Ships, Radio Rooms and Radio Officers

Rhexenor/GKPQ in what looks like a Skyfotos shot outward bound in The channel.

Radio Room of Adrastus/GQZN, Alfred Holt & Co. Built 1953 7859GT. Lead ship of A4 Class. 15.5 knots sold 1981 for scrap. R/O was John Garner.

John Garner aboard MV Radnorshire. Photo supplied by John Garner.

Radio room of MV Radnorshire /GMRS. Built 1948 7362GT 15.5 knots. sold 1979 for scrap. She was 6th "A" class to be built as "Achilles" transferred to Glen/Shire 1949. Photo supplied by John Garner.

John Paskett just about to swallow the anchor. Taken on board Radnorshire/GMRS.

Silverash/GMST in Singapore 1954. R/O was John Paskett.

Lombardy/GDZQ in what appears to be a Skyfotos shot in The Channel. R/O was John Paskett.

Royal Mail's Drina with the wholly appropriate call sign of MAIL. R/O was John Paskett.

Radio Room: mv Longstone/GHHU. R/O was Colman Shaughnessy.

ROA stalwart Colman Shaughnessy on board City of Auckland/GWDN

mv Longstone/GHHU. R/O was Colman Shaughnessy

In Colman Shaughnessy's words:- "On a cold December –Sunday afternoon at Glasgow in 1973, I was the one to raise the fire alarm – as I returned from the telephone kiosk on the docks, from a snowy/icy quay, I was met with heavy smoke through the lower deck from the engine room and hit the alarm button on the bridge. The ship was towed down river for repairs for fire damage. I left for home two days later. It was so strange to be on a ship, in dock with no power, cold and smell of burning etc."

Radio Room: Jardine Matheson's mv Collin/GOMF. A slightly blurred Colman Shaughnessy is the R/O.

Not a sight all of us saw. Colman Shaughnessy's first iceberg taken in 1972 some 200 miles south of Greenland whilst on a great circle from The Elbe to the St Lawrence.. Vessel was mv Collin/GOMF. Those of us that suffered the North Atlantic will probably have seen icebergs which are, of course, particularly poignant in the 100th anniversary year of the loss of Titanic.

Dave Ellis on his wedding day

Mr & Mrs Ellis on their daughter's wedding day. This proves that Dave can still fit in his uniform and how many of us can say that?

Radio Room: CaltexCanberra/GQDL. An unrecognisable ROA archivist Willie Williamson at the key in 1967.

Caltex Canberra/GQDL

Willie Williamson on Swansea tramp Uskmouth/GUGF in 1961.

In a futile attempt to convince us he can still get in his uniform here is Willie in a clearly Photoshop doctored image that fools no one. In Willie's own words he looks more like a U Boat Captain.

Radio Room: Wartime standard vessel Gatineau Park. R/O Art Sim steadies himself against the roll in February 1943. Photo credit: N Morant, National Film Board of Canada.

Marconi 730 TRF receiver

Radio Room: Bibby Line Derbyshire/GYMX

Radio Room: Oriana/GVSN. Well, part Radio Room really. This was one of two W/T operating stations and shows newly minted 8th R/O Laurie Tetley and Acting Chief R/O David Dowie in an obviously posed photo because who ever saw a Chief R/O do any work. In addition to this there were 4 other sections: The R/T room, The Entertainment equipment room, The Outer Office and the TV room. Three or perhaps four ROA members have sailed on the Big 'O'.

Laurie Tetley's first trip on the Big 'O' circa 1964.

Oriana/GVSN departing San Francisco in 1969. Proof after all that Laurie Tetley did escape from Alcatraz!

Radio Room: City of Montreal/GHCK. R/O was Mike Jones who advises " If the red funnel on these two city liners is a bit puzzling, they were part of the Canadian City Line on the Canada / India run. The City of Montreal was launched as City of Sydney, but when the refrigerated cargoes from Australia and New Zealand dried up in the early sixties, Ellerman's set up a separate Canadian line changing the names to City of Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa. The City of Hull joined in the early seventies, and they didn't change the name for some reason. The funnel is red with a white diamond and a red maple leaf in it. It sort of compliments the then separatists in Quebec Province."

City of Montreal/GHCK at Cape Town.

City of Hull/GORA alongside in a very chilly looking Montreal.

Radio Room: City of Hull/GORA. In addition to the Marconi Console she was fitted with a Commander transmitter and 2 Raymarc radars.

Radio Room: Oakwood/??. R/O was Mike Jones. The picture shows her Atalanta and Commander set up. She had a Raymarc for radar.

R/O Joe Duffy on Naess Scotsman/GMOF in 1966 sailing up the Clyde bound for the BP tanker port of Finnart.

Denholm Group tanker Naess Scotsman/GMOF. This was Joe Duffy's last ship in 1966. The vessel was subsequently sold to the RFA and re-named Ennerdale and used as a fleet tanker. She hit an uncharted pinncale of rock off Mahe, Seychelles, on 1st June 1970 and was subsequently sunk. This vessel has memories for Tony Selman who scuba dived twice on the wreck in 1995. She rests in about 30/35 metres of water and due to the depth you can only spend about 20/25 minutes on the wreck but the dive round the accommodation block was wonderful with some great sea life. I also dived the length of the ship and round the bows and whilst that was good it was not as interesting as the accommodation because so many fish, rays, moray eels and octopus had made that their home. It is regarded as one of the best wreck dives in the world.

Two ROA stalwarts fitting in their uniforms. Willie Williamson on the left and Stan McNally on the right. Mind you it was taken about ten years ago. There is no doubt that Willie does have the distinct look of a U Boat captain about him. Members might like to know that after taking a bit of flak about whether he could still fit into his uniform at the recent AGM, Willie went home to get his uniform and prove the Chairman wrong. The problem was he couldn't!!

A cheerful Kapitän zur See Williamson and Stan McNally aboard HMS Plymouth

Souvenir message form from the last voyage of RMS Queen Mary/GBSS. Signed by the Chief R/O. Form supplied by Stan McNally

Queen Mary last voyage. Back of form. Supplied by Stan McNally

British Wireless Marine Service SLT form. Supplied by Stan McNally

British Wirelss Marine Service SLT form - back. Supplied by Stan McNally

Kelvin Hughes message form - front. Supplied by Stan McNally

Kelvin Hughes message form - back. Supplied by Stan McNally