WHEN SHIPS CARRIED CATTLE

“A first class cattle and cargo steamer with all the most modern improvement for the Atlantic trade''

was how the Manchester Guardian of September 26, 1899, described the s.s. Manchester Corporation built for Manchester Liners by Messrs Furness Withy & Co. of West Hartlepool.

The four masted vessel was 445 feet long, carried 756 head of cattle and was "rigged fore and aft with telescopic topmasts and funnel to suit the Manchester Canal bridges.'' On her trial trip the owners were represented by Mr. F. B. Stoker, grandfather of our present chairman, and Mr. Greenip; the shipbuilders by Mr H. Withy and Mr. G. W. Sivewnght and the engine builders by Mr. T. Westgarth, all well known present day shipping names.

During the South African War the vessel was used as a troopship carrying 500 troops and 400 horses without loss but at the end of World War One the Manchester Exchange carrying 220 cavalry horses struck a heavy gale during which 78 animals were lost overboard or had to be destroyed.

Source: Manchester Liners News

HISTORICAL LETTER

– written by William Stein Second Cook S.S. Manchester Exchange 1917

This is a copy of the original article by Antony Steven that was published in the Manchester Genealogist Magazine. It is reproduced here with his kind permission.

Amongst material relating to my grandfather's service in the Merchant Navy I found a letter he had sent to my grandmother in 1917 whilst he was in Canada. I am sure that he wrote many more and she wrote many to him but this is the only survivor. My grandfather was not an educated man but the letter gives a brief glimpse into his impressions and feelings at this time in his life.

William Alfred Stein was born on the 28h October 1895 at 128 Tippng Street, Ardwick, Manchester to Johann Stein and Sarah Arm Martha (nrr Preston) and was the youngest of five children of which only three reached adulthood. Johann had been born in Koblenz, Germany in 1862, and in 1885 when he was to be conscripted into the Prussian army he ran away, or so the tale goes, and came to England working as a cook in the Victoria Hotel, Bradford where he met Sarah. Within a few months Sarah was pregnant and in January 1886 they married in the German Church in Bradford. The family later moved to Scarborough where Johann worked at the Grand Hotel before moving to Manchester and finding work as a chef in a restaurant. Sarah died in 1902 leaving Johann with three sons aged 12, 11 and 7 to bring up. He was fortunate that for some years his sister-in-law had lived with them and took over the responsibility of the boys.

On the 5th August 1914 William was embodied into the 7th Battalion of the Manchester Regiment and, although he never spoke of it, he was discharged because his father was German. In 1915, after the sinking of the Lusitania, Johann was interned as an enemy alien in spite of the fact that he had lived and worked in England for thirty years. At the same time as their father was interned, his three sons were 'doing their bit for England'. The eldest, John Henry (Jack), was in the Merchant Navy and my grandfather William joined him in March 1916. The middle brother, George Arthur, was serving in the Labour Corps and was gassed, I believe on the Somme.

Most of William's service was with the Manchester Liners sailing to Canada and the USA, and his letter to Christina is written from Canada during a voyage that started with his engagement in Manchester on 23 May 1917 as second cook and finished with his discharge in Manchester 25 July 1917. The Manchester Miller referred to in his letter and on which he had previously sailed was sunk by U66 on 5 June 1917. He had also served on the Manchester Citizen which was sunk by U70 on 26 April 1917.

He again sailed to the USA on 17 August 1917 returning on 23 October, and on 29 October, he and Christina were married at the Register Office, Chorlton-on-Medlock. On 15 April 1918 they married again at St. James Church, Princess Road, Moss Side. No reason has been discovered for this second marriage and it was on this date they always celebrated their wedding anniversary. In 1919 William changed his surname by deed poll from Stein to his mother's maiden name of Preston due to the animosity to anyone with a German name following World War 1.

