Thankyou Trystan. I believe I am answering an original post by 'gowjani' requesting a photograph of a ship named the 'S.S. Wells City'. Other than to say that she was built in 1922 in Hamburg, Germany I won't go into a detailed account of the history of the ship as this has been well covered in subsequent posts. My association with the 'Wells City' was in a working capacity as an apprentice deck officer. I was just 16years old when I joined her in Avonmouth on the 5th January 1950. I was paid off in Avonmouth on the 12th April 1951 after which the ship was sold by the Bristol City Line to other interests. During my time aboard her we made eight voyages between Avonmoith the USA and Canada. By any standards the ship was old. Straight stem, counter stern and a 'woodbine' funnel. Propulsion by steam raised by coal fired boilers was on the way out. There were five holds, two for cargo and one amidships was for coal bunkers, all secured for sea by wooden hatch boards and three tarpaulins. Cargo was loaded and unloaded with the use of the ship's derricks and a Jumbo derrick with a S.W.L. of 25 tons which was secured to the foremast. there were four apprentices on board accommodated in two tiny cabins abaft the wheelhouse. There was accommodation for twelve passengers amidships and we usually had a few on board, it was probably a cheap form of transport in those days. Only once did we have a full compliment when it included several young war brides joining their husbands in the USA. That first voyage in January 1950 was a particularly wild one on the North Atlantic and it took 21 days for the crossing. The only aids to navigation on board was the traditional magnetic compass, a log line, an ancient direction finder and a radio operator. It was hairy going off the fog banks of New Foundland. There was no hot running water on board. In order to wash one had to obtain a bucket, fill it with water and subject it to steam from one of the many steam outlets situated fore and aft for that purpose. The ship's Master had a bath in his quarters which his steward filled, once a week with copious amounts of water by this means. The ship was of riveted construction and at this stage almost thirty years old and I remember spending much of my time assisting the shipwright build cement boxes around rivets that had come loose and admitting sea water. Not entirely comforting for a newcomer to ships and the sea. I was told that when taken by HMS Delhi in 1939 the Wells city was the first prize for the Allies of the Second World War. I hope that this has been of some interest.
Mike Pitcher.
Queensland, Australia.
P.S. Please let me know if this letter and the photograph get through.
