Page 28 - voices-09-2021

GLEANINGS FROM THE GROVE
I See No Ships But Hardships
Paul Fanning, DTM
Confession is good for the soul, or I am told.
Thus, I must confess that I have always had a
love for the sea. Being born on an island nation
might be a wee part of it, or perhaps it is the
various ancestors who were seafaring men of
one sort or another. No, argh matey, nary one
was pirates, but one was a Royal Marine officer
who left his mark—literally—upon this nation’s
capital in 1814. (Here, Dolly, hold this torch for
me!) The circumstances of my own birth were
due to the influence of the sea as my father, being
a corpsman in the U.S. Navy, was attached to the
U.S. Embassy in London, met a lovely English
secretary there which all resulted in a voyage
from England to New York by steamship after I
was born. On that fateful voyage I was officially
declared a subject of King Neptune’s Atlantic
Realm and received the Royal Order of Atlantic
Voyagers.
And again, I must confess that I have tried
to live near the ocean in my adult life including
working on Catalina Island off the coast of
California. I still have on my “bucket list” to
sail on a fully rigged tall ship. I have added to
my list of aquatic vessels sailboats, war canoes,
motorboats, and ferry boats through the years,
but a tall ship with canvas spread and the fair
winds blowing was and still is a thrill to be yet
achieved. I love the salt spray, the blue or grey
28 ONE COMMUNITY
waters (depending on what ocean
we are on) and the occasional dip
into the brine myself. I learned
how to use a marlin spike; tie knots
and managed the twice weekly
trip from San Pedro to Catalina
Island by “cattle boat” without being
seasick.
I’ve decided that storytelling is my niche in
Toastmasters. I always have my weather eye
peeled and looking for a good story to relate
regarding something from my collection to
share in a “show and tell” situation. I have been
doing research on gallantry awards to seaman
and officers of the British Merchant Navy, which
at one time was the largest fleet of ships in the
world. One such gallantry award is a favorite of
mine—the Board of Trade’s Medal for Saving
Life at Sea commonly called the Sea Gallantry
Medal.
Sadly, it is no longer awarded. For 100 years, it
was a highly prized medal given for exceptional
and meritorious gallantry at sea. The medals
were silver for the most gallant deeds and bronze
for a lesser display of courage and pluck, all by
either a seaman or officer. One example of this
award was given to Bosun Robert Jones of the
White Star Lines S.S. Cymric, a posh passenger
ship in 1908. Jones, a ship’s officer and six seamen