) so it was off to No3. I arrived on board to be greeted by Mike Smart with the words “You’re Twiggy’s mate aren’t you?”

“Who on earth is Twiggy I thought?”

Then he appeared in the mess room, it was Mike!

Can you imagine anything less like Twiggy?

It was a chequered career Captain Smith marked on our files that we were not to sail on the same cutter together (we fancied ourselves as union convenors)

One thing a lot of people here will not know is that at one stage early in his career Mike almost made a decision which would have changed everything. He actually resigned from the service. However the senior lad on No3 was John Curry (who was also the senior apprentice in the service at that time) dragged Mike up to the office and managed to get Mike to apologise and withdraw the resignation and for Captain Smith to actually overlook the whole thing –So was saved what turned out to be a magnificent career. Thank you John Curry.

Throughout our leave periods we upheld the best traditions of boathands by continuing our nautical life at West Kirby Sailing Club and the Cabin Club, at only one of those establishments did you have to keep moving or else get stuck to the carpet. When not at the aforementioned venues Mike’s pride and joy was his Triumph Spitfire with its great big fat “Go Faster Wheels!” The wheels certainly did their bit as one day on the New Ferry by Pass with the roof down, he was stopped by a motorcycle patrol and booked for doing 50 in a 30. As the officer handed over the ticket he asked Mike what is the uniform (we had just left the boat) Mike replied “We are apprentice Pilots” to which the officer retorted “Be thankful I haven’t done you for low flying then!”

On another occasion when we had forsaken the Cabin Club for “Leighton Court” it was 3AM on sailing day morning and those hot wheels did it again. Straight through a hedge and onto a beautifully manicured lawn.

Panic ensued,

find a phone box,

call dad.

“Dad, bring two of my old wheels to Heswall quick.” Dad arrives in an extraordinarily pleasant frame of mind. Change wheels (still on lawn) throw damaged ones in dad’s boot. Rush home get changed. Onto 0630 train at West Kirby and join the boat as if nothing has happened.

Not long after this Mike met Lynne at I believe “Leighton Court” their romance grew and eventually they became engaged and of course my mate had other things on his mind so I was relegated to having to give them one night per week on their own!

As things did not go entirely to plan in the Pilot Service we apprentices did not get our licences at the end of our time due to major downturn of trade in the Port. So instead we were asked to follow a sea going career and wait for our letter! Mike joined Booth Line as 3^rd officer and after a couple of trips he gained his 2^nd Mate ticket and was promoted to second officer. About 6 months later whilst I was now looking for a berth, I received a phone call from the Marine Superintendent, who, on Mike’s recommendation, was appointing me as 3^rd officer on Dominic, where Mike was currently serving as second officer. That goes down as the fastest interview I ever had!

What a privileged experience for both of us that turned out to be. We visited places that most people – even today – only ever read about in National Geographic!

Macapa, Salinopolis (pronounced“Salinas”), Belem, Obidos, Itacoatiara, Manaus, Iquitos,

…. Mount Gay….

THE AMAZON RIVER…………….. WHAT AN EXPERIENCE

We even saw the pink dolphins and no that is not as a result of the “Mount Gay!”

SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT MIKE

At the end of that long voyage we returned home in the summer of 1975 when we were both due to start at Byrom Street for tickets in September and Mike and Lynne were to be married in the Christmas break. They did me the honour of asking me to be best man at their marriage. However on 11^th August 1975 prior to college and the forthcoming nuptials it became very apparent that sports cars, Mike and Me just did not go together, when Mike went head first through the windscreen of my MGB when we were involved in a rather nasty smash.

Once we had been patched up at Clatterbridge Lynne came to collect us, back home there was a reading of the riot act when Lynne announced that if those scars ruined her wedding photos then I was for the high jump, or words to that effect!!

