I was born near the end of the Second World War in Birkenhead, Merseyside, three streets away from the River Mersey, and the sounds and scent of the sea stimulated my imagination from an early age. I gained a scholarship to ‘HMS Conway’ Nautical Training College, where I spent two years before graduating to go to sea as a cadet with British India Steam Navigation Ltd.
After securing my Second Mates Ticket, I sailed as Third Officer in an LST (landing ship tanks) to Borneo during the Indonesian confrontation in the mid 60′s, and later cargo ships around the Far East more...
