George Richard Cockram

March 9th, 2010 by JCB
Posted in Obituaries | 1 Comment »

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