In early late August/September 1938 my Mother, then aged just 21, sailed onboard a freighter, the SS Inkosi, from Bristol to join, and marry on 29th Sept 1938, my father in British Guiana where he was a year into a 3 year contract as a Missionary.
The Inkosi was a 6,618 grt, T & J Harrison Ltd operated, Refrigerated Cargo liner, with cabins/berths for 82 passengers, plus 11,000 cu ft/312 cu m of refrigerated cargo space over 2 holds. Inkosi’s usual voyages were; Bristol/London, Antigua, Barbados, Grenada, Trinidad, and Demerara [British Guiana], which I think would have taken about 20 - 25 days roughly.
Although Inkosi could carry 82 passengers, we have no idea how many were actually on my Mother’s trip as the Passenger Manifest only lists the 7, (a British Civil Servant, his wife and baby son, a single gentleman and 4 ladies, including my Mother, (the youngest) who were disembarking in Demerara.
Being stuck overseas during the war my parents were unable to return to UK until 1946 when they sailed via Kingston, Jamaica to Avonmouth onboard the SS Ariguina, an 5746grt Elders/Fyffes Line Passenger/Refrigerated cargo ship, built in 1926 by Alexander Stephens & sons of Goven.
These were my parents only times onboard any ship and, apart from a week with my uncle in Paisley once, the only time they ever left UK! After my father died in 1986, my brother organised for my mother to fly to Vancouver to spend 3 weeks with one of her bridesmaids, her only time flying.
What they would have thought about my 20 years at sea, travelling all over the World both at sea and flying to join different ships I can’t think, but I suspect they’d have been really, really interested to know about all the different countries I’d visited.
