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About The Author::
This website is dedicated to Bill Williams, who was born in Liverpool on the 25th November 1924. He was probably destined to go to sea at some point in his life, his father having been a Merchant Navy seaman for many years, and living so close to the famous Liverpool docks. He went to school in Stanley Road, Kirkdale, until he was 14, when he jumped ship and went off on his travels. At sea for 14 years, he survived the war and sailed on many convoys keeping the British supply lines open, and causing his own unique brand of mayhem. His days of serving as a cabin boy, saloon boy, and steward came to an end in 1951, when he came ashore and began his new life as a publican. His first pub, The Manor Arms on the Liverpool docks, and subsequent pubs, proved to be equally rich sources for his stories of a time gone by, and all the funny characters that he met along the way. He is currently happily retired in Suffolk, and in chipper health, despite many years of rum rations !
Most Popular Stories::
"It was a miserable night, and smelt of rain, with a moon that flittered about between the clouds. At the bus stop, I was joined by a couple of soldiers, whose expressions matched the night. We stood in silence. When the bus arrived we boarded it and were greeted without much enthusiasm by the conductor, and after taking our fares he disappeared to God knows where . I felt slightly miffed, they don?t usually take the fare from merchant seamen on their way back to sea, I guess he thought I was not old enough." ..read more
"I must admit that on leaving the building I had a feeling of doubt. There was no taxi for the return journey, so from the top of the tram I had plenty to think about. Oblivious to what was happening on the streets below, I kept thinking about the customers of the pub I was about to take over. These were the people who had been around, knew the score, and had worked their way up in their respective trades. I was just an ex-seaman who had seen plenty of the world but a stranger to responsibility, so my opinions were best kept to myself."..read more
"It was the same at school the headmaster he was known as sixer when it came too giving anyone the cane it was six strokes and it was always handed out at morning assembly on the stage, you where paraded in front of the whole school 400 boys all looking up at you waiting to see if you would crack He was a hard nut at least once a week we where told that 2 of the school would end up in jail when they left but the other 98 wouldn?t follow, he was right we all left being able to read and write and thanks to heavy right arm most kept out of serious trouble."..read more