Mike passed his 1^st Mate in the spring and returned to sea with United Arab Shipping Company and his career developed. In due course Mike and Lynne were blessed with the arrival of Caraline, their first child. I was honoured to be chosen as her Godfather. Of course I could not mention the birth of Caraline without saying that we wet her head magnificently, in fact, at one stage we probably would have drowned her! As I walked home afterwards I somehow managed to take the knee out of a brand new pair of trousers. Upon reconvening the following day we reconsidered the efforts of the previous evening and decided that on reflection we had better give it another go as Caraline’s head was in fact probably only slightly damp. So a proper job was done and at the end of the evening Mike was so worried about my second new pair of trousers that he loaned me the car to drive home as I wasn’t safe to walk.

It was in the formative years of the breathalyser!

In the natural order of things along came Ross, sadly I was away at sea so Ross did not receive quite the same welcome and Burton’s profits took a dive.

Mike went on to gain his Master Foreign Going certificate and was promoted to Chief Officer. One day he told me he had been offered a position as Pilot in Bahrain and was to start his training in the near future, so off he went; with Lynne and the children to follow on once he was qualified. That duly came and he was at last together full time with his family. That was to prove a bitter sweet time for them as shortly afterwards Lynne’s father Dick passed away and Lynne was unable to return home. By a coincidence Davy Jones a good friend happened to be in Bahrain on a ship so was able to offer a friendly face and words of comfort at that difficult time.

After some time in Bahrain it was time to move on and he accepted an appointment as Pilot in Dar es Salaam. During the time there they made a trip home and came to see us in Boston where I was a Pilot. They brought with them videos of their safari to the Serengeti with close up shots of Lions and Leopards and Elephant and the like. My wife Barbara was enthralled and was able to take them to her school the following day keeping her class transfixed all day.

And so to 1991. Home from globetrotting, finally to live the dream. He was there, he had received his letter!

He was now a Liverpool Pilot.

During his progression to first class pilot his esteem amongst his colleagues and the Masters of the ships he piloted, grew. This led to him being elected a director of Liverpool Pilot Services Limited, a role in which he excelled, discharging his duties as a Pilot and as a representative with great passion. Couple that with the ability to always see the funny side and raise spirits when gloom was all around; I think I can say with certainty that that his colleagues regard Mike as Fine Pilot and as a Top Man. Sadly in 2004 he suffered health problems which led to his untimely retirement. It was not, however, all doom and gloom as in 2006 Ross and Nicki presented Mike and Lynne with their first grandchild, Joshua – Mike loved that little boy so much. In late 2008 came the diagnosis that was to prove to be the beginning of the end, even now there were joyous times. Caraline and Raemonn were married in February 2009 and Mike was able to walk his daughter down the aisle. Shortly afterwards he underwent major surgery going through a torrid time where against the odds he pulled through and for a good part of the rest of last year seemed to be making progress. Unfortunately towards the end of the year he took a turn for the worse and eventually was admitted to St John’s Hospice on 29^th December. On New Year’s Eve I spent 3 hours sitting with Mike and his Mum and Dad at his bedside and we talked a lot about the past, Mike acknowledged things along the way and I like to think that he drew comfort from those words. At this point I need to mention the wonderful act of kindness from Tom Tebay who on New Year’s Day drove through all the ice and snow so that he could meet Ross as he docked in Aberdeen and hopefully get him home in time to say goodbye to his father. Alas it was not to be as Mike turned it in at 2145 on New Year’s Day.

Tom, you are to be applauded for a wonderful gesture.

Finally, on behalf Lynne, Caraline, Ross, Ron and Hilda, thank you all for this magnificent turnout and invite you to join the family at West Kirby Sailing Club for refreshments.

At the end of today I think we then need to give the family space and time to grieve and come to terms in their own way, with this truly tragic loss.

Thank you

Keith Cederholm

George, who died in September 2009 at the age of 97, was the grandson, son, and father of a Liverpool Pilot. Altogether, the family provided a pilot to the port for an unbroken period of nearly 148 years. For a service that has been in existence since 1766, it is quite a remarkable achievement and is a record, one imagines, destined to stay unchallenged.

