Pacific Reliance

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

Pacific Reliance – 1927 –

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Nice drawing Bob.

There are some dramatic photos of her loss in WW2 here:

**LINK**

Luckily there was no loss of life.

Colin

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

Yes, I saw those, thanks. Quite a smart looking ship for 1927, and I would have loved to have sailed in her. Bob

[Richard SimpsonModerator @richardsimpson88330]

Lovely drawing of a beautiful traditional ship from a time when the British Merchant Navy was respected the world over.

Both my Father and myself worked for Furness Withy for a while. In my day they were quite a large group of old companies but sadly all very much in decline.

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

I worked for Furness Ship Management in London in my first job. I was involved in calculating the salary and other payments to the officers in the second Pacific Reliance built after the war.

Colin

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

I was in Furness Withy myself for a couple of years in the MV Sagamore, iron ore carrier, (pictured below) but all the companies I worked for have now gone, and modelmakers have very little interest in such ships, but collectors can't get enough of models of them.

[Richard SimpsonModerator @richardsimpson88330]

I started off with Manchester Liners, who eventually became purchased by Furness in 1970 just before I started with them. The group started to operate as a single company not so long after I finished my time so I suddenly found myself on other ships in the group, despite the usual assurances this would not happen!

My worst ever trip was on an ex Houlder Bros gas tanker, I hated every minute of it. The group also incorporated Shaw Saville, Prince Line, Royal Mail Lines, PSNC to name just a couple.

Most people of my age tend to yearn for the ships of the 70s with beautiful sheer lines and flared bows such as Blue Star and Port Line ships but I have always found the earlier ships of the 50s and 60s to be more attractive. I probably see the ships of the 70s as part of the massive decline in the fortunes of the British Merchant Navy as we seemed to struggle in vain to keep up with the rest of the world.

Oddly enough the Sagamore seems to have very similar lines to the four transatlantic Manchester Liners container ships I sailed on!

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

I also sailed in Houlder Brothers Joya McCance, that was also part of the group. They renamed her St Margaret because they wanted rhe name Joya McCance for one of their tankers!

I have also sailed in Blue Star, Everards, South Eastern Gas Board, Union-Castle, Bowaters, Silver Line,Vlasov, Sivomar Line, PSNC (Reina del Mar), Safmarine and finally St Helena Lines. Not that I kept chnaging employers, but shipping companies were forming groups to survie whic, of course, they didn't manage anyway!

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