"Favourable Winds" - Third Edition of Gerry O'Neill's memoirs

FAVOURABLE WINDS

(A LA RÉCHERCHE DU TEMPS PERDU)
A TWENTIETH CENTURY ODYSSEY

GERRY O’NEILL©

~~First Edition, January 2003~~
~~Second Edition, October 2005~~

Third Edition, January 2007, v3.2

The Third Edition was issued in January 2007, and this version 3.2 in December 2007. As well as correcting further errors in the earlier editions, some more new material has been added, along with adjustments to a few illustrations.

The book comprises a Main Text and Indices, in two separate PDF files

Main Text

The main text fills 426 pages (20 Mb) and you can peruse table of contents at the bottom of this webpage.

The book can be downloaded and saved - entirely free of charge - by sending an e-mail to the author at
oneill--@--tallrite.com (first remove the anti-spam hyphens).

You will then be sent a link, together with a User ID and Password, which will allow you to access the book, by simply clicking on the author's (youthful) face.

Indices

There are also a further 118 pages of “Indices”, or attachments, which are referred to at the end of most of the chapters. Since it mostly comprises illustrations, the file size is much bigger - 75 Mb.

Again, to view and download the indices, send a request to
oneill--@--tallrite.com (first remove the anti-spam hyphens).

You will then be sent a link, together with a User ID and Password, which will allow you to access the book, by simply clicking on the photo of the ship (the "Wasa" - see chapter 31)

Paper Back Edition

“Favourable Winds” is now also available for purchase as a paperback published by Lulu.com. Though because it is a limited edition, printed only as an when an order is placed, and because so many of the 200 illustrations are in full colour,
it is rather expensive.

To view and/or order it, click here or on the front cover (at left), or, for easy memorisation, go to tinyurl.ie/gon. ["gon" = Gerry O'Neill. Geddit?]

It is recommended that, having downloaded a file, you save it to your hard disk so that you can refer back in the future without having to download it again. Remember that having downloaded a file, there is no need to remain connected while you read or print it.

If you don't already have it, you will also need to download and install Adobe Acrobat Reader which is available free of charge by clicking on the button on the left. Without this you will be unable to read the PDF files.

ENJOY YOUR READ!

If you have any comments about the book,
complimentary or otherwise,
please feel free to address them to the author
at oneill-at-tallrite-dot-com .

Meanwhile, the author thanks you for visiting and hopes you will enjoy reading his entertaining opus.

Moreover, parts of it also serve as an historical record for future reference and research.

For your information, you are visitor number to this page.

FAVOURABLE WINDS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER

TITLE

PAGE

Title Page

The Author

Acknowledgements

Table of Contents (same as this web page)

(i)

Table of Indices

(vii)

Prologue

(x)

Introduction and Random Musings

	In Principio erat Verbum
	“A Life That Has Any Worth Is a Continuous Allegory”
	“O Tempora, O Mores”
	Elements of Change in My Lifetime
	Irish Industrial Sector
	“De Minimus Non Curat Lex”

(xi)

(xvii)
(xxii)
(xxv)

Growing Up in North Dublin and Going to Sea 1925-41

	Schools
	Youthful Pursuits and Friendships
	Early Seagoing Days
	My Most Unforgettable Character
	“Youth is wasted on the young” – Oscar Wilde

Canadian Pacific Steamships, 1941-42

	R.M.S. Empress of Asia
	Escape from Singapore

Irish Shipping Limited, 1942

	s.s. Irish Larch (ex Haifa Trader)
	The Matriculation Examination

British Merchant Navy, 1942-43

	s.s. Lornaston
	Air Raid on London Dockland
	Invasion of North Africa

Ministry of War Transport, 1943

	North Africa – Interpreter, Algiers and Oran
	Spared by a German Airman
	Danke Schön, Fritz, Für Unserer Leben, und Guten Reisen

Marriage and a Brief Honeymoon, 1943

	Another Welcome Respite from the War
	Du Bist Mein Ganzen Herz

Special Exercises, 1943

	Operations Mincemeat and Cockade
	We bury "The Man Who Never Was" at Huelva
	An Abortive Invasion Attempt
	Liaisons Dangereuses

Canadian Pacific Steamships, 1943-44

	R.M.S. "Empress of Australia"
	A Passage to India and the East
	A Venture into the Carpet Trade

The Loneliest Christmas I Ever Spent, 1943

	A Bleak Day in Belfast
	No Room at the Inn

Stranded in Cork, 1944-

A Most Opportune Football Match

Farm Labourer, 1944

	A Welcome Break from Hostilities
	A Few Peaceful Days in Bangor, North Wales

Further Episodes on the R.M.S Empress of Australia, 1944

	Encounter with a Hurricane
	Momentous First Visit to New York

Russian Convoy, 1944

	Repatriation of Soviet Prisoners from French Labour Camps
	Inability to Save Lives at Sea
	Libera Nos a Malo

Flower Class Corvettes

North Atlantic Convoys

North Atlantic Convoys, 1944-45

	The Toss of a Coin and the Loss of a Friend
	A Great Personal Tragedy
	Non Nobis sed Vobis

101

Off to War in the Pacific, 1944

	A Frightening Passage through the Panama Canal
	Russian Roulette in New Guinea

103

The Battle of Leyte Gulf, 1944

	The Most Incisive Battle of the War against Japan
	“War is too important to be left to the generals” - Winston Churchill