George joined H.M.S. Conway in 1926 and was selected for the Pilot Service two years later. He did sea time with Lamport & Holt before joining the cutters in 1930, as an apprentice. Three years later, he was awarded the Liverpool Shipwreck and Humane Society’s Silver Medal for bravery. This was for two incidents that took place at the Bar during the previous winter; one for jumping in after a colleague who had fallen overboard and a second for pulling out a trapped apprentice, when the punt had been capsized by a ships belting. George gained his 2^nd Mates Foreign going ticket in 1937, after a second spell deep sea with Henderson’s, and soon after qualified as a 3^rd Class Pilot. In November 1939, in storm conditions, No 1 Pilot cutter grounded on Ainsdale Beach and although 10 were saved, 23 pilots & crew lost their lives. One of those was George’s father, Tom.

Pilots of the war era were remarkable seamen, working in almost impossible conditions during air raids, with little or no lights or communications and having to adapt to the ever increasing convoy system and the huge increase in traffic. Suffice to say that they seldom, if ever, talked about their war, but it is on record that the Liverpool Pilot Service claimed between 200 and 300 lives saved from wrecked and mined ships and many acts of gallantry were performed. In 1953, George was appropriated to Clan Line, a position he held with distinction until retirement in September 1972.  He and his wife Glenda had a wonderfully happy and healthy retirement. Married for over 70 years, he leaves a widow, three children and numerous grand and great grandchildren.

He was a sunny, relaxed colleague, a joy to work alongside and a man who will be sadly missed.

David Hopkinson

Ralph Bird’s coffin being towed through the streets of Truro       Photo: David Barnicoat

Ralph Bird was born of a Cornish family in 1942 in Fish Hoek, Cape Town, South Africa. Following the death of his father he spent his first birthday aboard a ship returning to Britain where he was brought up in Cornwall by his mother and his grandfather.

After attending school and technical college he trained as a shipwright through an apprenticeship with Falmouth Boat Construction. Once he had perfected his skills his interest in the traditional Cornish pilot gigs motivated him into dedicating his life to the restoration and preservation of the craft, many of which were lying rotting and abandoned.

In 1981, Ralph, with a handful of other enthusiasts, borrowed a few historic gigs and set up the Truro Three Rivers Race. Within five years, four pilot gig clubs had been established and this led  to the Cornish Pilot Gig Association being formed in 1988 with Ralph as President.The Association  introduced a standard design for all racing gigs and it was agreed that the Treffry should be the gig used for this standard. Built by William Peters in 1838 and owned by the Newquay gig club, Treffry is still  racing today and is considered to be the finest example of the craft.

Between 1986 and 2007, when he retired due to ill health, Ralph built 29 gigs and on  October 6, 2007, in a remarkable feat of logistics, all of these were brought together on the beach at Newquay for the christening and launch of his last gig which he had built for the Porthgain club in Wales. Porthgain named it Ralph Bird in his honour. Despite suffering from cancer, Ralph took an oar on the the Ralph Bird for a pre retirement row around Newquay harbour and all the crews raised their oars in honour of his achievements.

Sadly, Ralph finally lost his battle against cancer and passed away on the 2nd November 2009.

His coffin, draped in the Cornish flag of St Piran, was towed to Truro cathedral aboard the gig William Peters, which he built for Roseland in 1987, and gig rowers formed a guard of honour on the cathedral steps with raised oars as the coffin was carried in. For the service, the cathedral was packed with nearly one thousand people, many wearing their club’s gig colours providing a final tribute to this remarkable man.

