Gents I'm addressing a certain generation here, those who remember my aunt Celia Stobbart as she who looked after the ships visiting in the NE back in the 20th C.
Celia passed away last week, she was 88 and took a fall in her house, got pneumonia and never woke up.
The funeral is on monday the 11th, I will post details later when I have them. (I live in Catalonia so I'm a bit out of touch.)
Should anyone wish to attend or send flowers I know her family would be touched, please pass the word round.
For those who don't know Celia dedicated herself to making sure that all ships and sailors had the very best available and was an absolute wizard at solving problems. During the Falklands spat she went through a lot of anguish as she knew all the ships involved and a lot of the crews and I have rarely seen her as tense throughout the whole time that her lads were in danger.
She looked after the average matelot too, often never having even met them. I remember that once a mother and daughter came to her office claiming that the daughter was pregnant by a lad on a certain ship, she had his name, when he was berthed in Newcastle. Celia explained the processes, said she would contact the ship and the lad and explain the situation. She then chatted to the pair and got them relaxed and enquired as to when she expected the baby. The girl said that she was four months gone which Celia pounced on pointing out that the ship hadn't docked till just over three months before, and invited them to leave the office.
I remember her being indignant that they would try to pin the fatherhood on a lad who might have tried to do the decent thing and so the girl would cop for a steady wage as a service wife when it wasn't his fault.
That was Celia, looking after the lads.
Sad news but that's life.
Celia passed away last week, she was 88 and took a fall in her house, got pneumonia and never woke up.
The funeral is on monday the 11th, I will post details later when I have them. (I live in Catalonia so I'm a bit out of touch.)
Should anyone wish to attend or send flowers I know her family would be touched, please pass the word round.
For those who don't know Celia dedicated herself to making sure that all ships and sailors had the very best available and was an absolute wizard at solving problems. During the Falklands spat she went through a lot of anguish as she knew all the ships involved and a lot of the crews and I have rarely seen her as tense throughout the whole time that her lads were in danger.
She looked after the average matelot too, often never having even met them. I remember that once a mother and daughter came to her office claiming that the daughter was pregnant by a lad on a certain ship, she had his name, when he was berthed in Newcastle. Celia explained the processes, said she would contact the ship and the lad and explain the situation. She then chatted to the pair and got them relaxed and enquired as to when she expected the baby. The girl said that she was four months gone which Celia pounced on pointing out that the ship hadn't docked till just over three months before, and invited them to leave the office.
I remember her being indignant that they would try to pin the fatherhood on a lad who might have tried to do the decent thing and so the girl would cop for a steady wage as a service wife when it wasn't his fault.
That was Celia, looking after the lads.
Sad news but that's life.
