Court Line - the company and its ships

Dallington Court Voyages (1)

 

Stan Mayes has provided accounts of three voyages on Dallington Court shortly after the end of WW2.

 

“I made three voyages in this tramp; voyages 1 and 2 with Captain Kilgour and Voyage 3 with Captain Llew.Thomas. Total time 29th Dec.1945 to 11th Nov.1946.”

 

This page is about Stan’s first voyage in Dallington Court.

Image 1

Image 1 was taken in January 1946 looking forward from the bridge front.

 

“The bows contained the accommodation for the seamen and the H shaped chimneys were for the smoke extraction from the crew's coal fired bogeys. This photo shows the entrance to the crew accomodation. The port holes are messroom and bathroom. Fresh water was drawn from a tap in galvanised buckets - the tap was outside the galley amidships. In warm weather we bathed naked outside the galley using the buckets, but in cold weather we carried the buckets to a small washroom for'ard. Outside toilets are under the ladders. The hawsepipes were in the alleyway outside our cabin doors. Somali firemen/greasers had accomodation in the poop. Note no hatchtop locking bars and no ventilators on the masthouses. Degaussing gear is seen in the scuppers and it continued into our cabins.”

“I signed on as AB and joined the ship on Bevans Wharf Northfleet where she was loading cement for West African ports on Elder Dempster Line charter. Completing the loading of 4,000 tons we then moved upriver to KGV Dock London to load general cargo and vehicles. We sailed from London on 7th Jan 1946.

My first voyage was from 29th Dec.1945 to 25th March 1946 and the discharging ports were Bathurst - Freetown and here we embarked 40 Kroo boys, African stevedores who remain with the ship to work cargo in ports we visited along the coast. They were in the charge of a Headman and had their own cook and supplied their own food. At end of a days work they rigged a large tent across a hatchtop for sleeping under. They were very competent and skilful workers.

 

From Freetown to Takoradi - then on to Lagos and Apapa for discharging and on completion the holds were cleaned by the Kroo boys and we sailed for the creek port of Sapele about 100 miles inland. A Nigerian pilot took us up the river and it was quite an experience. With so many sharp bends we bounced off trees and banks to bring the ships head around onto course. Arriving across the river from Sapele we moored to huge trees and it was very uncomfortable with swarms of mosquitoes and other nasties. Using the ships derricks we loaded mahogany logs which had been floated down the river. We were pleased when we sailed from that swampy jungle area.”

 

“The seamens accomodation was for'ard. Six ABs in a cabin port bow and four OSs in a cabin starboard bow. Coal fired Bogey stoves provided heating in the cabins with chimneys up to the fo'c'sle head. Somali firemen/greasers were accomodated in the poop. Although it was six months since the war ended the ship was still painted grey overall except the funnel - Court Line, Buff with black top. The rafts were still installed on deck and the wartime protection was still around the bridge.”

Image 2

Image 2 was taken on 7 February 1946.

 

“Mahogany logs are waiting alongside for loading aboard Dallington Court, Sapele, Nigeria . Each log was lashed to a pair of more buoyant logs to make a raft and prevent loss of the valuable timber.

Rafts with men living on them drift downriver for weeks before reaching Sapele.”

Image 3

Image 3 was taken on 7 February 1946. A mahogany log is coming aboard Dallington Court while tied up at Sapele, Nigeria. This view also shows the wartime bridge protection still in place 9 months after the cessation of hostilities.

Image 4

Image 4 was taken on 7 February 1946 and shows another view of logs being loaded at Sapele.

“We then loaded palm kernels, groundnuts and rubber at Warri and Port Harcourt; then to Lagos to load logs as deck cargo. A call into Freetown to pay off the Kroo boys and we then proceeded to our next port Hull.

 

Becoming short of coal bunkers in the Bay we burned old hatchboards and dunnage and made Plymouth where we bunkered. At Hull we discharged groundnuts and palm kernels and then to Victoria Dock London for final discharge of cargo and pay off.”

Image 5

Image 5 was taken on 13 January 1946 while the ship was off Dakar. It is looking aft from the forecastle at the bridge shuttering installed to protect the bridge and occupants from enemy action during the WW2. Also visible are the two fore deck life rafts in their wartime stowed positions.

Image 6

Image 6 was taken on 8 February 1946 and shows the proximity of the ship to the surrounding jungle.

 

“It was an uncomfortable time as the seamen's accommodation was in an open fo'c'sle; we were moored to trees.

Note the Kroo boys drawing fresh water from a tap outside the galley. We had 40 Kroo boys from Freetown. Note also the pudding boom above their heads. This boom was used during the war when the lifeboats were always swung out. The padded boom lashed horizontally to the davits prevented the boats from being damaged when the ship was rolling.

In all these photos, awning spars are seen but no awnings set up. There were none on the ship and as we lived in the bows it was unbearable at times in the cabins. We kept cool by swimming in the swampy river.”

Image 7

Image 7 was taken on 10 February 1946 and shows Sapele market with local children and Dallington Court's Chief Steward, Chief Cook and Stan Mayes.

 

The children on the right appear to be suffering from a protein deficiency disease know as Kwarshiorkor.

Image 8

Image 8 was taken on 10 February 1946 and shows Sapele market with local children and Dallington Court's Chief Steward, Chief Cook and Stan Mayes. They appear to have brought all kinds of objects with a view to selling them to the crew.

Image 9

Image 9 was taken around 10 February 1946 and shows some of the crew apparently about to go for a swim to cool down.

 

“Sapele is a creek port about 100 miles inland, fresh water always on the ebb. The logs are lashed together to form large rafts and take weeks to drift downriver with the ebb tide. Men live on them during this period. I don't know if we were advised not to swim in that swampy river but I do remember there were many kinds of nasties in the water.”

Image 10

Image 10 was taken January 1946 off Dakar. It provides a clear view of one of the fore-deck liferafts.

Images

 

All images on this page by permission of Stan Mayes.