Dickie Bull
Deputy Purser for the Inaugural Cruise of P&O/Princess Cruises PACIFIC PRINCESS - 1975 - Sadly passed away recently.
In 1974 P & O which by 1960 had become the world's largest shipping company, with 320 oceangoing vessels, acquired Princess Cruise Lines. The first Princess Cruise ship they acquired was Island Princess (formally Island Venture). From my job as Assistant Purser on SS Oriana I was sent over to America to help complete the takeover from Flagship Cruises.
In April 1975 I was flown to Newport News Virginia where Sea Venture was being transformeded to Pacific Princess, we were undergoing dry dock in a naval shipyard, which was rather interesting as we were only allowed in certain areas of the shipyard and any deviation from this area we were likely to get picked up by the Military Police.
It was here that l first met Dickie Bull, the newly appointed Deputy purser to Pacific Princess. Following the dry dock in Newport News Virginia, Pacific Princess moved to Los Angeles to commence Mexican Cruising. Later that year Pacific Princess ventured south to Join P&O Austrailia for a rather turbulent foray into the choppy South Pacific with a rather reluctant Italian Crew. Another story for another day perhaps.
Pacific Princess Sailing under P&O Aussie Colours 1975
Follow my stink sailing with Dickie Bull on Pacific Princess, we lost touch. According to Dave Traynor, Dickie Bull settled to life down under. Dave last met Dickie in the late 1980's. At the time Dickie was Hotel Services Manager for P&O in Sydney office,
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I did my shore-side cadetship with Dickie Bull in 1965 and sailed with him in Himalaya in 1966 after the infamous strike. He was a true seaman...a graduate of Worcester who failed the eyesight test to become a deck cadet. He had empty legs that could absorb huge amounts of Allsopps! A great guy.
Recall is not as great as you might have thought David. I gave you duff info. It was not Steve Mann that I went to Acapulco with from Century City but Steve Moreton-Smith who I had previously met on one of the ships..... Can't remember which ship I knew Steve Mann from. Did you ever meet / get to sail with Steve Moreton-Smith? I can happily 'do' a story about the introduction of Mexican manning for Salty Sea Dog....
Blasts from the past. A bit of 'scratch my head' as to where I met some of the personnel highlighted here, during my time with P& O / Princess 1982 - 1986 as Hotel Service Training Officer becoming Shipboard Training Manager. Dickie Bull certainly 'rang a bell'. I think he was DP on 'Oriana' when she took over from 'Sea Princess' on Aussie cruising. Peter Scott was the Hotel Services Manager based in Sydney for Oz cruising up to my leaving in 1986. Dickie Harries was still Purser on 'Ocean Princess' when I met him in 1982. Ron Davies was Deputy Purser / Relief Purser on 'Sea Princess' - and then to 'Canberra'. Jonathan Booth was AP/DP on 'Canb…