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James Gordon Partridge Bisset
Sir James Gordon Partridge Bisset, CBE, RD (15 July 1883 – 28 March 1967) was a British merchant sea captain who served as Commodore of the Cunard White Star Line (1944–47). He documented his fifty-year sea career in a three volume autobiography: ''Sail Ho! My Early Years at Sea'' (1958); ''Tramps and Ladies – My Early Years in Steamers'' (1959) and ''Commodore – War, Peace and Big Ships'' (1961). In addition, Bisset authored ''Lifeboat Efficiency'' (1924) which became the primary text used by the British Merchant Marine until the Second World War for instructing merchant seaman in lifeboat utilization and handling, and ''Ship Ahoy ! : Nautical Notes for Ocean Travellers'' (c.1930), a treatise on shipboard operations for the edification of passengers. He served in or commanded Cunard liners including '' Carpathia'', ''Caronia'', ''Franconia'', '' Mauretania'', '' Aquitania'', '' Berengaria'', '' Queen Mary'' and '' Queen Elizabeth''. Early life James Bisset ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Playford IV
Sir Thomas Playford (5 July 1896 – 16 June 1981) was an Australian politician from the state of South Australia. He served continuously as Premier of South Australia and leader of the Liberal and Country League (LCL) from 5 November 1938 to 10 March 1965. Though controversial, it was the longest term of any elected government leader in Australian history. His tenure as premier was marked by a period of population and economic growth unmatched by any other Australian state. He was known for his parochial style in pushing South Australia's interests, and was known for his ability to secure a disproportionate share of federal funding for the state as well as his shameless haranguing of federal leaders. His string of election wins was enabled by a system of malapportionment and gerrymander later dubbed the "Playmander". Born into the Playford family, an old political family, he was the fifth Thomas Playford and the fourth to have lived in South Australia; his grandfather Thomas P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bolton, Lancashire
Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th century, introducing a wool and cotton-weaving tradition. The urbanisation and development of the town largely coincided with the introduction of textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution. Bolton was a 19th-century boomtown and, at its zenith in 1929, its 216 cotton mills and 26 bleaching and dyeing works made it one of the largest and most productive centres of cotton spinning in the world. The British cotton industry declined sharply after the First World War and, by the 1980s, cotton manufacture had virtually ceased in Bolton. Close to the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is north-west of Manchester and lies between Manchester, Darwen, Blackburn, Chorley, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several neighbouring to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthur Rostron
Sir Arthur Henry Rostron, KBE, RD, RNR (14 May 1869 – 4 November 1940) was a British merchant seaman and a seagoing officer for the Cunard Line. He is best known as the captain of the ocean liner RMS ''Carpathia'', when it rescued hundreds of survivors from the RMS ''Titanic'' after the ship sank in 1912 in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean. Rostron won wide praise for his energetic efforts to reach the ''Titanic'' before she sank, and his efficient preparations for and conduct of the rescue of the survivors. He was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal by the United States Congress, and in 1926, he was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He rose to become the Commodore of the Cunard fleet and retired in 1931. History Arthur Rostron was born at Bank Cottage, Sharples, a suburb of Bolton, Lancashire, England, to James and Nancy Rostron in 1869. He received his education at Bolton Grammar School and Bolton Church Institute. In 1884 Rostro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
River Mersey
The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part of the boundary between the historic counties of Lancashire and Cheshire. The Mersey starts at the confluence of the River Tame and River Goyt in Stockport. It flows westwards through south Manchester, then into the Manchester Ship Canal at Irlam, becoming a part of the canal and maintaining its water levels. After it exits the canal, flowing towards Warrington where it widens. It then narrows as it passes between Runcorn and Widnes. From Runcorn the river widens into a large estuary, which is across at its widest point near Ellesmere Port. The course of the river then turns northwards as the estuary narrows between Liverpool and Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula to the west, and empties into Liverpool Bay. In total the ri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Huskisson Dock
Huskisson Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, England, which forms part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the northern dock system in Kirkdale. Huskisson Dock consists of a main basin nearest the river wall and two branch docks to the east. It is connected to Canada Dock to the north and Sandon Half Tide Dock to the south. History The dock was designed by Jesse Hartley and opened in 1852. It is named after a former MP and Treasurer of the Navy, William Huskisson. Initially dealing in timber, it later traded in grain and provided berthing facilities for passenger ships on North American routes. The main basin was enlarged and a branch dock created in the 1860s to accommodate larger ships. The dock was expanded again at the turn of the twentieth century when two further branch docks were added by Anthony George Lyster. World War II On 3 May 1941 Huskisson Branch Dock Number 2 was the site of the explosion during Liverpool's May Blitz, when 1,000 tons of explosives ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cunard Steamship Company
