Crew Mess

Liberty ships had a separate eating area, or mess space, for each of their two crews, one for the Merchant Marine personnel and another for the Naval Armed Guard.

You may notice these messes would not accommodate the entire crew all at once, this is because there was always a portion of the crew on watch operating the vessel.

Each mess was maintained by a Messman, who served the crew and kept the mess clean. An additional steward worked in the scullery, or pantry, between the two messes and was responsible for washing dishes and most importantly keeping the ship’s steam-powered coffee pot in operation.

Seating in the crews’ mess typically followed a set pattern, with the engineers sitting at one table and the deck seamen at the other. A third smaller table was reserved for the bosun and carpenter. Mess tables were equipped with wooden barriers to prevent plates from sliding off the table in heavy seas.

The mess rooms were also the only public space available for the crew to relax when off duty, and each room had a speaker that could be used to play radio programs tuned in on the Scott Radio located in the Chartroom.