Volume Eight - Pre-Victorian to the present day - more aspects - Sea Breezes Article 1989 - 'Boyhood Days on the Bristol Channel' . . .

Another article from friend and contributor, Captain Clive Spencer, native of Cogan, Penarth now residing in Tauranga, New Zealand who wrote of his experiences as a child growing up in Penarth before going to sea. He kindly sent me a copy of an article he penned which was published in the magazine 'Sea Breezes' [290] in July 1989 which provides a vivid account of his early working life and an insight into what inspired young men to go to sea. Once again, many thanks Clive. Since making contact with Clive, we found out that he lived only a few doors away from Julie and Judith in Cawnpore Street, Cogan, that is until Herr Hitler's Luftwaffe dropped a landmine on the hillside behind their homes and blew his roof off! Boyhood Days on the Bristol Channel' by Clive Spencer - 'The reasons why lads go to sea are many and various but in my case the incentive was provided in 1949 when the Finnish four-masted barques 'Pamir' and 'Passat' arrived at my boyhood home of Penarth in South Wales.

Obviously, at 12 years of age, I was too young to embark on a seafaring career but my age did not deter me from joining the Sea Cadets or from befriending the resident coastguard who proved himself a superb teacher of basic knotting and splicing. In those days our coastguard doubled as a member of the mooring gang employed for letting go the steamers that used to berth alongside Penarth's pier each summer and it was eventually due to his influence that I was able to join my first ship as an ordinary seaman. She was the paddle steamer 'Ravenswood', owned by P. & A. Campbell Ltd. of Bristol.

Not having access to recorded material I am only able to write of the 'Ravenswood' as I remember her and at 37 years distance in time my recollections on some matters may be hazy. Here is what I'm still able to bring to mind of this fine old ship and my brief time in her.