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Amazing Shaun. That puts a very different slant on things and makes it even more likely that the skeletal remains were those of my friend's uncle, A young man of just 23 who came from a fishing/crofting family in South Uist. As a child he was caught up in the "salvaging of the SS Politician" that grounded off Eriskay ! The source of the film "Whisky Galore"

There are a number of things that don't match between that account and the one I originally read more than 10 years ago and it raises the question of where the death would have been registered and whether the Glasgow branch of the BSU retains records and correspondence going back that far. If the tank was cleaned and drained in Hull it seems more likely the skeletal remains were discovered there and there may be records from the Port Health Officer. (a former senior colleague of mine back in the early 1980's) Also a post mortem account?

Was it normal for crew to be able to go and come back to a ship without being logged?

If he went missing while on bard someone might have noticed.

Maybe this post should be moved to the board covering the East Riding as Hull was back then.

Did he cache his whisky in the tank so as not to have to share it? (several whisky bottles noted)

Many thanks for this.

Howdie

The sole source for this story appears to be "Captain Kong" on the merchant-navy.net forum, who heard it from a friend:

"I went ashore (in Antwerp) at 1pm and at the first bar stopped for a beer. Inside was a lad I had sailed with on the `Empress of Scotland` 18 months earlier.
He was on a Ropner boat, the `Levenpool`, a Fort boat; they were trying to get paid off. They were on a two-year voyage, coal from the Continent to Buenos Aires and grain back to the Continent.
They had all began to break out in scabs and boils with bad guts. They had complained about the water, which was pumped up from the after peak and told the tank was cleaned and cement washed in dry dock in Glasgow nine months earlier. They had the Union man over from London and eventually got the tank drained and then the manhole cover was unbolted. Inside they found the skeletal remains of a man and some empty whisky bottles. It was presumed that the man who cleaned it also had a few whiskies and flaked out inside. When the men shouted inside if anyone was there, no answer, then they battened down… When it was filled up he must have drowned and they had been drinking this contaminated water for nine months. So they were hoping to get paid off.
My mate was gulping ale down as fast as he could, trying to wash the taste of the ships water away. I was keeping up with him and eventually Oblivion. I remember nothing until I woke up at sea bound for London. Don’t remember going back on board or anything."

https://www.merchant-navy.net/forum/swinging-the-lamp/43993-voyage-dunedin-star.html

Provenance is that it came from merchant-navy net in a poat from 'Brian' regarding the worst trip he was ever on.
post and follow-up post :-
Ivan,
I was with the Levenpool in Antwerp in December 1956, met a mate of mine, they had found a dead body in the water tanks, and had all broken out in scabs and bad guts. They were all trying to get paid off, she was on the Continent to South America run for two years. I guess there was always someone else worse off.
Cheers, Brian[/QUOTE]

Unfortunately it happens, remember when I used to survey tanks and double bottoms (now now lads not that type) it was always prudent to have someone with you, but not always possible, these were always moments of apprehension, especially doing DB's afloat, as if some silly bugger ran into you, you had no chance. I am small in stature and sometimes you had to reverse all the way back to the manhole through the lightening holes. How the big guys managed I do not know because even for me on the smaller ships it was difficult. Surveying double bottoms in the Waalhaven in December and January was not my favourite scenario, it was bluddy cold! It is easy to be forgotten when you are down there and once they've put the manhole cover in place, even without bolting, your days are numbered. I used to tow a heaving line behind me, but some clever barsteward would invariably haul it out in case it fouled the suction pipes, it was very difficult to win, but I'm still here

What I want to know is why did they always send a deaf seaman to shout "anybody inside"

You don’t give any indication as to his nationality, was he Belgian or British, if British have you checked  to see if the death was recorded by the British Consulate. If so you should be able it obtain a British death certificate.

Thanks for this idea. The vessel was British registered but the seamen were not necessarily British is my understanding. So I would need to look and see if there was a British Death Certificate issued in respect of this unknown seaman likely sometime between February 1956 (if they established that the death was likely to have been several months earlier) and later into 1957 if there was a delay in getting it registered. Would it be amongst the Deaths at Sea or in the British deaths registered abroad? Are these available for online searching please?

Many thanks,

Howdie

Here is a photo from my family album of Austen Maxwell Best standing next to my father in 1938/9 when they passed out from RAMC and joined the Indian Medical Service together.

This is a photo from my mother's WW2 album. The one with her arm slipped through that of the very handsome looking Indian Pilot - not my Dad !!