Ralph’s remarkable legacy is that there are now 53 affiliated clubs and 141 registered gigs and with other gig builders working to Ralph’s standard continuing the tradition, the sport continues to grow in popularity. The annual World championships held in the Isles of Scilly have attracted teams from London, the Netherlands, France, USA, Australia and the Faeroe Islands. From the first race in 1981 involving three gigs it is now estimated that more than 7,000 people participate in gig racing at more than 300 regattas around the South West each summer. Thousands more enjoy watching these amazing craft in action.

As pilots we all owe a debt of gratitude to Ralph Bird for recognising the importance of these remarkable craft which has ensured the preservation of this important part of pilotage heritage.

JCB

“We got off in Vancouver then made the short journey across the straits to Victoria, where the SS Fort Camosun was being built. We stayed in a hotel until we joined the ship on a day-to-day basis before taking up permanent residence aboard.  In June 1942, we loaded a full cargo of timber, stacked up on deck as well as in the holds and, after bunkering in New West Minster, started on the long haul home. It had been a tiring period preparing the ship for sea, so I turned in early to be awakened two hours later by a crunching noise and being rolled out of my bunk when the ship took a 20/30 degree list.  Our ship had been torpedoed just eleven hours out on her maiden voyage.
I quickly threw my bridge coat over my pyjamas, donned a pair of shoes and made my way to my lifeboat station. It was 11pm and very dark because all the lights had gone out. When I arrived at my mustering point I was stunned to see what I can only describe as a heap of firewood where my lifeboat should have been. The torpedo had struck in number two hold, on the port side and what I was looking at was the remains of No. 1 lifeboat, which had been blown clear over the ship to land on my lifeboat. That was the cause of the crunching noise I had heard, because it was directly above my cabin.
Initially, I experienced a weird sensation that the crew had abandoned ship, leaving me alone, but gradually the noise of people filtered through, so I made my way to the starboard boat, situated on the bridge structure. The Captain, Chief Engineer and other crew members had assembled there and the decision to abandon ship had already been made because of the damage sustained. The torpedo had hit on the port side, shifted 50,000 cubic feet of timber which caused a split in the hull on the opposite side and also lifted the decks.
The hole made by the strike was some fifty feet diameter and there was the very real danger of the vessel breaking in half.

We all took up positions in the lifeboat and, after being joined by the remaining boat, pulled away into the dark night. The sea was quite calm and although excited, I didn’t feel we were in any real danger.

Then I saw a flash followed by a thud and a shower of sparks from the ship.  The submarine had surfaced and was attempting to sink our ship by firing shells from its deck gun. I saw another flash, followed by a ripping noise through the air, which was the missile passing close. The submarine was obviously trying to find us and I must admit that I was terrified. The Japanese weren’t noted for their leniency to prisoners – if they took them! The shelling stopped but then the sinister noise of his exhaust could be heard as he cruised around, trying to locate us.

It was truly terrifying and I even toyed with the idea of slipping over the side and hanging on to the boat. The reality is that I would not have lasted long because the water is bitterly cold, the result of an Arctic current sweeping south. So we just sat quiet and prayed.  Eventually, the exhaust note faded and we breathed a sigh of relief. We presumed the submarine had abandoned the search, but a few minutes later it returned.  He had gone up the other side of the ship which had blanketed the sound but was now back sweeping the area for survivors. Once again the noise of his engine faded away and after a short time it was agreed that he had left the scene, so we settled down for the night.

When the two lifeboats had joined up, some observant soul pointed out that the two navy gunners were missing. The Captain asked for two volunteers to go back board to investigate. I instantly put up my hand, and the 3rd officer, Mr Coles, said he would accompany me.

We pulled alongside the stricken ship, climbed aboard and began the search. Mr Coles went to the bridge area whilst I went aft to their cabin. To my amazement I found them both asleep. I woke them and explained what had occurred and that we had abandoned ship but I was told, in fluent Navy language, to “go away”. They had slept through the incident because their cabin was directly opposite the steering flat where the steering engine which pulled the rudder over was located. They had become accustomed to the noise and vibration. Once I had convinced them, it was back to the boat and away into the night. There was no point in rowing around so we just drifted. I tried to sleep but the cold and cramped conditions made it near impossible. The next morning we sent out a distress call on a portable radio operated by a hand driven generator.

