Apprentice Seamanship School,   United States Army Small Ships Section,   26th April 1943   -   23rd July 1943

In February 1943 the US Army Small Ships was experiencing a shortage of seamen for their vessels brought about by a loss of crews by enemy action. The first lot of seamen  were due to be re hired but many declined, crew members who were hospitalised through wounds or illness requiring treatment in Australia.

There was an urgent need for at least 150 crew members to make up this shortfall, the matter was so serious that Colonel Thomas G Plant US Army ,was sent to Washington to appeal to the Joint Chiefs of Staff for 700 American Merchant Seamen to satisfy this urgent need and to crew new vessels being built here in Australia . He was informed that owing to a critical shortage of seamen for the Atlantic this could not be met until late 1943 or early 1944 .*

At this time a Mr A E Morgan applied to join the Small Ships ,Mr Morgan had been training men & boys in the Volunteer Coastal Patrol , he was asked to be the Chief Instructor of a School for Apprentice Seamen ,the Australian Government had agreed to refer suitable 15 year old boys from their Man Power offices .

Mr Morgan was hired as Captain and appointed as Chief Instructor on the 9^th April 1943 , he wrote a syllabus of training that would take 4 weeks and teach basic seamanship, signalling morse code & flags ,knots & splicing, small boat handling, First Aid and Gunnery on 30 and 50 calibre machine guns and gun maintenance . Each Course would have a minimum of 50 students .Three retired Merchant Navy Captains ,Captains  Wood, May & McCullough were hired to conduct the classes .

The 1st course commenced on the 26^th April 1943 at 8.00am the first half hour was devoted to physical training,  school finished at 5.30pm.  49 students commenced the course, students    were hired at a salary of 2 pounds per week , the hours of the School was 6 days a week with Sunday as a rest day  , the students had their first day at sea on the Saturday on the SS Dover a Tasmanian River boat where basic seamanship was taught and gun handling was instructed by 2 US Army gunners

 This  course finished on the 22^nd May ,with 46 students qualifying, some were sent to New Guinea by sea the rest by air. On qualifying they were offered positions as Apprentice seamen at a salary of 26 pounds per month & after 6 months service they could  progress to Ordinary seamen at a salary of 33 pounds 3 shillings per month ,an authority to deduct tax for the Australian government had to be signed on hiring.

The 2nd course commenced on the 24^th May ,with 50 students in class this course had to go to sea on the Sunday as well as the Saturday ,this course was completed on the 22^nd June with 45 Apprentice seamen qualifying they had 25 days of training. They also were hired as Apprentice seamen and were then  sent  to New Guinea by sea & air ,or train & then ship .

The 3^rd and final course commenced on the 23^rd June with 67 students in attendance and the course was completed on the 23^rd July 1943,with 72 students qualifying these  Apprentice Seamen were sent to New  Guinea by sea, air and train , the School raised a total of 163    Seamen who were in the main 15 years of age , they were not aware that by their service they ensured the success of the US Army Small Ships , and ensured that the logistic support to the Australian and American forces who were fighting the Japanese would continue .

*The visit by Colonel Thomas G Plant to Washington is recorded in “The Transportation Corps Operations Overseas “ Bykofsky & Larson Center of Military History United States Army.