Charles Stedall - Deck

I was born February 27, 1932 in a seaside town called Margate on the SouthEast coast of Kent.  I graduated from St. John's School at the ripe old age of 14 to follow in my father's footsteps as a Bricklayer's Apprentice.

However, just before my 17th Birthday I applied to the National Sea Training Schools and was accepted into the Vindicatrix on the 7th of February, 1949.  I served until the 29th of April 1949.  My pool office was Dock Street, Aldgate in the East end of London.  It was from there that I was sent to Falmouth to join a T2 class tanker - The Cottonwood Creek.  This was my first ship.  I spent the next eight months running crude oil from the Persian Gulf to Argentina via Capetown, South Africa.

I sailed on various other ships after that up until 1957.  It was then that myself and some other footloose lads decided to give Canada a try.  I worked on a hydro project in Baie Comeau, Quebec for a few months.  I then moved into Ontario which is where I met my wife and settled down.  We have two girls, ages 37 and 32, and we live in the small Hamlet of Bridgenorth, just outside of Peterborough.  We have a home on two acres of land and I am an avid gardener.  I had various jobs in and around Peterborough, but spent the majority of my working days (26 years) with the Canadian General Electric as a Nuclear Welding Technician.  I also spent some time with them in Karachi, Pakistan and retired in December 1991.

My wife Ruth and I have done a little travelling since retirement (from 36 years of nursing) in 1997.  One such trip was to visit with my sister in Auckland, New Zealand for two weeks and then we spent 3 weeks in Queensland, Australia with an old childhood friend from Margate.  We take trips to Britain every two years or so, and try to visit Florida for a few weeks to break up each winter.

I am pleased to be a member of the U.K. Vindicatrix Association, and the Canada-US Vindicatrix Association.  I look forward to meeting and hearing from other Vindi-boys.