A few hours later an American Flying Fortress located us, wagged its wings to indicate he had spotted us then dropped a marker flare. We now knew it was only a matter of time before rescue came and sure enough, in the late afternoon, a Canadian Corvette came over the horizon.

During the night, the Captain had valiantly given his uniform jacket to a crew member called McCarthy, a big Liverpool/Irish stoker. When the torpedo struck, he had dashed up from the engine room clad only in a singlet and jeans. Having been torpedoed before he knew the score. After circling the ship and dropping depth charges, the Corvette came to pick us up and who should be first to board her but our friend McCarthy. The officer on duty saluted him and welcomed “the Captain”  aboard and McCarthy played it up to the hilt returning the officer’s salute whilst the Captain sat in the lifeboat trying to attract the attention of the Navy Officer. However, McCarthy backed off when the Officer said he would take him up to the bridge to meet the Commander.

The ship had to be prepared for towing so a volunteer skeleton crew, including myself were put aboard to set up the towing ropes. Once completed we patched up the hole in the hull using a mattress and some timber from the cargo.  No more could be accomplished so we re-boarded the Corvette which took us back to Victoria from whence we had commenced the voyage. The good people of Victoria made a great fuss over us. We were invited to take our pick of clothes from the shops and we were treated to dinner at the Mayor’s residence and even got to sign the visitor’s book in the town hall.

The ship was towed into dry dock in Esquimo where a huge wooden patch was put over the hole made by the torpedo. I was included in the skeleton crew assigned to take her to Seattle for permanent repairs in the naval dockyard there.

The Torpedo damage. Picture. Veterans Affairs Canada: www.acc-vac.gc.ca/remembers/sub.cfm?source=history/secondwar/atlantic/photohis#a03

The repair took almost two months, during which time we lived in a hotel On completion we took her back to Victoria where, once again, a full cargo of timber was loaded. We then set off for home once more via Guantanamo and New York. The passage was made with only two incidents; an attack on the convoy by a submarine in the Atlantic and a strange happening when we were passing through the North Channel, after the convoy had dispersed.  A German aircraft flew over, dropped one bomb which landed well clear of the ship and simply flew off; probably to a base in occupied Norway”.

The following information is from the history link website. Read the full entry here

SS Fort Camosun:

On June 20, 1942, The new coal-burning freighter SS Fort Camosun was on her maiden voyage from Victoria to England with zinc, lead, plywood, and other raw materials.  Just after midnight, in a position approximately 70 miles SW of Cape Flattery, the Japanese submarine I-25, under the command of Commander Meiji Tagami, launched a torpedo which severely damaged the hull after which the submarine surfaced and fired on the vessel with her deck gun causing further damage. The Officers and crew abandoned ship and were rescued later that day by the RCN corvettes Edmunston and Quesnel. Although the 1-25 had reported the Fort Camosun as sunk she actually remained afloat but semi submerged and disabled. The Edmunston, along with three US tugs took her in tow to Neah Bay for temporary repairs after which she was fully repaired at Seattle and returned to serve throughout the rest of the war, surviving another torpedo attack in the gulf of Aden.

The following information is edited from the Wikipedia entry for the I-25. To read the full wikipedia entry click here

Submarine I-25

The submarine I-25 is of interest because it carried a two-seater Yokosuka E14Y reconnaissance floatplane, known to the Allies as “Glen”. Made in specialist kit form it was stowed in the front of the conning tower and was assembled and disassembled by the crew.

www.subart.net/

On the same voyage as the attack on the SS Fort Camosun, the I-25′s “Glen” shelled a small coastal army installation. Damage was minimal and the only item of significance destroyed was a baseball backstop. However, on 9th September, 1942, the crew again deployed the Glen, which dropped incendiary bombs over the Oregon forest. This was the only time that the United States mainland was bombed from the air and the aim of the raid was to trigger wildfires across the coast. However, light winds, wet weather conditions and two quick acting Fire Lookouts kept the fires under control, indeed, had the winds been sufficiently brisk to stoke widespread forest fires, the lightweight Glen would have been unable to fly.

