ELDER DEMPSTER’S ‘ ACCRA ’ OF 1947

Built by Vickers Armstrongs, Ltd. at Barrow in 1947. Yard No. 948

Official Number: 181100     Signal Letters:        G J S W

Gross Tonnage: 11,600; Nett: 6,448.   Length: 452·9ft; Breadth: 66·2ft

Owned by Elder Dempster Lines, Ltd.

2 Doxford diesel engines, twin screws.   Speed: 15·5 knots.

            The Accra was ordered in February 1945 as the first of Elder Dempster’s new passenger ships to re-introduce the three-weekly passenger service from Liverpool to Lagos . The new Accra was launched at Barrow on 25^th February 1947 by Mrs Creech-Jones.  She left Liverpool on her maiden voyage on 24^th September under the command of Captain C.C. Cave , and initially the ship carried a black hull.

            Just over two years later, in November 1949, the Accra suffered a broken crank shaft and she arrived back at Liverpool on one engine, five days late. She was returned to her builders at Barrow for repairs and during this period she was repainted with the familiar grey hull and green boot topping. In 1960 much needed air-conditioning was installed in the passenger decks.

            The Accra ’s service in the Elder Dempster fleet was brief and on 8^th November 1967, having completed 171 voyages, she sailed from Liverpool for Cartagena , Spain , where she was demolished by J. Navarro Frances . Disturbed conditions in West Africa, which affected Elder Dempster’s traditional trade, played a part in the relatively short career of the Accra .

A Voyage to West Africa in the ‘ Accra ’

by Fred Thompson

Liverpool, on a grey September day in 1952 did not present a particularly auspicious start to life in Africa . I had travelled from Euston on the boat train that, on arrival at Liverpool, had snaked its way across the streets, under the overhead railway and alongside the Mersey to Riverside Station. I was allowed forty cubic feet of baggage as a newly appointed Colonial Education Officer and I had two large wooden crates of household goods, a tin trunk that was intended to deter the voracious insects of forest or desert, and suitcases for my cabin. Each piece carried the Elder Dempster logo and a big letter ‘T’, this being my initial to aid identification in the baggage hall. Customs and Immigration had to be cleared, currency regulations were strictly enforced and only ten pounds sterling could be taken out of the country in cash. Baggage handlers were busy trundling trolleys on to the ship and I walked along a gangway into the entrance hall on ‘B’ deck. My previous voyages to sea had been in the cramped quarters of wartime troopers, this was very different, and it was First Class!

Cabin stewards came to meet passengers and I was taken in hand by a stocky Liverpudlian who led me to ‘D’ deck where I was to share a two-berth cabin. It was quite basic; there was a wash basin, two chairs, a tall cupboard and storage space below two bunks, one of which was below a porthole. Bathrooms and toilets were situated nearby. My cabin mate was already installed; like me he was bound for Nigeria on first appointment as an Education Officer.

There was a little time to explore the Accra . The boat deck was damp and windswept. There was a generous allocation of space for public rooms which included a library, card room, smoke room and lounge. The entrance hall, still busy with embarking passengers, contained the purser’s office, a shop and hairdressing salons for both ladies and gentlemen.

Passengers were directed to the first class dining saloon on ‘E’ deck to meet the Purser and make their table bookings for meals. The saloon was panelled in African hard woods and the floor was covered with thick linoleum that could easily be washed down if need be should spillages occur in rough weather. One end of the saloon was dominated by the captain’s table, an elongated oval which seated nine guests. It was flanked by tables for senior officers. Crisp white table linen, sparkling cutlery and glassware shone in the subdued lighting. Tables seated four, six or eight passengers; senior colonial officers and company directors were guests at the captain’s table and those of his senior officers. First-tour young men like myself were placed where the Purser thought fit, usually close to the doors to and from the galley.

Prior to departure all passengers had been asked to provide details of rank, title, decorations and branch of service or company to Elder Dempster. Each us received a passenger list and it was a formidable document. It included all the hierarchy of the colonial service; company directors of banks or the United Africa Company and bishops of African dioceses. There was a fair number of nursing sisters, women education

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