Donald Brotchie
| Donald Brotchie | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | August 7th. 1894. |
| Residence | Sandown, Isle of Wight. |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Master Mariner |
| Joined CNCo service | September 21st. 1922. |
| Left CNCo service | September 5th. 1950. |
Contents
Biography
September 5th. 1922. Joined China Navigation Co. already holding his Master's certificate No. 0015436. Seniority counting from November 21st 1922.
March 20th 1925. Promoted to Chief Officer. Employed as required on numerous vessels including the Yangtse River services
May 27th. 1932. Promoted to Master.
November/December 1937. Refer to the "Wantung" re the evacuation of civilians from Nanking and the USS "Panay" incident.
Interned during 2nd. World War.
After WW2 and return from leave, he sailed as Master on the Kangting II, Pakhoi III, Fengtien II , Shengking II and Fatshan II , then proceeded on home leave and retiring on September 5th. 1950.
Service
Events / Stories
Shirley Jane Endicott in her book "China Diary" about her mother, "The life of Mary Austin Endicott" recollects that when living in Chungking 1930 - 1933, whenever Captain Brotchie's steamer arrived he would give three toots on the whistle to alert the Endicotts of his arrival. When the children were older an excited cry would go up;- "Captain Brotchie is coming !" And soon he would arrive, violin in one hand and fresh down-river fruit in the other. In the evenings Mary accompanied the violin duo of Jim and Captain Brotchie. The highest achievement of the trio was Purcell's "The Golden Sonata".