I-25 was subsequently sunk by US destroyer USS Paterson in 1943

Retired Manchester Ship Canal pilot John Law died on 10 April 2009 aged 86.

Born in Manchester, John, and his twin brother Eric, grew up in Ireland. During WW2 they both joined the Merchant Navy. Tragically, Eric was killed when his ship was torpedoed whereas John went on to serve in every major theatre of maritime operations. He survived his ship being torpedoed off the Canadian coast and was ferrying ammunition from Sydney into the Pacific, when the war ended.

After a few more years at sea, John joined the Manchester Ship Canal, quickly working his way up to being a first class pilot. It was a job he loved and one that he did for 35 years before retiring in 1985.

Away from ‘the job’ he built and sailed yachts. The first was a 24 foot Eventide which served as a holiday home for his growing family; a wife and three children.

His second was a 38 foot ferro cement yacht. Its completion was a remarkable accomplishment given that the method of construction was virtually unknown in the UK plus it was completed without the use of power tools. He spent many seasons sailing ‘El Lobo’ to Ireland, Scotland, Scandinavia and the Med.

But sailing was just one facet of an energetic man who was able to do anything he turned his mind to. He played the guitar, painted well, built and operated model aircraft & model train sets and took on construction projects ranging from fireplaces to house extensions.

He continued to sail until his late seventies but mobility problems eventually forced him to sell his beloved yacht. He accompanied his family on trips on the French canals, but it was no substitute for deeper waters.

John passed away peacefully after a short illness. He is sadly missed by his wife Maureen, his children (John, also a MSC pilot, Mitch and Carol) as well as other family and friends.

John law’s first hand account of the sinking of the SS Fort Camosun along with details of the ship and the Japanese submarine that torpedoed it click here.

John Law’s full life story can be read here.

Born in Ulverston, in the Lake district, Douglas McClashan spent a happy childhood enjoying the freedom that living in such an area provided. In 1944 the family moved to Cupar in Fife, but Douglas’ father died suddenly shortly after the move and with his Mother having to find work they moved to Leith and Douglas had to look after his three year old brother, Ken. At 16 he decided on a career in the Merchant Navy and joined Christian Salversen as a deck boy. Whilst serving in this capacity one of the old sailors urged him to study “Do you want to do this for the rest of your life?”. Douglas heeded this call and whilst working his way up through the certificate grades his voyages took him to South Georgia, Antarctica and Canada before returning to the Norwegian coastal trade. In 1958 he obtained his Master’s certificate and shortly afterwards he was promoted to Captain. In 1962 he became authorised as a pilot on the Forth where he served for the next 27 years until forced into early retirement by rheumatoid arthritis.

Douglas married Betty in 1957 and they moved to Silverknowes Brae where they enjoyed a happy family life for the next 52 years, enhanced by the birth of their daughter, Ruth in 1959 and son Andrew in 1965 and later on three grandsons. Despite his illness, Douglas was renowned for his sense of humour and cheerfulness and having turned his skills to cooking he became well known in the local supermarkets, spending time choosing ingredients for meals for family and friends which became legendary. In the latter years of his retirement Douglas’ health deteriorated further and in 2006 he was diagnosed with terminal cancer and in 2008 he became blind. Despite all the suffering Douglas never lost his sense of humour and fun and during his many stays in hospital he was a very popular patient with the doctors and nurses. He passed away peacefully on the 10th July and will be much missed by his friends and colleagues but especially by Betty, Ruth and Andrew and his three grandsons: Rory, Lewis  and Neil.

