My brother, John phoned today. He and Mac had visited the old, unused Lancaster Prison, recently opened to the public.

Many plaques with crests  of important personages lined the walls. A surprise, one was for Miles Noel Kenyon, once our next door neighbour, when we were boys.

 Miles Noel Kenyon had been, in his young days, Captain of the Lancashire Cricket Club. He was also Lord Lt. of Lancashire at one time.

The Modasa

The MODASA…. A potted history

The best photo found (from a museum in South Africa)

The "MODASA" was one of a class of six near-sister ships owned by British India Steam Navigation Co. Built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Wallsend-on-Tyne, she was a 9,070 gross ton ship, length 465.2ft x beam 58.3ft x depth 32.6ft, one funnel, two masts, twin screw and a speed of 13.5 knots.

There was accommodation for 127-1st and 41-2nd class passengers. Launched on 24th December 1920, she entered service in December 1921 on the UK to India or East Africa service and in 1927 carried the

first large export cargo of maize from East Africa to London.

In 1933 she arrived at Middlesbrough to discharge her cargo before proceeding to London for repairs. She had 450 tons of oil in her tanks and Customs ruled that, as this constituted a coastal voyage, this oil was liable to customs duty. The row was only settled by taking the ship to Antwerp for repairs, this being classed as a non-coastal voyage.

Between 1939 and 1945 she was employed on both commercial and government service and was refurbished in 1946 to carry 183 single class passengers. She then resumed the East Africa service until being sold for scrap in December 1953. On January 23rd 1954, after unloading her cargo at the Tyne, she proceeded to Blyth where she was scrapped.


The MODASA was my first ship. I sailed on her as 2nd Radio Officer for one voyage in 1951.


A typical voyage was leave London:-


15-16 June call Port Said,

19-20th June call Port Sudan,

23rd June call Aden,

30th June - 6th July call Mombasa,

7th July call Tanga,

8th July call Zanzibar,

9th - 12th July call Dar-es-Salaam,

14th - 16th July call Lindi,

20th - 23rd July call Beira,

Return Voyage

28th - 30th July call Dar-es-Salaam,

31st July call Zanzibar,

1st - 2nd August call Tanga,

3rd - 8th Aug. call Mombasa,

14th Aug. call Aden,

17th - 18th Aug. call Port Sudan,

21st - 22nd Aug. call Port Said,

 28th - 30th Aug. call Marseilles,

1st Sept. call Gibraltar, 7th Sept.

Arrive London.


Sorry, this is a layout mess by both me and Chrome.