We had a family friend who was a stoker on a pre-WW1 American four funnel destroyer. He was a very small man, at least when I knew him and he was around 85+yrs, this back in the 1980's. What those men went through, the heat and burns, and at full speed, the pace was such men would pass out from heat prostration. Oil saved many a man from a short vile death. Thank you for the video!
Whilst tracing my family tree I found out my great grandfather was a stoker on the HMS Lion so that's what bought me to this video. Thanks for sharing.
Very nice find of the 'black gang'. I like the shots of them raking the slag out from the fire pit. My grandfather was a leading stoker on the pre-dreadnought Albermarle as part of the Thames defence, on HMS Marlborough, 6th Division, 1st Battle Squadron at Jutland; on Barham as part of British forces in the Dardanelles during the Turkish civil war of 1921 and later at HMS Victory training school, then in the dockyard stores at Portsmouth right up until the late 1940's. Wish I'd been a bit older to have asked him what it was like to be in the bottom of Marlborough when she was torpedoed and when under fire-but maybe he wouldn't have told me..
Amazing men who worked in horrible conditions and who kept at it while shells were exploding above them. I am humbled by them and all who served in HM ships during both wars.
We had a family friend who was a stoker on a pre-WW1 American four funnel destroyer. He was a very small man, at least when I knew him and he was around 85+yrs, this back in the 1980's.
What those men went through, the heat and burns, and at full speed, the pace was such men would pass out from heat prostration.
Oil saved many a man from a short vile death.
Thank you for the video!
Whilst tracing my family tree I found out my great grandfather was a stoker on the HMS Lion so that's what bought me to this video. Thanks for sharing.
Very nice find of the 'black gang'. I like the shots of them raking the slag out from the fire pit. My grandfather was a leading stoker on the pre-dreadnought Albermarle as part of the Thames defence, on HMS Marlborough, 6th Division, 1st Battle Squadron at Jutland; on Barham as part of British forces in the Dardanelles during the Turkish civil war of 1921 and later at HMS Victory training school, then in the dockyard stores at Portsmouth right up until the late 1940's. Wish I'd been a bit older to have asked him what it was like to be in the bottom of Marlborough when she was torpedoed and when under fire-but maybe he wouldn't have told me..
Slag also called Clinker?
Amazing men who worked in horrible conditions and who kept at it while shells were exploding above them. I am humbled by them and all who served in HM ships during both wars.
That is brutal i wonder what sort of shift they worked? Would it be a 4 hour watch?
what a life
Looks like a great place to pick up some serious lung disease.