18 replies to this topic

[Niall Cox]

Glad to have this section, as I thought questions were only about the Army.  Can anyone recommend any reading about conditions in the Navy at the time of the Great War.  I realise that each man had a job, and sort of went about that job on ship in the same manner day to day, but what happened on enlistment as a 'Boy'; what was training like at establishments like 'Impregnable', how did it get decided when they would change ship, as they seemed to do so frequently; did they have a more regular leave pattern than the Army?  Just interested in the Navy equivalent of 'Life in the Trenches'

Niall

[Jonathan Saunders]

I am not sure this will answer yr direct questions of everyday life but this web-address will give you access to a great deal of general information on the maritime history of WW1 and the minutiae of some aspects of Naval life

http://www.gwpda.org/naval/n0000000.htm

[Niall Cox]

Signals

Thanks - something to start to get my teeth in to.

Niall

[paul guthrie]

Rum, sodomy and the lash!

[Niall Cox]

tintin

Thanks for that, I hadn't really considered fiction, but I think going that way is a really good idea, so thanks for the suggestions.

Paul

Blimey, where do I sign??!!  

Niall [already with his sailor suit on]

[Michael]

Rum, sodomy and the lash!

Would you kindly explain this comment

Michael

[Will O'Brien]

QUOTE (paul guthrie @ Wed, 13 Aug 2003 14:13:43 +0000)
Rum, sodomy and the lash! 


Would you kindly explain this comment

Isn't that a typical Friday night down in Portsmouth  

Will

[roger]

Isn't that a typical Friday night down in Portsmouth 

Will

Any night really. A three badge Killick once told me when he joined up it was all "Rum, Bum and Baccy, now it's all juke box's jelly babies and jiving"
Roger.

[Michael]

Yeah OK, but all joking aside, the forum rules preclude us from making such innappropriate comments.

Michael

[Rosemary Clarke]

Isn't that a typical Friday night down in Portsmouth  

Will

I believe so...


... and the local newspapers sell like hot cakes on Saturdays.

[Jonathan Saunders]

It helps if you quote yr source.

[Neil Burns]

Hi Hussar,
I figure what could be safer than checking the forum in the morning?
Now I've got " A Pair of Brown Eyes" stuck in my head!
Take care,
Neil

[munce]

There are worse things to get stuck in your head, Neil!

Back to the topic at hand, there's a fascinating account of life in the RN to be found at:
http://www.naval-history.net/WW2MemoirAndSo00.htm

It's WW2 era rather than WW1, but I'm sure a lot of the details of service life were pretty similar.

[Niall Cox]

munce

That's fascinating stuff indeed.  Albeit in the thirties, just what I had in mind. Thanks a lot.

Niall

[Arthur]

Niall

This first title will give you a general out look of life in the R.N.

Title: Sober men and true : sailor lives in the Royal Navy 1900-1945
Author: McKee, Christopher Date: 2002
ISBN/Control No. : 0674007360;

Although the second title moves away from the the WWI, it will still give you an insight into the life in the R.N.
In my opinion, life in the R.N. had not changed much by this time. And I must stress that I DO NOT agree with rebellion in any form whether it be riot or mutiny.

Title: The Invergordon mutiny : a narrative history of the last great mutiny in the Royal Navy and how it forced Britain off the Gold Standard in 1931 / Alan Ereira Author: Ereira, Alan Date: 1981
ISBN/Control No. : 0710009305;

Arthur

[Niall Cox]

Thanks to Arthur and all the others for compiling my reading list.  Although a lot of the books are still available new, I normally do a secondhand booksearch for most things.  Strangely, although 'Sober men and True' is about the British Navy, every second hand copy I could find was in the USA - perhaps they had to read it themselves to believe it  

Niall