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Morris E Jones - Aberdovey, Wales, 1949
Memorable moments...
I attended Course No 83 in April / May 1949 at Aberdovey in Wales.
From what I recall, the course was tough with a strict discipline, but luckily in those days I was very fit! The boys on the course with me were from all walks of life, but all achieved things they never thought possible.
Whilst on the course, I was one of the lucky 12 boys chosen to travel up to London to a big dinner being held at the Savoy Hotel. Before parading around the dining room, they gave us a wonderful meal - as you can imagine, we were very hungry after all that fresh air!
The 12 of us were then taken to meet the Duke of Edinburgh, as well as other celebrities, such as John Mills, who was making 'Scott of the Antarctic' at the time. Many guests came over to talk to us, offering gin and tonics, whisky and cigarettes, which were strictly off limits - luckily the officers turned a blind eye!
After the Outward Bound course I commenced a career in the Merchant Navy as an apprentice Deck Officer with a company called Kaye Son & Co, out of London, which had cargo ships running down to the Argentine.
After serving my time at sea over the years, I worked my way up to Chief Officer with the Pacific Steam Navigation Co. sailing out of Liverpool down to South America.
(This story has been published with permission from the late Mr. Jones' wife.)
I attended Course No 83 in April / May 1949 at Aberdovey in Wales.
From what I recall, the course was tough with a strict discipline, but luckily in those days I was very fit! The boys on the course with me were from all walks of life, but all achieved things they never thought possible.
Whilst on the course, I was one of the lucky 12 boys chosen to travel up to London to a big dinner being held at the Savoy Hotel. Before parading around the dining room, they gave us a wonderful meal - as you can imagine, we were very hungry after all that fresh air!
The 12 of us were then taken to meet the Duke of Edinburgh, as well as other celebrities, such as John Mills, who was making 'Scott of the Antarctic' at the time. Many guests came over to talk to us, offering gin and tonics, whisky and cigarettes, which were strictly off limits - luckily the officers turned a blind eye!
After the Outward Bound course I commenced a career in the Merchant Navy as an apprentice Deck Officer with a company called Kaye Son & Co, out of London, which had cargo ships running down to the Argentine.
After serving my time at sea over the years, I worked my way up to Chief Officer with the Pacific Steam Navigation Co. sailing out of Liverpool down to South America.
(This story has been published with permission from the late Mr. Jones' wife.)