Shipping History - Sparkies quiz

"Thanks, Sparkie"

Very welcome ,Dave.

Something i wasn't going to include......but i shall.

John Harvey-Jones.

When JHJ (for brevity) passed away......there were many personal recollections of the man by people who had known him.....and had been helped in many ways by his immense business acumen....and leadership.

One such was the proprietor of the butchers shop frequented by JHJ's wife......he was having difficulties
"making ends meet" and jokingly suggested to her that JHJ should pay him a visit to straighten his business difficulties. She jokingly told him that her husband was about to return from a business conference in Australia....but she would pass the message on to him upon his return home.
A couple of days later JHJ entered the shop in person and arranged to go over the business books during the following few evenings....with the owner.....after the shop closed.
He completely rearranged the financial structure of the business and put the business in on a very profitable path.....
........Told by a very grateful businessman

All Pro Bono.

The most memorable......by far

JHJ was Captain of an RN ship in the China Fleet..... patrolling backwaters of the Chinese coast.......very tedious work....a long deployment from the UK.....very little to do...... reminiscent of the "Sand Pebbles"

The following was related by a young sailor onboard who aspired to be an engineer officer but lacked the qualifications to do so.
JHJ arranged for him to take the RN officers enterance examination upon his return to the UK.....and personally coached him in Mathematics and Physics using JHJ's own textbooks throughout the entire Far East deploy.....a matter of years.
Upon leaving Hong Kong for the voyage home.....the young sailor received a letter from the Admiralty to tell him ....the age limit to sit the enterance examination had been lowered and that he was no longer eligible to take the examination because he was too old.
He was heartbroken as he gave the letter to JHJ who told him to ignore it......they were going to carry on with the tuition throughout the long voyage back to the UK.
When the ship docked in Plymouth.....all the crew had their families aboard for a full homecoming celebration.... including Captain JHJ's wife and disabled daughter.
Every officer and rating that day went home with their familes having been deployed for so long....

Except

JHJ.

His wife and daughter returned home together...... husband and father had to go to the Admiralty in London as he had some business to attend to in person......he would only return home after successful completion.

A week later the young sailor received a letter from the Navy inviting him to attend Britannia College at Dartmouth on a given date in order to sit the enterance examination for Commissioned Officer Royal Navy.

Many years later he learned that the letter was the outcome of the "business to be attended to in person"...........which kept his Captain from returning home that day, with his wife and daughter.

He was banging a few heads together in Whitehall on the young lads behalf.

This story was told by the young sailor himself on the passing away of JHJ.

He was then a retired Commander (Engineering) Royal Navy.