SEAMAN FINED

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23538, 16 January 1942, Page 8

SEAMAN FINED

* DESERTION FROM SHIP

COMMENT FROM BENCH ON STATE OF VESSEL

William Henry Wooclham. aged 28 years, of Wales, pleaded not guilty at the Lyttelton Magistrate's Court yesterday to a charge of deserting from an overseas ship at Lyttelton in November last. He was convicted and fined £5. Messrs W. T. I,ester and E. S Morse were on the Bench, and Mr K W. Walton appeared for the accused.

Evidence was given by Captain J. J. Finn, assistant shore superintendent to the Shaw Savill and Albion Company, that Woodham was absent from the ship when the vessel was ready to leave Lyttelton.

To Mr Walton: Ho had been aboard the ship several times and was more or less satisfied with the conditions. Ho did not inspect the galley or living quarters or food and did not know of any bugs. Mr Walton produced a report published in a Nelson newspaper when three of the crew were charged with desertion. According to the report, the men said that they left the ship because of the conditions. The ship was lousy, there were rats in the living quarters, and the galley was filthy. The offence of desertion was defined as the act of leaving the ship “without lawful cause or excuse.” He submitted that there might be some excuse in the circumstances. Woodham, in evidence, said the crew signed on at an English port and the ship sailed an hour later. When it touched at another English port, 35 of the crew walked off. He thought conditions would improve when the ship got to sea, and remained. He had bug bites from wrist to shoulder, so that he had difficulty in taking the helm. Conditions in the galley were terrible, with rotten bones lying about, and he had frequently seen rats in the mess room and on the table. The crew reported the matter at a South American port, but conditions 'emained as bad as ever. He did not mind undergoing a certain amount of hardship in war time and was prepared to assist the war effort. He was prepared to join the Navy.

Mr Walton said that the Nelson police reported that Woodham had been working for the Public Works Department and was regarded as a good worker. In leaving the ship he had forfeited from £l3 to £2O in wages, as well as losing a lot of his gear. If every man who had a little complaint deserted the ship, then they would never get the ships away, said Captain Finn. He asked for a heavy penalty, as these offences were all too frequent. The ship was held up at Lyttelton for 24 hours by the desertions and eight new men had to be brought from Wellington by aeroplane. He was pleased to say that the ship had arrived back in England. In announcing the decision of the Bench, Mr Lester said that the ship should never have been allowed to leave England in the state she was, and he thought the attention of the Board of Trade should be drawn to the matter. However, the Bench could not regard it as an excuse for desertion in war time.