S/S Manchester Exchange
St. Johns NB.
Canada
June 9 1917

Dear Chris,
I have arrived here safely after a not very exciting voyage. We have had all kinds of weather through rain, cold, heat, fog and wind and at present it is raining here. I have not been ashore yet although Jack was ashore on his own last night for an hour or two. We leave here tomorrow morning for Philadelphia so will write a letter from there letting you know when I expect to be home again. I have not received the letter that you promised to send but perhaps it is the fault of the mails Chris. There are plenty of girls here I believe but I would rather be in England taking you for a walk round Princess Rd fields wouldn’t you Kid. You would laugh if you were to see this place. It is just like a wildwest mining town all the shanties are built of wood and there isn’t a decent paved street in the whole gordarnd town. Dear Chris I read in the paper this morning that my old ship the Manchester Miller has been torpedoed and two Americans killed by the explosion. I hope we get through home safely dear or I shant be able to take you to the Royal any more. Remember me to your Father & Mother. I don’t think there is any more to tell you so will close with

Lots of love
From Yours
Will

Sources: family papers Birth, marriage and death certificates, Embodiment papers, Deed Poll, Continuous Certificate of Discharge, Manchester Liners a Pictorial History by Ted Gray.

T. S. MANCHESTER SHIPPER

During the early years of the Second World War an order was placed with the Blythswood Shipbuilding Company at Glasgow for a repeat vessel similar to those built before the War for Manchester Liners. As was required by wartime regulations the order we notified to the Ministry of War Transport, and they instructed that, as an emergency measure the vessel be built to carry 72 passengers instead of the usual 12.

Thus began the career of the only “passenger liner'' built for the Company and the Manchester Shipper (second of that name) was delivered to the Company in mid 1943, Capt. F. D. Struss being the first Master.

The vessel was 444 feel long and 58 feet beam and her steam turbines gave her a speed of 14 knots. The extra passenger accommodation was built in the Shelter Decks and was reckoned to be of a high standard for its type. She carried a crew of 76 (including a doctor). Apart from one voyage to the Middle East she spent all the War on the Atlantic, and was very quickly returned to the Company's services at the end of the War.

The additional passenger accommodation was removed and the Shipper settled down to become a very valuable member of the Fleet. As befitted her place in such a “go-ahead'' Company as M.L., she became one of the first merchant vessels to be fitted with Radar in 1946 and in 1948 (the golden jubilee of the Company) Capt. J. Barclay used the radar to good effect to beat rivals into Montreal and win the traditional gold headed cane for the first vessel to dock after the winter dose down.

By the late l950's the vessel's boilers were showing the strain and a decision was taken to reboiler her. True to M.L. form this was done in a novel manner. In 1958 after loading the new boilers into her holds at Manchester the Shipper sailed to Cardiff where she was dry-docked, part of the vessel's shell plating and frames removed, the old boilers removed sideways through the holes, the new boilers inserted the same way and the sides closed up again.

Once again she took her full part in be Company's operations and after the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway she became a regular visitor to the Great Lakes ports in the summer months. In 1966 a decision had to be taken on the fate of the "old lady''. The oldest vessel in fleet, nearly 23 years old, due for a special survey and surrounded by her smart new sisters, the future seemed bleak, but it was decided to put her through the survey, refit her heavy lift derrick and use her on the so-called “C” service to Chicago, this being the pilot scheme to try out containers.

Finally, however, In 1969 the end had to come and Capt. F. Lewis took the Shipper out of Gladstone Dock on 30th June on her last voyage to Trieste where she was handed over to the breakers. So, after 26 years service, 160 round voyages and approximately one and a half million nautical miles to her credit, the “old lady” passed out of our lives.

DEREK PORTER

The following item has been put forward by Peter Cullen. It gives an interesting insight into the life of Capt James Barclay, and into one particular voyage on the square rigger "Cambrian Princess".

LOG OF A FIRST VOYAGE
by A WELL KNOWN LINERS MASTER

Dear Mrs. Taylor,

One of our Masters to hold a Square Rigged Ticket was the late Captain James Barclay, who on the 19th April 1948, commanded the "Manchester Shipper" which was the first vessel into the port of Montreal.
Captain Barclay first went to sea at the age of fourteen in 1906, when he served in the square rigged ship, "Cambrian Princess".

Many of our readers will remember Captain Jim, and recently we discovered a brief account of his second voyage in the same ship in 1907, which I thought some of our readers may find of interest.

Yours sincerely,

Captain. P.D. Cullen.

Sailing Vessel "CAMBRIAN PRINCESS"
Voyage from Cardiff to South America
25/7/07 – 30/8/08
voyage Notes by Apprentice James Barclay.

