Class of 59

Photo taken in 1960

Top Row John Berry, Tony(Harry) Cooper, Scotty

Bottom row John Price, Graham White, Chris Ryder

others not shown and can be remembered

Stan Wright(Butch) Trevor Yeadon, John?(Sinbad)

Mick Wood, David Legge, (Chunkie)?,Ken Rennison

Mick Marsnick, Brian Brewitson, Sen, Ralph Hurrell

Colin?, John Jolly, Paul Geeson, Michael Mann

John Everington, Dave Herd, Chris Rixon, Doug Cordingly,

Johnnie Evans, Tiny?, Charles Bradford

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tony,s (Site Author) Ships (SS Maturata)(MV Haparangi)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John Berry, Stan (Butch) Wright, Mick Wood, Flag day 1960

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Above Photo From Michael Collinson but not sure who is who (anybody know)see below

From Neville Edwards

From Left (Dave Gunn)(Michael Collinson)(dont know)(Roger Cliff)

 

John Trotter (Brisbane Australia)

 I commenced at NESWT in September 1964 after leaving school in

Middlesbrough at the age of 16. At the time the school was owned and

operated by Lt Cmdr Clegg (RN Rtd) and his wife. The lecturers were Mr

McLean (Mac) and Mr John Palethorpe.

 

Mr Palethorpe, who was only about 21, had just started at the school

after serving a couple of years with New Zealand Shipping Company. When

a former ship of his, the NZSC Cadet Ship, Otaio, berthed in Hull he

arranged a bus trip for us all to go and visit. Years later, I found out

that everything Mr Palethorpe told us about Fiji was true.

 

My classmates were: Chris Hill, Graham Turner, David Wilkinson, James

O'Hare, Peter Fox, Stuart Murdoch (?)- from Leith, not sure about surname.

 

Also at the school, but ahead of me, were David Butler, Neville

Edwards,Ian Alexander(Gus), Mervyn Foster (Doc), Ian Metcalfe, Mitch

Pass, "Dicky" Bird, Roger Cliff, "Fred" the Sikh from Kenya, Jan van

Aalst, who's family were in the Diplomatic Corps in Teheran, an ex

Rhodesian Policeman, an ex Hull trawler deckhand, and a lot more who's names I forget.

 

Fred the Sikh, could read palms and told me I would live a long life and

die at about age 40! That worried me for a long time, but at 57 I think

I've beaten the jynx. He also taught me to swear in "Kitchen Swahili".

Roger Cliff taught me how to smuggle cigarettes from the Dutch coasters

in the harbour but I never had the nerve to do it.

 

In about April 1965, the school closed for financial reasons and we all

went to various other schools around the country.David Butler (Scottie)

and I went to Bristol Technical College,

where I eventually failed and left. Unfortunately, I believe that David

ultimately failed too.

 

Eventually, I returned to studies at Grimsby College of Technology

obtained 2nd Class PMG Certificate. I went to sea, initially on Grimsby

trawlers, then with Marconi, Oldendorff and a few other freelance jobs,

Scottish Ship Management and London & Overseas Freighters. In 1980 I immigrated to

Australia and spent 12 years on Australian coastal and overseas shipping in the employ of

Amalgamated Wireless (Australasia).

I am now a Prison Officer in Queensland.In 1971 I obtained one of the last 1st Class certificates to be issued. Studied and sat the first part at Hull,returned to sea then the second part at Grimsby.
Later I obtained the Radar Maintenance Cert at Hull and the

General Cert. at Riversdale, Liverpool.A claim to fame is that in 1968 I did a pierhead jump in Bridlington when I joined the Grimsby trawler Ross Kelvin. She was on charter to the White Fish Authority,

testing some new kind of fishing gear. Am I the only ex NESWT student to join a ship in Brid?Classmates that I have heard of since leaving Bridlington:

 

Chris Hill went to Grimsby Tech, obtained a ticket and worked for BP

Tankers until the late '70s. He is now an environmental officer with the

RAF in Lincolnshire.

 

Graham Turner went to Grimsby Tech, obtained a ticket and worked for

NZSC until going ashore in New Zealand and working in Coast Stations. He

is still engaged in that occupation and lives in Wellington.

 

Dave Wilkinson went to Hull Tech, obtained a ticket and worked for

Reardon Smith Shipping. I met him in Hull in 1971 when we were doing the

Radar ticket and he was working for an Israeli company called Haverton

Shipping. Last heard of living in Scarborough.

 

Ian Alexander went to Brookes Bar, Manchester, obtained a ticket and

worked for BP Tankers until the late '70s. He then joined LOF and I met

him when I relieved him on 'Overseas Argonaut' in Beaumont Texas in

1979. Sadly, Ian collapsed and died in about 2000 when en route to join a ship.

 

Neville Edwards was at sea then worked for many years at Portishead

Radio. He is now retired.

 

'Doc' Foster went to Plymouth Tech and eventually joined the army and

had a varied career, including time in the SAS. He now runs his own

business as a 'Stress Relief' practitioner in Cambridge.I became re-acquainted with Neville and Doc through Friends Reunited.

 

Roger Cliffe received a mention in the Marconi company magazine

"Mariner" when he was the RO on Shaw Saville's 'Gothic' and she had a

major fire. He maintained communications using the Lifeboat radio until

the ship reached New Zealand.

 

I saw John Walton’s name in another part of the site.

I didn’t know John at Brid but met him in Australia when he was working on Aussie ships.

He eventually returned to the coast stations and worked at Brisbane Radio for a long time.

I believe he eventually moved back to Sydney.
*************************

 

 

John Lindley

I joined in 1961 and I can just remember you and  was in the same dormitory for a short while as Stan "Butch" Wright, if I remember,  I he was a good footballer.

