Re: Training Ship Dolphin (Leith) -- TS2000

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Date Posted: 10:02:12 10/02/08 Thu
Author: Brian Beattie
Subject: Re: Training Ship Dolphin (Leith)
In reply to: Mrs L Nicolson 's message, "Training Ship Dolphin (Leith)" on 12:49:29 08/11/03 Mon

Mrs Nicholson,

Hi there, I just picked up your message. I was one of the boys who did pre-sea training at the DOLPHIN in Leith, 1964-1965. I remember Captain Tait very well, even though it was so long ago. He was a fine man, a gentleman I would say and he and Mr Flockhart and the the other chaps who ran the Dolphin certainly looked after the boys, especially those from the islands who had to stay on board for the duration of their training. I used to hear stories about the rats that also lived on board the ship and I do remember doing fire and rescue training in the bowels of the ship using breathing apparatus with some trepidation. One of the TON class Royal Navy minesweepers was tied up on the other side of the dock from us and we used to regularly practice life saving with a breeches buoy. The whalers were always tied up alongside the ship and apart from lifeboat drill with perhaps ten of the trainees pulling together, I also took a small boat out in the dock at lunch-times and sculled to my heart's content. There was a cafe at the bottom of Constitution Street, just outside the dock gates where we used to congregate for greasy hamburgers and other such fried delicacies in the morning before we started the day's training. I passed the spot the other day, it's all gone, just like the DOLPHIN. Last I saw of her she was lying in the local breaker's yard in Bo'ness (my home town) on fire. Anyway, I spent four and a bit years in the Merchant Navy, I joined my first ship, the DUNEDIN STAR in London's Victoria Dock in April 1965 for a four-and-a-half month round trip to Australia. The seamanship training I had at the DOLPHIN stood me in good stead, I might even say it still comes in handy in my later years. The Merchant Navy, well-,some of it was good, some of it wasn't, but I can say that the DOLPHIN held happy memories for me and I say it was thanks to Captain Tait and his colleagues that got me through and helped prepare me for a better life. God bless him, and all those who passed through the decks of the DOLPHIN.

Brian Beattie

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