106

The Battle of Iwo Jima, 1945

A Hard-Fought Encounter with the Japanese

112

The Last and Costliest Battle of the War – Okinawa, 1945

Fortunate to Survive a Near Fatality

117

Sojourn in Honolulu, 1945

Experience of U.S. Care and Attention

124

Demobilisation and After, 1946-47

Drifting Around for a While

128

Student - Trinity College Dublin, 1947-51

	Back to the Books
	Sedes Sapientiae

131

Moonlighting – Furniture Manufacturer, 1947-48

A Venture into Business

137

Moonlighting – L.M.S. Steamships (Later British Rail, now Stena Line), 1948-49

	Learning Welsh on the Dun Laoghaire-Holyhead Run
	Er coff am gyfellion cynes, oedd yn caeredig im yn caergybi

138

Moonlighting – Great Lakes, Ships and Other Foreign and Home Trade Voyages, 1950-51

	To the U.S.A. as a Stowaway
	"The Ghost Cattlemen"

142

Reminiscences of Academic and Sporting Life in Trinity College, 1947-51

Mens Sana in Corpore Sano

150

Irish Shell & B.P. Limited; 1951-57

Engineering and Technical Sales,

Fuels and Lubricants Manager

157

Three "Troubleshooters"

172

Shell Oil Co (America), 1957-58

St. Patrick’s Day in New York

182

Shell Mex and B.P. Limited, 1958-60

Branch Manager, Oxford,

A Pleasant Interlude

188

Svenska Shell, Sweden, 1960-62

	Restoration and Preservation of Wasa
	Bereeder Hall Mig Att Vänta

201

Encounter with Kruschev, 1962

"Kagda Ya Pyann, A Pyann Fsyegda Ya"

205

Irish Shell & B.P. Limited (Again), 1962-68

	Operations Manager
	Back Home Once More

208

A Night to Remember, 1963

A Typical Dublin Nightown Escapade

217

Another Night to Remember, 1966

220

A Musical Interlude

	"Music is The Most Agreeable Form of Noise" (Dr. Samuel Johnson)
	“The English May Not Like Music, but They Absolutely Love the Noise it Makes” – Sir Thomas Beecham
	Mixing with Interesting Musical People

225

Incident in Ibiza, 1966

	An Unusual Holiday Experience
	Toma esas Dias de Oro, mi Bien

233

Memories of Shannon

Many Long Term Friendships Formed

237

Perils of the Barrow Navigation, 1967

A Never to be Forgotten Voyage

245

A Yiddish Lesson, 1968

	Zwei Mishugonim – Heyse Koyln far Im a Maychl
	“The Jews are just like everyone else … only more so !”

249

Irish Distillers Limited, 1968-76

	A Tough New Challenge
	Arbeit Macht Frei !

252

Le Responsable – Centre Nautique des Glénans, 1969-75

	"Formidable !"
	Sur la Mer, il y avait des Problèmes

257

Tales of the Demi Monde, 1972

Two Disorderly Houses

260

Puerto Banus, 1975

"A Gentleman’s Gentleman"

266

The Keep Ireland Beautiful Movement, 1976-77

A Disappointing Episode

271

General Foods Company of America, 1977-79

Another Interesting Assignment

273

Perdue University, Indiana, 1979

An Opportunity to Visit the Mid-West

279

Hotel Management, 1979

The Delights of the Dingle Peninsula

281

"Headhunt", Dublin, 1979

A New Career Move

283

Director – Small Firms Association, (S.F.A.), 1980-81

Workshop for Small Business, U.C.G.

284

Irish Co-Operative Organisation Society, (I.C.O.S.), 1981-83

	Entry into the Dairy Industry and an interesting Project at U.C.C.
	Adventure into Biochemistry

287

Irish Agricultural Wholesale Society (I.A.W.S.), 1983-89

	Installation of a new type of Evaporator at Killybegs
	Voorsprung durch Technik

293

Postgraduate Diploma in Environmental Engineering, 1991

	Trinity College Dublin (Again)
	A Very Intensive Course of Study

299

Morocco; Cours – " Utilisation Rationelle de l’Energie", 1991-92

Adh Dhakariyat Assaeeda Allati Qadaitoha fil Maghreb

301

Casablanca – A Day to Remember, 1992

Encounter with Helpful People

307

Les Plaisirs de la Loire, 1992

	“Sur notre route la cuisine française était magnifique”
	” En Chasse – Vive La France”

310

Wonderful, Wonderful Copenhagen

	Civilised, Comfortable, Cultivated Denmark
	Viljid Taer Nu Lyda A, Medan eg Man Kvoda

312

Oileán Chléire

	Trácht ar Áiteanna Eile i-gConndae Corcaigh
	Ni Bheag a Leithéid Ann Arís

315

Dastardly Doings in Dunmanway

A Failed Assault Attempt

323

Requiem for a Friend, 2001

	And Happy Memories of Times Spent Together
	De Mortuis Nil Nisi Bonum

325

Hotels I Have Patronised and Sometimes Loved

Many of those Described Could Fall into the Category "The Relics of Ould Dacency"

331

Nice English People

	And Welcome Breaks in Rural Essex
	“If the English could be taught to talk and the Irish to listen, we would have a more civilised society” – Oscar Wilde.

338

Sporting Personalities I Have Known

	And Have Not Forgotten
	Per Ardua ad Astra

347

Some Interesting Characters and Events

	Are Such People Still Around ?
	Ní Bheag a Leithéid Ann Arís

358

The Baralong Affair

Horror Story of a Massacre on 19^th August 1915 [Click to view this chapter]

378

A Man of Property

384

Drink – The Curse of the Irish

	A Bird Never Flew on One Wing
	In Vino Veritas

393

Nearing the Finale

Carpe Diem (Seize the Day)

398

Apologies, Regrets and Final Reflections, 2002

A Man is Old Only When he Replaces Dreams with Regrets

403

Epilogue

	Guantanamera
	The Parting Glass
	Crossing the Bar
	Tempus Fugit sed Nil Desperandum

411

Glossary

414

Last Updated 14th July 2008

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