 1904 - Yes, date unknown
-
| Name |
William Thomas DAY-MURPHY |
| Nickname |
Pat |
| Birth |
21 Jul 1904 |
Cork  |
- Name: William Murphy
Date of Registration: Jul-Aug-Sep 1904
Registration district: Cork
Birth Country: Ireland
Volume: 5
Page: 102
FHL Film Number: 101070
|
| Gender |
Male |
| Apprenticed |
Between 1918 and 1921 |
| Merchant Navy |
 |
William Murphy - Merchant Navy Registration card - date range 1918-1921
Merchant Navy Seamen 1918-1941: records of index cards that the Registrar General of Shipping and Seaman used between the two world wars to produce a centralised index to merchant seamen serving on British merchant navy vessels |
| Occupation |
20 Jul 1926 |
| Second Mate's Certificate |
 |
William Thomas Day Murphy - Second Mate's Certificate
Issue Port, London, Dock Street |
| Occupation |
27 Oct 1927 |
San Fransisco |
Crew List for SS Pencarrow.
Arriving at San Fransico from Buenos Aires
William Murphy - 2nd Mate. |
- Story about the SS Pencarrow - a 4850 ton tramp steamer.
WILLIAM JOHN MORGAN: Born Cardiff, 7th April 1905. Died, 26th January1986… William Morgan, my father, was born in Railway Street, Splott, Cardiff on Saturday 7th April 1905. He was the eldest of four children and was educated at Moorland Road School, Splott. His first employment was on a milk round whilst still at school. He would get up at 5.30 a.m. and work until 8.00 a.m., then go home for breakfast, before going to school at 9.00am. He started this work at about 9¬10 years of age. He did reasonably well at school and left at the age of 14 years, without a blemish on his record. His first serious employment was as an Apprentice Carpenter with the Cambrian Wagon Works in Maindee, Cardiff. I distinctly recall him telling me how very hard the work was for a 14 year-old. For the first 6 months the only tools he required were a large hammer and a cold-chisel. His job was to chisel off the bolt heads fastening the very heavy wagon timbers, in order that they could be repaired / replaced. The “real” carpenters then took over and made the repairs. This was a very dirty job as most of the wagons were coal trucks from the Welsh mining valleys. Also, many a knuckle and finger were “Skinned”! At about the age of 19 years, he finally completed his apprenticeship and was considered a fully fledged carpenter, enabling him to gain employment with Cardiff City Corporation building council houses. At this time; the year was 1924 and when employment became hard to find in the 1926/7 “Slump” era, he was laid off for some time. Unable to find suitable work during this very difficult period, he joined the Merchant Navy as a Ship’s Carpenter. I don’t recall the names of all the many ships he sailed in, but I do know that he served for a good many years aboard a 7,000 ton vessel called the S.S. Pencarrow and it was whilst serving aboard her that the following adventure took place. Sometime in 1931, they left Barry Docks loaded with a full cargo of best Welsh anthracite, destined for Buenos Aires in Argentina. The voyage was quite uneventful, especially for dad, because, as ship’s ‘Chippie’ there wasn’t a lot to do, except for a few deck and watch duties, when his turn came around. On leaving port, his first important task was to secure the anchors to prevent their accidental deployment. This entailed having to mix a few buckets of concrete to secure the anchor chains to the deck between the anchor port holes and the chain locker. As a 7,000 ton Tramp Steamer the Pencarrow wasn’t very fast and only cruised at approx. 8-10 knots. At this speed the distance of 6800 nautical miles took about 30 days and the whole projected voyage time was to be about 10 months! So, knowing in advance, how much idle time he would have, he decided to make a model of the “Cutty Sark”. Working from scratch with a set of accurate plans and without any modern-type kit facilities, this was to be quite an undertaking. The conditions under which he worked were very spartan, for without any electric lighting; he had only candles and an oil lamp to see what he was doing. This was because his tiny cabin was well below decks, right over the propeller shaft and without daylight. When duties and weather allowed, he was occasionally able to take the work up on deck. Apart from a few chains and the flag, [made by an old friend, Bob Rebane of Barry], the whole of the model was hand-made! After unloading their cargo at Buenos Aires they re-loaded with an inferior Argentinean “Duff” coal which was destined for power station use in New Zealand. This very light and dusty coal packed down well in the forward and after holds and when the plimsoll line indicated the vessel was fully loaded, each