Voyage 177 ended at Split

ON A BLEAK cheerless morning in early January the Manchester Progress sailedquietly out of her home port for the last time. Voyage 177, starting as so many before, would end when she beached at Spllt, Yugoslavia, as so much scrap metal.
Scrap she was to become, but her final voyage proved she was still very much ship to the end. After her useful, and at times exciting, career she possibly felt she deserved her retirement. Her farewell performance was admirable.
She made the canal passage in record time, negotiated the Bay of Biscay uneventfully and, as we basked in the warm sunshine of the North African coast, January in Halifax, N.S. and St. John, N.B., seemed far away places indeed.
When you are used to plying the North Atlantic, the Mediterranean gives you a feeling of Manchester's Deansgate in rush hour. Gone were the long watches with nothing sighted; here vessels of all descriptions were with us day and night.
The sandy coastline of North Africa gave way to the rocky, wooded shores of the Adriatic, and on the morning of 15th January, we entered Split harbour in weather conditions which put Manchesters' reputation to shame. As we berthed in wind and torrential rain the American vessel Tyson Lykes passed to berth ahead of us and as she did so, we were hailed with shouts of "just like number Nine Dock", which caused great amusement.
Medical and Customs' formalities were quickly dealt with and money and shore leave arranged. For the next thirty-six hours we lived on board until shifting to the breaking-up berth early on the Monday morning.
At precisely 0930 hours 17th January, 1966 I rang of the engines for the last time and 1100 hours saw the Manchester Progress formally delivered. Finally parting company with a ship is not the happiest of occasions.
An hour later found Officers and crew comfortably housed in the Hotel Marjan, a tall modern building overlooking the old harbour and town of Split, where, under the unusual role of tourists, we spent the remainder of the day exploring.
During the voyage, which was singularly full of interest, there was much speculation about means of transport to be provided for the flight home. Suggestions ranged from Boeing 707's to D.C.3's, all of which proved to be wrong. At a very early hour next morning, fortified by a continental breakfast (not to the delight of all), we left by coach for Dubrovnik. The route was along a precarious mountainous coastal road, occasionally treacherous and, once, non-existent owing to landslides following the heavy rain. We finally made the Airport and boarded an Airspeed Ambassador which brought us via Amsterdam to Manchester.
After a very interesting voyage, the flight home proved a pleasant conclusion.

Capt. N. W. Cockshoot.

EARNINGS

Peter Cullen submitted this gem. It highlights how conditions have changed since 1933 !

We have received from Commodore G.R.Thompson, a 38 year old wage docket he received as a Liner's apprentice in 1933. It reads as follows :-

Extract from M.L. NEWS Vol 12 No 1 March 1972 - and they talk about the good old days!

the gold-headed cane

The following information is from a book called The Gold-Headed Cane, published by the Port of Montréal Authority, who kindly gave us copyright permission to use it on the website. I am sending photo copies of the basic information about the award, and will type in the information on the award to Manchester Liners, because of the size of the file my scanner produces.

David S Lever

	© Port of Montréal Authority - copied by kind permission.
	© Port of Montréal Authority - copied by kind permission.
	© Port of Montréal Authority - copied by kind permission.

CAPTAIN BILL MOORE APPRENTICE'S INDENTURE & Certificates

Pay Rise 1960

How incomes have changed. I was Second Mate when we got married in 1966 and my wife used to take £5 per week for housekeeping, this included her buying two joints of meat each week.

Derrick Howarth

PORT OF MANCHESTER DOCK PASS

	Kindly sent into us by Adrian Goode

CERTIFICATE OF DISCHARGE - S.S. "MANCHESTER IMPORTER" 1907

Thought you might be interested in this discharge certificate for inclusion in your website.
This gentleman is my wifes grandfather.

William Bullar

The certificate is for Mr Hamilton Blakely Mc Kinley born, in Dumbarton 1876, who joined the ship as a Cattleman in Montréal on 23/8/1907 and was discharged in Manchester on 6/9/1907.

Many thanks to Mr Bullar for sending a copy of this certificate into us.

	Certificate of Discharge from S.S. Manchester Importer 1907 kindly sent in by William Bullar