The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1924-10-05
Birmingham Youths Work
Their Way To Liverpool
Shipping AS Sailors AT
Mobile They See The;
Sights In England

During the summer vacation many
Birmingham school boys had their hair
| raising and almost unbelievable ad-
ventures, but none can claim, more in
teresting and neutrality-suspicious. than
Boswell johnson, Jr., and Halcot T..
Jones. These two, now full-fledged
salties have returned from the Land
of the Limies," Liverpool, the port of
England.
For months they planned and worked
! for their, voyage. They made two trips
to Mobile, registered, stood the physical
| examination, were accepted and signed
on board the s. s. Afoundria. Then
the real work began. BY mistake they
were first signed to ship laid up
in dry dock and worked below. chipping
the decks for a solid day before they
were transferred to the AfOundria and
finally sailed on Wednesday, July "a.
They were treated just like any other
member of the crew; sleeping, eating
and working with them. :.
Imagine their come down from a
/ perfectly good room and a. perfection
mattress at home to an iron bunk on n
freighter, surrounded by seven or
eight absolute strangers who, as far
as they knew, might rob them of all
their possessions at the first opportun-
ity. And vet they are already planning
similar trip to a different country
for the coming summer.
When asked If. they really did enjoy
the trip, Boswell said, Il hate to tell
everyone l had fine trip when we had
to work like the dickens, but it really
| is rare sport to see other countries and
on August IS. On the way over the
new things. e -,--
The Afoundria locked in Liverpool
tourists" as the sailors call the green.
horns encountered their first storm
which came near being disastrous. The
7"wagon"> was hauling on 11-foot deck
load of lumber. About midnight when
the storm was at it's height, the stearing
engine broke. During the short time
that it took to repair this the old lug
ger swung broadside to the waves and
began to wallow. However, repairs
were quickly made and no damage was
done. ~
Don't forget that Boswell fed the
fish for two days and night during
the Storm" Halcot put in.
| "Naw! But remember that Halcot
nearly butted his brains out trying to
dive through door in the passage
way!' retorted Boswell.
After looking about Liverpool for
three days the Yankees went to London
where they spent the 18th, 18th and
10Th of August. During their stay
there they went through Westminster
Abbey, saw Buckingham Palace, went
in the London tower, where they saw
the royal jewels, visited the London
Art gallery, the British museum, and
attended the Wimbley British Empire
exposition.
Sure! We crossed the London
bridge. Everyone seems to think that
it is so much, but it isn't. It's just an
ordinary BRIDGE" declared Boswell.
Two days after the boys returned to
Liverpool and their home lat that
time) the Afoundria, moved up the
ship canal to Manchester. Neither Bos-
well nor Halcot had anything to say
about that city, 30 it is the natural
conclusion that they were working
pretty hard shout that time and could
not get the timea,off to take in the
sights. II ut -
A week later, Sunday, August 81, the
| Afoundria' slipped out of port and the
adventures were "homeward bound.
ut was during this time" said Halcot,
that Boswell got himself in big mess.
One of the sailors claimed that Boswell
had tied the knot in the rope that sus-
pended him 80 feet from the deck. The
knot slipped and the man narrowly es-
capped falling.
The ship was light on the return
trip and SO the time was much shorter.
By 8 80 Thursday, September IL, the
ship lay in anchor in, the harbor at Mo
bile, waiting for the arrival of the i'm
migration officer, the custom officer
and the doctors. Friday the crew was
paid off and discharged, the wanderers
being among the first. And they did
NOT waste any time on the way home.