MY ANCESTOR WAS A... STOKER
The working life of a ship’s stoker was hot, dirty and often dangerous, Dr Simon Wills explains
The working conditions faced by stokers were hot, dirty and often dangerous, Dr Simon Wills reveals
Stokers on board a ship had the physically demanding job of shovelling coal into the furnaces that fuelled the engines. The word ‘stoker’ usually referred to men who followed this line of work in the Royal Navy. Men in the merchant navy, working on commercial ships like cargo vessels or liners, were called ‘firemen’ instead. Stokers or firemen toiled away in the bowels of the ship in the engine room where there was no daylight. It was a hot, noisy and claustrophobic role, and it was also dirty work, hence men working here were often known as ‘the black gang’.
Until the late 1830s, the role had never been heard of. Ships were made of wood and were powered by the wind, using sails. When the idea of steamships with
Stokers worked in the bowels of the ship in the engine room where there was no daylight
coal-fuelled engines was first proposed, many people were sceptical. For example, Napoleon famously remarked: “You would make a ship sail against the winds and currents by lighting a bonfire under her deck? I have no time for such nonsense.”
The first purpose-built steamship to cross the Atlantic was the SS Great Western designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, which set sail on its maiden voyage in 1838. This ship was promoted as “the first steamship which has ever traversed and returned across the Atlantic, between England and the United States, by the powers of machinery exercised unceasingly throughout the whole distance”. The early scepticism about steam was soon swept aside when people realised that they could now cross to the USA in less than a fortnight, instead of six to ten weeks. Early steamships were still made of wood and used a paddlewheel, but soon metal hulls and the propeller were adopted.
The work of stoker or fireman was very strenuous; men often worked a maximum of eight hours per day so that there was time for recovery. The number of men required would depend upon the number of furnaces that the ship had, but there needed to be enough men available to work around the clock. In the early days of steamships, engines were small and sails continued to be used for much of the time as well, so a ship with two furnaces might only need six firemen to cover all the shifts. By the early 20th century, however, some powerful ships needed larger numbers of men to keep the engines constantly fed with enough fuel. The RMS Titanic, for example, employed 175 firemen.
Working hierarchy
Steamships needed engineering officers as technical experts, but they were also responsible for everything else that went on in the engine room including the activities of stokers or firemen. The role titles for staff varied a little according to the era, but in the late 19th century, the man in charge of the engine room on a commercial ship was called the ‘chief engineer’, and he had a number of more junior officers that reported to him. The most senior firemen were known as ‘ leading fireman’.
In the Royal Navy, there were also engineering officers. Stokers had their own distinguishing badge, consisting of a propeller, that was worn on the right sleeve. A star above this propeller identified a man as a more experienced practitioner being called a chief stoker or leading stoker, depending upon the era.
Besides shovelling coal, stokers and firemen would be employed in any other manual labour in the engine room, and might even be called up on deck if physical strength was required there.
Insecure jobs
Men working for the Royal Navy in the steamship era were generally enlisted men with a guaranteed job for an agreed period of years.
On board the commercial ships of the merchant navy, the situation was quite different. Until 1941, most crewmembers were employed for one voyage at a time and dismissed as soon as the ship completed its journey. Employers did not want to pay men to stand around for weeks while the ship was made ready
You would make a ship sail against the winds and currents by lighting a bonfire under her deck?
In 1912, RMS Titanic had 29 boilers, 162 coal-burning furnaces, and could burn about 825 tonnes of coal every day
for its next voyage. This meant there was no job security, and a fireman’s first thought as soon as he set foot on shore again was to find another ship.
In the merchant navy, there were some traditions regarding the employment of men from particular ethnic groups such as those from South Asia. These customs originated in the 19th century, but continued into the 20th century. Men working as firemen, for example, were often Muslims from the Punjab or Chittagong areas of the Indian subcontinent. It’s quite common to find photos of the engine room crew of a particular ship, because these men were a distinct team on board ship. Personnel would generally wear smart clothing rather than working apparel, and men from the subcontinent would wear their traditional ethnic dress.
By 1941, there were over 40,000 Indian men employed by the British merchant navy – this was at a time when the word ‘Indian’ would have been taken to include citizens of modernday India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and neighbouring countries.
Dangerous work
There was plenty of opportunity for harm in the engine room. There was the danger of a hernia because of all the physical effort, but accidents also caused problems such as burns and lacerations. Men had to be protected from the dangers of dehydration and heat exhaustion, so good officers made sure that their employees took regular breaks for drinks, especially in the tropics. The constant exposure to coal dust meant that some stokers or firemen developed chronic chest problems, in the same way that miners did in the past.
One of the greatest hazards to the stoker or fireman arose if the ship got into difficulties. When a ship fills with water the lowest compartments, such as the engine room, flood first and so the chances of escaping are reduced. Many engine room personnel died in the First World War when their ships were torpedoed by U-boats.
Stokers and firemen were also at risk from change in technology that threatened their role. Oil was first used as an alternative fuel to coal in about 1890 and in the first half of the 20th century it took over completely because it was cleaner, more efficient, and easier to load and store.