Post by Administrator on Nov 16, 2021 19:12:29 GMT
Days Of The Docker Men
His heavy footsteps on the cobbled street
Woke up the neighbours every morn;
There was an urgency in the way he walked -
The need to get hired that day,
Otherwise it was another visit to the pawn.
His pocket watch had been ‘in hock’ so much,
He barely recognised it anymore,
He now kept it wrapped in tissue ready in the bedroom drawer -
But when she said, to take her wedding band,
He replied, “Over my dead body, that’s for sure!”
He briskly walked down Barrack Street,
Meeting other seeking a day’s work down on the Docks,
Together they marched along the Quays -
Times were hard, and work was scares,
But still many ships came into Cork.
The hiring men were of fickle minds,
Then had the power to break a man,
They paid the crews only in the pub -
A drink or two and a false smile and laugh,
Or you’d never work again.
Shovelling coal out of holds by hand,
Their work was hard, long and tough,
Struggling to stand on those black hobs of Hell-
Back strained to fill those iron troughs,
Their lungs filled with that black dust.
Then the same routine the following day,
Still they kept their pride and honour -
Day after day, time and time again -
No more boots today upon the cobblestones,
That was back in the old days of the docker men.
John Anthony Fingleton
Days when we DID have enough dockers.
Days when we DID have enough dockers (when they weren't on strike!) Rarely-seen images capture life at Port of London from the 20th century, with 'knocker uppers' and shipments of exotic animals arriving from across the globe
The images are featuring at London: Port City exhibition, which opens today at Museum of London Docklands
After the first was set up in 18th century, London's enclosed dock systems became the busiest in the world
One image, taken in 1927, shows Mrs Mary Smith, whose job it was to wake up dockers in East London.
Another photo, taken in early 20th century, shows a girl holding a reptile which has arrived at Tilbury Docks
LINK
His heavy footsteps on the cobbled street
Woke up the neighbours every morn;
There was an urgency in the way he walked -
The need to get hired that day,
Otherwise it was another visit to the pawn.
His pocket watch had been ‘in hock’ so much,
He barely recognised it anymore,
He now kept it wrapped in tissue ready in the bedroom drawer -
But when she said, to take her wedding band,
He replied, “Over my dead body, that’s for sure!”
He briskly walked down Barrack Street,
Meeting other seeking a day’s work down on the Docks,
Together they marched along the Quays -
Times were hard, and work was scares,
But still many ships came into Cork.
The hiring men were of fickle minds,
Then had the power to break a man,
They paid the crews only in the pub -
A drink or two and a false smile and laugh,
Or you’d never work again.
Shovelling coal out of holds by hand,
Their work was hard, long and tough,
Struggling to stand on those black hobs of Hell-
Back strained to fill those iron troughs,
Their lungs filled with that black dust.
Then the same routine the following day,
Still they kept their pride and honour -
Day after day, time and time again -
No more boots today upon the cobblestones,
That was back in the old days of the docker men.
John Anthony Fingleton
Days when we DID have enough dockers.
Days when we DID have enough dockers (when they weren't on strike!) Rarely-seen images capture life at Port of London from the 20th century, with 'knocker uppers' and shipments of exotic animals arriving from across the globe
The images are featuring at London: Port City exhibition, which opens today at Museum of London Docklands
After the first was set up in 18th century, London's enclosed dock systems became the busiest in the world
One image, taken in 1927, shows Mrs Mary Smith, whose job it was to wake up dockers in East London.
Another photo, taken in early 20th century, shows a girl holding a reptile which has arrived at Tilbury Docks
LINK