Having passed out of Warsash with the heady rank of senior cadet captain, he was indentured to the  P&O Steam Navigation Company as a bottom rung of the ladder, lowest form of human life cadet (if, indeed, cadets were judged as belonging to the human species), joining his first ship in the Royal Docks at London on 11th. October 1957.  That was the beginning of a lifelong career at sea.  There was much to learn, and the training spanned something over three years in general cargo ships and tankers, under the watchful tutelage and guidance by the officers, and much to the exasperation of the various bosuns and other poor souls, who more or less patiently taught them how to become seamen.

He remember the Philippines as gloriously scenic, if a trifle dilapidated following the war.  At one port, probably Masbate or Tobaco, the 9,000 ton ship made fast to a tiny wooden pier in an advanced state of collapse, with headlines run out to a palm tree and sternlines to a Sherman tank.  Fortunately, the weather remained calm.

After the relatively carefree life as a cadet, there were exams to sit over the years and much professional experience to be gained in different ship types, including some of the biggest liners of the day.  P&O ran liner services to the Far East, Australia/NZand USA/Canada, and I served in all ranks up to chief officer in ORSOVA, CHITRAL, HIMALAYA, IBERIA and ORIANA from 1961 to 1975.  These were great years, carrying  the Royal Mail, cargo and passengers to many interesting destinations.  In Australia, especially, there would be a huge crowd of people on the quayside in the sun or rain, waving and calling joyfully to migrating or visiting relatives lining the ship’s rails.  Long before arrival, the atmosphere in the tourist accommodation would be loaded with the excitement, hopes and fears of the migrating passengers.  In first class, they were usually having a good time and were just plain excited.  Arrivals were always an event in those times of travel by sea, before the airlines took over and cruising became pretty well the only seagoing passenger services.

 

Mike and Wendy met on ORIANA – the original one and the best - in 1974 when Mike was Chief Officer and Wendy the newest “officer” on board, in fact the croupier – the Joker 7 Dealer - and a whirlwind romance ensued.  In those days in P& O wives were not permitted to accompany their husbands on the passenger ships.  In fact at his interview to become an Officer Cadet at the revered confines of  P&O Offices at 122 Leadenhall Street, he was admonished “Never marry while in the service of the company.  We employ officers, not wives.”

Based in Hong Kong, Indo-China S.N. Co. was, and still is, the shipping line of Jardine Matheson, the international trading house founded in Canton in 1832.  At the time he entered service with the company, they had quite a large fleet of cargo ships trading all over the world, and – one of the reasons he joined them  -  they allowed senior officers wives to accompany them full time.  Consequently, Wendy and he spent the next nineteen years together being baked, boiled, frozen, pitched, rolled and bounced in bulkers and tramps, while hauling cargoes around the globe. They fetched up in jungle creeks, desert ports, icy northern outposts, tropical isles and industrial docklands.  It was an amazing time, full of interest, calms and alarms, splendid sea days and huge storms.  Wendy looked after their Chinese (latterly Filipino) crews wonderfully.  She was mother, aunt and sister to them, always ready with comfort, and advice, and was dearly loved.  She was also a dab hand with paint brush, chipping hammer and varnish scraper, while mending worn linen, doing accounts and catering.  In her remaining spare time, she carved all kinds of creatures and artefacts from wood and undertook correspondence courses. 

Mike stayed in command with I.C.S.N.Co. from 1976 to 1995, when he felt the need to return to passenger ships and joined the Vlasov Group in Monaco in order to take command of their new cruise ship MINERVA.  This splendid vessel, at 12300 tons one of the smaller ships in the cruising industry, was chartered to Swan Hellenic, which was part of the P&O group.  She quickly became a huge success winning many awards for excellence, and he had an extremely happy seven years in her with a wonderfully diverse league of nations among the 157 officers and ratings.  The majority were Filipinos and Ukranians, with British, Italian, French, Norwegian, German, Jordanian and Indian members tossed in to keep things interesting.  The passengers, maximum number 350, were equally splendid, nearly all British, and the majority having been cruising with Swan Hellenic since around the time the Ark became a constructive total loss on Mount Ararat.  They all loved Wendy, who was able to accompany him for six weeks at a time, twice a year. 

Mike especially liked his “Old Admirals”,   admirals retired from the Royal Navy, to whom he always gave free access to the bridge.  Imagine yourself piloting the ship into harbour and putting alongside the quay in less than perfect conditions with up to three admirals at your elbow, quietly but watchfully observing your performance.  They were always very charitable in their assessments, and it was always a pleasure for him to have them on board.