Cunard () is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its three ships have been registered in Hamilton, Bermuda. In 1839, Samuel Cunard was awarded the first British transatlantic steamship mail contract, and the next year formed the British and North American Royal Mail Steam-Packet Company in Glasgow with shipowner Sir George Burns together with Robert Napier, the famous Scottish steamship engine designer and builder, to operate the line's four pioneer paddle steamers on the Liverpool–Halifax–Boston route. For most of the next 30 years, Cunard held the Blue Riband for the fastest Atlantic voyage. However, in the 1870s Cunard fell behind its rivals, the White Star Line and the Inman Line. To meet this competition, in 1879 the firm was reorganised as the Cunard Steamship Company, Ltd, to raise capital. In 1902, White Star joined the Americ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Able Seaman
An able seaman (AB) is a seaman and member of the deck department of a merchant ship with more than two years' experience at sea and considered "well acquainted with his duty". An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination of these roles. Once a sufficient amount of sea time is acquired, then the AB can apply to take a series of courses/examinations to become certified as an officer. Watchstander At sea an AB watchstander's duties include standing watch as helmsman and lookout. A helmsman is required to maintain a steady course, properly execute all rudder orders and communicate using navigational terms relating to heading and steering. A watchstander may be called upon to stand security-related watches, such as a gangway watch or anchor watch while the ship is not underway. Dayworker An AB dayworker performs general maintenance, repair, sanitation and upkeep of material, equipment, and areas in the deck department. This can include maintenance of the sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barque
A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts having the fore- and mainmasts rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) rigged fore and aft. Sometimes, the mizzen is only partly fore-and-aft rigged, bearing a square-rigged sail above. Etymology The word "barque" entered English via the French term, which in turn came from the Latin ''barca'' by way of Occitan, Catalan, Spanish, or Italian. The Latin ''barca'' may stem from Celtic ''barc'' (per Thurneysen) or Greek ''baris'' (per Diez), a term for an Egyptian boat. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'', however, considers the latter improbable. The word ''barc'' appears to have come from Celtic languages. The form adopted by English, perhaps from Irish, was "bark", while that adopted by Latin as ''barca'' very early, which gave rise to the French ''barge'' and ''barque''. In Latin, Spanish, and Italian, the term ''barca'' refers to a small boat, not a full-sized ship. French influ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ordinary Seaman
__NOTOC__ An ordinary seaman (OS) is a member of the deck department of a ship. The position is an apprenticeship to become an able seaman, and has been for centuries. In modern times, an OS is required to work on a ship for a specific amount of time, gaining what is referred to as "sea time". For centuries, the term ordinary seaman was used to refer to a seaman with between one and two years' experience at sea, who showed enough seamanship to be so rated by their captain.Lavery 1989, p. 129 Historically, in some navies and the merchant marine, a sailor with less experience was called a landsman. An OS is generally not required to stand watch, but must pass examinations on watchstanding skills such as performing lookout duty and being a helmsman. Thus an OS will often be found on a ship's bridge after working hours taking a turn at the ship's wheel or being familiarized with bridge equipment. During the apprenticeship, an OS performs a variety of duties concerned with the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indenture
An indenture is a legal contract that reflects or covers a debt or purchase obligation. It specifically refers to two types of practices: in historical usage, an indentured servant status, and in modern usage, it is an instrument used for commercial debt or real estate transaction. Historical usage An indenture is a legal contract between two parties, particularly for indentured labour or a term of apprenticeship but also for certain land transactions. The term comes from the medieval English "indenture of retainer"—a legal contract written in duplicate on the same sheet, with the copies separated by cutting along a jagged (toothed, hence the term "indenture") line so that the teeth of the two parts could later be refitted to confirm authenticity ( chirograph). Each party to the deed would then retain a part. When the agreement was made before a court of law a ''tripartite'' indenture was made, with the third piece kept at the court. The term is used for any kind of deed ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
