Posted by Andrew Craig-Bennett on May 10, 2001 at 16:31:17 from 152.163.201.77:
In Reply to: Ages in the Merchant Marine (was Names of Ships Ranks of Office) posted by Terence McManus on April 17, 2001 at 09:14:32:
who is hiding his light under a bushel!
I agree, but there seem to have been phases of people getting command early, and phases when this did not happen, For example, it would have been very hard to get promotion in the early 1930's, when the PORT GISBORNE sailed from London Docks with her crew consisting entirely of officers and time served apprentices. (They sailed on her in crew capacities because Port Line, most unusually for the day, operated a company superannuation scheme and by sailing as deckhands and oilers they preserved their pension rights, which they would have lost by going ashore and drawing the dole). But after WW2, with a rapid expansion of seaborne trade, carried on largely in British ships until the end of the 1960's or so, and the heavy loss of life in the war, people got command early. I have many friends who have recently retired who got command in their late 20's and stayed at sea for 30 years in that rank.