Submitted by Malcolm Rose ( Retired Pilot: Forth)

After several months of illness senior retired Liverpool pilot Bill Wilcox died on July 15^th 2009 at the grand age of 98.

Following his time onboard the training ship HMS ‘Conway’ moored in the River Mersey, and time at sea as a Cadet, Bill joined the Liverpool Pilotage Service around 1929.   As was commonly the case in those days, Bill was following in the family footsteps of his father and his uncle who were both serving Liverpool pilots at the time. After the usual lengthy apprenticeship he was licensed as a Third class Liverpool pilot in 1936 soon after his twenty-fifth birthday.

in 1940, as was normal practice, he was licensed as a First class pilot, and continued to serve as a pilot throughout all of those difficult and dangerous years of the Second World War.

Sadly, Bill’s younger brother Norman, who had also followed in the family pilotage tradition, was lost with the submarine ‘Thetis’ during her sea trials in Liverpool Bay in 1939 only a year after being licensed as a Liverpool pilot.

Later Bill was appointed appropriated pilot to the United Africa and Palm Line where he served for many years until his retirement at the age of sixty-five, in 1976.

His colleagues invariably found him to be a most amiable and jolly character to be in company with, but he was also very well respected by them as a skilled and conscientious pilot.

In retirement Bill enjoyed his family life to the full with his second wife Meron, having lost his first wife some years previously. He thoroughly enjoyed those many years in retirement being a very active person as his sons and daughters from both marriages grew up and had families of their own. He also delighted in the company of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren and will be greatly missed by all his family. He will be long remembered with considerable affection by those retired Liverpool colleagues who worked with him all those years ago.

Geoff Topp

Chairman

Liverpool Pilots’ Association (Retired Division)

John Frankish, retired Trinity House Cinque Ports Pilot, died on the 19th May 2009 at the age of 87.
Born on the 22nd March 1922, John and his twin brother Michael were educated at the King George VI School, Bury St. Edmunds. In 1938 at the age of 16, John joined HMS Conway, leaving in 1940 to serve in the Royal Mail Line.

On the 1st July 1942 Convoy OS.33 departed Liverpool. John was a Cadet on the SS Siris, which on the 11th July wasdispersed from the convoy with 6 other vessels to proceed to South America. At 0413 on the 12th July a torpedo from U-201 struck the SS Siris amidships and she began to sink. The crew, 55 people in all, took to 2 lifeboats: 6 Officers, including John, and 22 men in one lifeboat sailed for 10 days and 800 miles towards the African coast. 150 miles from the coast they were rescued by the Royal Navy, whilst the other lifeboat reached the Cape Verde Islands in 16 days.

In 1944 John was Chief Officer of the Empire Bittern which was scuttled at Arromanches as part of the Mulberry Harbour and went on to survive the war. John’s twin Michael was not so lucky, an RAF Pilot, he lost his life in 1941.

In 1952 John became a Cinque Ports Pilot serving 35 years until retirement in 1987. An unflappable character, a quiet man with a devastating sense of humour, John calmly piloted every type of vessel from Schuyts to VLCCs.

John married Jo in 1955 and filled the role of family man equally as well as that of a Pilot. He and Jo had three children, Hilary, Gillian and Michael travelling far and wide in their caravan between sailing their boat at Broadstairs and John playing golf at the North Foreland Club. Hilary was an asthmatic and sadly died at the age of 16. Gillian married Simon and they live and work in Marseilles with grand-daughter Sarah. Michael, an avid sailor, lives in the Medway Towns.

In latter years John had arthritis. Although disabled they led a full social life. John fmally died quietly at home, a fme seafarer, a lovely man, he is sadly missed by his family and friends.

John Godden

PS: Further details on the sinking of SS Siris, the survival story and the history of the U- 201 can be found at the following link: www.convoyweb.org.uk/os33/index.html?siris.htm~mainframe33

JCB