Born 1936 in a market town close to the port of Liverpool and an avid reader of adventure and travel books, the Author soon developed an urge to see the world and on leaving school he became an apprentice Deck Officer in the Merchant Navy. By 1962 this was replaced by an urge to get married, have a family and settle down ashore. This book is confined to the ten years seafaring and covers the final days of The Empire, prior to cargo being loaded in remote container ports, in hours rather than days or weeks, giving no time to explore or learn about other parts of the World. The best of times.