Chinese• Sailors Keep a British Coach Operator Busy
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S0 mans Chinese employed in-British 'ships as firemen. deckhands, cooks, etc.:, are continually travellingoverland between the major seaports of Britain, transferring from one vessel to another, that one operator's fleet of coaches is largely engaged in their conveyance. •
-Board-of Trade regulations stipulate that each Chinese signed on in Hong Kong, Shanghai, or any similar port for service overseas must be returned to his • home port withiti two years. Failure to do so involves the shipping company concerned in heavy indemnities.
In consequence, there are always some Chinese reaching this country, after long Far Eastern voyages, who have to be transferred to the next available ship sailing for China, so that they may reach their home port within the time limit. • It is this traffic which Mr. T Lawrenson, of Bootle, Lanes, handles with skill and diplomacy.
Tact is important on this class of work, for, whilst the deep-seated differences which often distinguish the men of Foochow from, Say, those of Hong Kong, are subjugated under a common discipline, at sea, they, are apt to flare up sharply on land. An appreciation of Asiatic mentality and outlook is essential to the successful handling of such " specialized " traffic.
Most of the journeys undertaken by Mr Lawrenson's coaches are lengthy, involving day and .often all-nat runs between the ports of London, Liverpool, Glasgow,, Dundee, NeweastleLoriTyne, Swansea and Avonmouth. During the war this operator's vehicles
A34 conveyed some 50,000 Chinese and their effects .between different ports. Among the vehicles used was an A.E.C. Regal, acquired in 1939;which ran for 119,000 miles before it was overhauled. It is still in active service.
Although the name Lawrenson is, through this particular traffic,' linked with that of Alfred Holt and Co., Ltd., owner of the Blue Funnel Line, the firm are principally known to the public of Bootle as operators of excursions and tours to thost of the popular resorts and beauty spots of Britain. Their fleet includes four A.E.C. Regals, ineluding two of the latest Mark HI type/shortly to be increased to three.
The goods-vehicle fleet_ includes two A.E.C. Mammoth Major six-wheeled lorries.