Two things prompted me to write about life on the ocean wave – in my family’s case the merchant marine and the Royal Navy. The first was a book I bought at the Lifeline Bookfest and, serendipitously it seems, an article in the latest issue of Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine. The book is called Passage to America by Terry Coleman (1972, Pimlico Books, London). It tells the story of the, mainly Irish, emigrants ‘shovelled out’ from Britain … Continue reading
Laurie Schell, Laura Schell, Lalashelley, La Rochelle – How many different ships were there with these similar names? These were the names for one and the same ship as handed down through families and recorded in bibles, obituaries and other newspaper and magazine articles. The ship was named the La Rochelle, commemorating a seaport in western France. The names took on an added veracity because of the purported origin from the immigrants themselves and frequent repetition. Copyright free, State Library of … Continue reading
