John Ashley visited the islanders and was warmly welcomed. It was from there that he saw a huge fleet anchored in the channel and wondered who, if anyone, ministered to the men aboard. He took it upon himself to visit the fleet and, having asked one captain if anyone ministered to them, was told: "Visit us, Sir? No Sir, as long as they can get anything by us poor seamen, I believe they leave us to perish like dogs." Ashley abandoned the parish he had been offered and became the self appointed chaplain to these seafarers.

Ashley had a way of talking to the seamen that was perhaps more direct and open than they expected from a preacher of the mid-19th century. "I'd sooner have a chaw of tobacco" one second mate replied when Ashley offered him a Bible. Completely unfazed, Ashley replied: "And quite right too." "Ah, now", replied the mate, "I don't see that". "Well", Ashley replied, "you know the pleasure there is in tobacco, but you don't know what's in the Bible."

The foundational meeting of The Missions to Seamen was held on February 28, 1856. This led, after many further discussions, to the drafting of a constitution two years later. The constitution read as follows:

1. The object of the society is the spiritual welfare of the seafaring classes at home and abroad.
2. In pursuance of this object the society will use every means consistent with the principles and received practice of the Church of England.
3. The operations of the society shall for the most part be carried on afloat and for this purpose its chaplains and scripture readers shall, as far as possible, be provided with vessels and boats for visiting the ships on roadsteads, rivers and harbours.

The flag was designed by the wife and sister of William H G Kingston, a popular author of sea stories, who established the Seamen's Church at Swansea. The design is based on the Book of Revelation, chapter 14, verse six: "Then I saw another angel flying high overhead, sent to announce the good news of eternity to all who live on earth, every nation, race, language and tribe."

Crimping was a system which flourished as a result of the way seafarers were paid. Instead of being paid off on board ship, sailors received their pay a few days afterwards at the shipping company offices. During that time � often a space of three or four days � the seafarers were prey to an unscrupulous band of men, or crimps, who provided money, alcohol, food and lodgings, under the guise of �hospitality�. When pay-day arrived the sailor would be presented with a bill by the crimp which, in most cases, virtually exhausted his pay packet. Penniless and miserable, the sailor was forced to ship out again.

Crimping became the special concern of the Revd Robert Boyer who was the first superintendent of The Missions to Seamen, from 1874 to 1891. Boyer played a large part in the implementation of the Transmission of Wages Scheme, whereby sailors were supplied with a rail ticket and some expense money on leaving their ship, receiving the bulk of their wages at home through a seaman�s money order�a reform which was heartily welcomed.

But if crimping had been tackled in the British Isles, it was practised, perhaps even more viciously in other ports around the world. It has been said that nothing could touch the lawlessness of a port such as San Francisco around the turn of the 19th century. In his book, Round the Horn Before the Mast, Basil Lubbock has this to say of the Californian port: "There is no more dangerous waterfront in the world than that of Frisco. Many a mate or apprentice has disappeared, never to be seen alive again, and often his body would be found, stripped and mutilated, floating in the Sacramento� " To this infamous centre of violence and greed came, in 1893, a Mission chaplain, James Fell, or �Fell of Frisco� as he was called. He got hold of some rooms and turned them into an institute. All day he visited ships � to the great anger of the crimps � because he was prompt and got there before them. In the evenings he welcomed seafarers to the centre he had opened. Eventually he brought about such a transformation that the port authorities themselves began to take an active part in dealing with the problems of the waterfront.

Nine hours after the Second World War broke out in September, 1939 the Mission was involved. The Athenia, a liner carrying more than 1,400 people, was torpedoed off the Irish coast with the loss of 112 lives. Survivors were visited in hospital by the Glasgow chaplain and from then on the Mission was in the thick of things.

At the club on Pollock dock, Belfast, recalls the present chaplain in Belfast, the Revd Douglas Goddard, four and a half million meals were served during the six years of the war. The club was entirely staffed by voluntary helpers, 700 in all. Although twice damaged by enemy action and once by fire the canteen closed only for six days in the six years.

The chaplain in Dunkirk was involved in the evacuation. He wrote in his diary: "May 19/20/21: Seventy seamen came for shelter. No shops were open and there was no water or bread. The last refugee ship left on May 21. I was also asked to go, but we had a further influx of shipwrecked men so I missed the boat which was heavily bombed as she left the quayside. The air was charged with smoke and the night lit up like noonday."

In Halifax, Nova Scotia, for the first time in Mission history beer was served in the club. This was prompted by the fears that seafarers, relaxing over a drink in the port�s bars, would naturally discuss their work on the convoys � and any information that could be gleaned by an enemy ear would be would be valuable in the fight against the allies. A typical, practical way forward was found by the Mission: provide the seafarers with beer in the club where there were no enemy ears to hear any idle talk.

By the 1980s changes in the world economy have brought a huge change in the nationalities of seafarers. Whereas previously the merchant navies that carried the world�s cargoes had been predominantly from the Western world, now two thirds of the world�s seafarers come from developing countries such as India, Malaysia, the Philippines and China. Also by the 80s flag of convenience shipping was expanding and thriving. Shipowners in the traditional maritime nations increasingly flagged-out their ships in order to cut costs by employing crews from low-wage developing countries where men were glad to find employment on any terms. A significant number of these FoC ships sailed with untrained crew members who were receiving inadequate wages and working in unsatisfactory, sometime dangerous, conditions.

The plight of these seafarers became of increasing concern to Mission chaplains, who not only worked on the ground to help with problems such as non-payment of wages, denial of medical treatment and unsafe conditions, but started to campaign for improved conditions in the same way that their forebears had done in the previous century.

It was in response to chaplains� increased activity in this area, that in 1985 the Mission appointed its first chaplain specifically to develop the society�s work in the area of justice.

The challenge The Mission to Seafarers faces as it celebrates its 150th anniversary is how best to minister to people of many different cultures and faiths, who are facing ever-increasing physical, cultural and social isolation.

Developing the use of new communications technology to reach out to seafarers on their ships, particularly email and the internet, is one answer.

There will also need to be more training in dealing with justice issues, in understanding crews� cultural and faith backgrounds, and in establishing relationships with, and providing support for, seafarers in the brief time their ships are in port.

But whatever ways of working The Mission to Seafarers develops in the future, the fundamentals will not change. Our mission and ministry is to be there in God�s name as a source of help, strength and hope to seafarers and their families.