 

I only stayed in the MN for just over a year with P. and O. Orient Lines on board the m/v Soudan, I left and became a land lover taking an electronic engineering path, eventually ending up in the Water industry as a telemetry engineer.  Now retired.  Johns Pictures Below

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Copy of an Email From Neville Edwards

 

for reasons best known to the brain I was trawling around the web looking for anything related to NESWT. I did know of the web site but I had not looked at it for many months/years.

 

I used to correspond with Brian Priestley on a very regular basis and

 although we never met face to face became good friend. A sad loss.

He and his sister spent a holiday at our apartment in

Spain some years back after the death of his wife.

 

Just to add some names to a photo - the one from Michael Collinson.

The chap on the far left is David Gunn, Michael Collinson, I for the life of me

  cannot remember his name of the next chap

although he was in my year, and the last but not least Roger Cliff.

 

In John Trotters letter he mentioned an ex deck hand I think he may well be referring to one Peter Oates.

The only fellow I ever met who could roll a ciggy

with one had as thin as a match and then do some fancy work with his Zippo lighter to ignite said rolly.

The Rhodesian's first name I am sure was Vernon

but his surname escapes me. The most bigoted anti coloured person to ever draw breath.

 

As John said I spent many years - 28  years with the Post Office/BT mainly at GKA but spells at GIL/2years and other times at GLD, GND,GKZ.

 

Seatime was with Marconi, a short diversion with NJ Goulandris, and Blue Funnel.

 

We had quite a few ex NESWT men at GKA - Paul Tatum, Gill Elkes, Dick Edmundson, G.J. Davies, Alan Padgett, Little John Davis

and maybe some others I have missed.

Oh! of course I did know Jon Walton quite well at GKA. I have been meaning to drop him and email but he will probably have forgotten me by now. Knew

him when he was married to his Swedish/Norwegian wife,

also QSO'd with him many times when he was on the Mobil Flinders..

 

I now spend a very happy retirement travelling and living part time in Spain.

 

I am also a Moderator on the Ships Nostalgia web site.

 

 ***************

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Left - Right  not known - not known - Dicky Bird - Taffy Jones (Owner of the Austin A90) - Tony Cooper (at this time instructor)

Picture by Neville Edwards 1964

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Left to Right  Doc Foster - Neville Edwards (with Ginny?) - unknown - unknown

Picture by Neville Edwards

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Left to Right standing - Dick Bird - Neville E. - Taffy Jones - Marcus VG Kelly

Sitting - Scotty and Doc Foster

 

    *******************

 

ROSS BRADSHAW

I left boarding school a couple of days before my sixteenth birthday in July of 1962. I had wanted to join the Royal Navy but it was decided for me that I would go to sea as an Officer in the Merchant Navy. The pay was better ! So, each day for eighteen months, I travelled from Scarborough to the radio school in Bridlington by train, and returned by bus in the evening. That school was the now vanished North Eastern School of Wireless Telegraphy where I stuck it out for as long as I could. But seeing that there was no hope of my passing my examinations, I left the school in early 1964 and joined the Army. I spent three years in the Royal Corps of Signals, serving in Germany for two of those three years with 225 Signal Squadron, on top of a hill called Scharfoldendorf.

 

 

The book is called CQ GTZM, Diary of a Maritime Radio Officer by Ross Bradshaw and can be obtained from Practical Wireless Magazine. Cost £16 95 I believe.

 

I do not have any photos just memories.

 

There were no text books so you wrote down the lecture, your notes were all you had. As for the instructor Mac, I remember the day he stated “you will NEVER get transistors at sea, they can not take the heat, humidity or vibration, you will ALWAYS have valves”

 

I left NESWT in February 1964, I had not put the work in and seeing that I would fail, cut my losses and joined the Army. After 3 years, various jobs, trained as a watch and clock repairer at one stage, worked repairing clocks in Leeds. Then in January 1971 joined School of Marine Radio and Radar at Brunel Tech , Ashley Down Road, Bristol. Here I took my MRGC (Maritime Radio communications General Certificate) and my Radar Ticket. Then with Marconi 1973 to 1979 when I went ashore and joined the Diplomatic Wireless Service.

 

And while training we had the all solid state Marconi Apollo receiver , The Marconi Commander Tx which was solid state up to the PA where it used valves. And all only seven years after that statement of Mac !  By the time I left the sea, IC chips had arrived. Progress.

 

I am a Radio Amateur G4DTD, details on www.qrz.com  My gear here is a Yaesu FT 101 ZD which is solid state up to the driver and PA where valves are used, and an old rig which is all valve rx and all valve Tx.

 

**********************************

 

 DAVID GAMMON

 

An excerpt from an email received 9/9/2017

 

I was at the NES of WT until it closed in 1964 approx  Merven Foster (Doc) was a friend of mine as we both lived in Ilfracombe Devon. We both went on to Plymouth Tech College .I can't remember any names except obviously Doc and Taffy Jones and there was a Dutch student called Van Allst . Other things I can remember there was a girl called Patsy who used to work in the kitchen with her Mum . I remember Mac our main instructor and another instructor called Ralph he was a RO on fishing trawlers out of Hull.Just for your interest I joined the RNLI as crew full time on a 70' lifeboat patrolling the Bristol Channel for 2 years that was 1969 -1971 then went as crew on a Coaster from 1972 -1977 sailing to Lundy with passengers and cargo. Spent 40 years in the Coastguard Service. Now retired and volunteering at Lifeboat house in Ilfracombe. Will return to Bridlington next year when new lifeboat house is open and I hope New Premier Inn.

Photo's received from David if anyone can put names to faces let me know.