hold was only three quarters full. They were later to discover that this was a “Blessing in Disguise!” On leaving Buenos Aires, the Captain decided to steam north, up the South American seaboard and enter the Pacific by way of the Panama Canal, thereby avoiding an uncomfortable rounding of Cape Horn. The journey to and through the Panama Canal was uneventful, allowing for plenty of model making. It was when they were well out into the Pacific and past the Galapagos Islands that the fun started. One night, whilst in his bunk, he heard a change in the prop shaft rhythm, which seemed to be coming from the stern area. When he notified the Chief Engineer they investigated the after shaft bearings, but apart from being slightly warm, couldn’t find anything wrong. This unusual rhythm persisted and despite investigations the cause was not evident, until......... part of a blade fell off their three bladed propeller! Naturally, this sent serious vibrations through the ship and engines were shut down immediately. They were now drifting aimlessly out in the vast ocean, with no radio on board and at the mercy of the sea and weather. Fortunately the weather remained calm for the duration of the following events. Having a diver’s kit on board, a man was sent down to investigate and he reported to the Chief that it was possible to effect a temporary repair, but they would have to somehow get part of the prop higher in the water to be able to work on it. This was where their cargo came to be very useful. It was decided, using the two wheel barrows on board, to partially unload the after hold and place the coal in the forward hold. When the forward hold was full and the stern still not high enough out of the water, they piled coal onto the foredeck until this was achieved. While this was going on, dad took out some oak ships timber and fashioned a replacement part for the broken prop blade and drilled one inch holes, filled them with molten lead to make good the desired weight. [Guesswork!] Having succeeded in making the repair, they then had to move the coal back to the after hold to put her back onto an even keel. This done they headed back towards Panama for proper repairs. The whole operation had taken almost two weeks and they were very fortunate in that, the weather remained calm in all that time. The trip to Panama was a very slow one, making only 1-2 knots. On arrival they went into dry dock and when the dock was drained the repair just about fell off! By this time they were into 1932 and I have a photograph of my father, taken at the time, with a ship¬mate. On the back of which, my mother has written, “someone, somewhere, 1932”. On leaving Panama, they carried on to New Zealand and picked up another cargo which was unloaded in Australia. They reloaded in Oz and carried this cargo back to Liverpool, arriving 10 months after leaving Barry. Having laboured on it for all these 10 months, his fine model was almost complete except for the display case in which it is now displayed. Prior to WW2, he loaned the model to the Greenwich Museum, where the original “Cutty Sark” is now on display. After the outbreak of war, the museum suggested that he had the model back in Cardiff for safe keeping. This, despite their assurance that they had it insured for £250, in 1939! It is now in my possession. © B. G. (Reels) Morgan. 27.10.2005.
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1927 Crew List for SS Pencarrow
|
 |
SS Pencarrow
|
| Travel |
16 Aug 1932 |
Arrival at Port of London |
 |
1932 Arrival in London from Shanghai
Destination address - 2, Hardy Road, Blackheath.
The house of his mother Maud and step-father (James Jesse Mills). |
| Death |
Yes, date unknown |
| Notes |
- According to Ann Mills, "Pat" tried to enter the Army but failed a test. He went to Bedford and from there joined the Merchant Navy. She says that he was married twice. The first marriage didn't produce any children. His second marriage was to a far eastern lady ?
He was a heavy drinker and may have died in Singapore around 1955.
|
| Person ID |
I000312 |
Mills/Rushton Family History |
| Last Modified |
30 Jan 2013 |
| Father |
Charles Aloysius DAY-MURPHY, b. 7 Feb 1865, Askeaton, Co. Limerick d. 14 Sep 1906, Drowned at sea, off Youghal (Age 41 years) |
| Relationship |
Birth |
| Mother |
Maud Mary HAYES, b. 14 Oct 1880, 4, Proby Square, Blackrock, Dublin d. 21 Jan 1969, Park Prewett Hospital, Basingstoke (Age 88 years) |
| Relationship |
Birth |
| Marriage |
15 Jan 1902 |
St. Mary's Church, Haddington Road, Donnybrook, Dublin |
| Family ID |
F000112 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
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