Issue XII
Contents
I
Alexander Kent
II Naval Customs
III Naval Slang
IV Master Craftsmen
V
'Honour This Day'
VI
Alexander Kent -- Honour This Day
VII The
Richard Bolitho Figurine
VIII 'Anthony Valentine
Reads Richard Bolitho -- Midshipman'
IX
Douglas Reeman -- The Iron Pirate
I
Alexander Kent
I suppose that the days of fighting sail and independent
seamen of the eighteenth/nineteenth century navy have always fascinated
me, perhaps even from my childhood, when I walked around Nelson's Victory
and tried to picture the fury of a sea-battle.
During the last war, in spite
of my belonging to an army family, I joined the navy without hesitation.
It seemed the right thing to do, as if it was expected of me. I served
in the Battle of the Atlantic and in the campaigns in the Mediterranean
and Normandy, but through it all I never lost my affection for those far-off
days when only the 'wooden walls' stood between England and her enemies.
Ten years after becoming a
professional author and novelist, I fell in love with Richard Bolitho and
his own life and times. Now, as I research the material of his exploits
with my Canadian wife Kim beside me, I feel we can share the memories of
those fine, brutal ships, and the men who by choice or enforcement served
and died with them.
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II
Naval Customs
Piping the Side
Like gun salutes, piping the side as a mark of
salute and respect finds its origins in the very early days of sail.
The term ‘pipe’ actually refers to the shouted orders preceded by the shrill
but not unpleasant whistle on a boatswain's ‘call’, nicknamed Spithead
Nightingale. In the eighteenth/nineteenth century navy, where the
stress and strain on sails and the miles of standing and running rigging
were under constant threat from sea and wind, to say nothing of the hazards
of battle, all orders passed from aft had to be executed without delay.
The ‘Call’ could carry to most parts of the ship, and as many of the seamen
were quite likely to be foreign, the language of each pipe was quickly
understood. Its use as a mark of respect was born out of the various
captains visiting other ships in foul or heavy weather. The visiting
captain had to be swayed up from his boat in a ‘boatswain's chair’, the
progress of which was controlled by the ‘Call’ for hoisting and lowering
to the deck.
It continued to be used for
piping the side for visiting captains under all circumstances and remains
in use even today.
Small Boat Etiquette
When going ashore in one of the ship's boats the
junior officer always enters the boat first, the senior last. This
would certainly apply if the captain was using the same craft as his subordinates.
It was often said that it was to preserve the clothing of the senior officer
as upon coming into harbour, often only rarely, the ship's tall side would
be given a fresh coat of tar. A senior officer would allow the others
to wipe off most of the paint and tar from the stairs beneath the entry
port before he descended. A more charitable explanation is that it
was only courtesy to prevent the senior officer having to wait while the
rest were coming down the side, and to have the same effect at the other
end of the pull to the shore.
Manning Ship on Entering Harbour
As mentioned in previous newsletters, it was customary
for men-of-war to discharge their guns when entering a foreign port to
show their friendly intentions by emptying all their main armament.
This later was accepted as a form of salute, the number of guns fired requiring
to be set the rank or status of the recipient. Likewise when a warship
sailed into a foreign harbour, all the yards would be manned, the seamen
standing on their precarious perches, usually holding hands, to prove that
their visit was a peaceful one, that there were no spare sailors left to
fire the guns other than in salute.
Boarding a King's Ship
Distinguished visitors and senior officers were
always greeted at the starboard side whenever possible. It was so
called because of the original name steer-board from where ancient vessels
were manoeuvred by a long bladed paddle, and where the captain would take
his walk. The opposite side, port or larboard, was the one laid against
a jetty or harbour wall to preserve the safety of the steering gear, and
was usually cluttered with gangways and brows.
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III
Naval Slang
Much of the old slang has remained firmly placed
in our history, while some has been constantly with us, although often
misused to suit the changing times.
Getting a checked shirt
at the gangway meant receiving a flogging. Parting brass rags
described the breakup of a lower-deck friendship, as men often worked together
with a single length of cloth to clean ship's fittings. To my knowledge
it has no place in daily language now. Grog is still used as a name
for rum, even though there is no longer a spirit issue except for special
occasions. Admiral Vernon introduced the rum ration to replace beer
and other forms of alcohol. Vernon usually wore a pair of grogham
breeches and was affectionately known as Old Grog.
Fanny Adams, used today
as a coarse dismissal of somebody's intelligence, was born of a much more
macabre rumour. It was said that a murdered child of that same name
was cut up and distributed amongst the navy's rations, and so was given
as the nickname for preserved meat!
The Devil to Pay or
Between
the Devil and the Deep originated from a nautical term in regular use.
The ship's side had to be kept tight against the sea, and each seam had
to be ‘paid’ with tar. The most difficult seam to pay was the one
immediately above the waterline, so was called the Devil by the luckless
sailors ordered to do it.
As I have said, many of the
original terms like third-rate, the classification of a ship-of-the-line,
have been changed altogether in today's language. But there they
still remain.
How many sailors wonder why
the Royal Navy is nicknamed The Andrew, although the expression
is frequently used? Andrew Miller was a very successful officer of
the notorious Portsmouth press gangs. It was suggested that as he
pressed so many men into the service it should be called Andrew's navy.
The name stuck.
Today's contemptuous dismissal
of an idler as a waster comes too from a natural term, waister.
In the days of the square-rigger, waisters were the untrained sailors or
landsmen without the skills for working high above the deck. They
were employed in the ‘waist’ of the ship.
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IV
Master Craftsmen
It has often been said that a King's ship, especially
one employed for many months, even years, away from home, produced more
‘experts’ and self-taught craftsmen than any other brotherhood before or
since. Once out of sight of land each ship was entirely self-dependent.
Masts, spars, riggings, pulling boats all had to be repaired, even rebuilt
from the ship's own resources. The carpenters and shipwrights, as
well as the ordinary seamen, had to learn every remedy to every problem
as it arose. Jack of all trades was a pretty fair description; master
of none was not. In the stories of Richard Bolitho the figureheads
of his ships are usually mentioned. Today it is often called folk-art,
as if it were of no importance, and yet the work was impressive, and in
most cases outlived the ships and men it served.
In the navy's early years the
decoration of ships was ornate to the point of grandeur. The carving
around the stern was gingerbread, hence gilt on the gingerbread
whenever a captain could afford real gold paint rather than dockyard yellow.
The figureheads, often the first or the last thing an enemy saw before
the broadsides began to thunder, could inspire as well as strike terror.
The figureheads expanded from
the simple lion style of the seventeenth century to the grander ‘group’
carvings, although those were discouraged in the times of shortages when
the long wars with Revolutionary or Napoleonic France made other, harsher
demands on the fleet.
Many of the old craftsmen carried
their skills ashore with them as a direct result of this austerity.
Today, in many old churches, especially those around seaports, although
some men found their inland in search of employment, their work is very
evident. Anchors, ships and sea-birds figure prominently in the fine
carvings, while some church structures are fashioned from the ships timbers
themselves. A remarkable heritage indeed.
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V
'Honour This Day'
A while ago I was asked to give the Waterloo Lecture
in Brussels, an annual event, and I chose as my title for the talk, Without
Trafalgar there would have been no Waterloo. I have been reminded
of this while writing about Richard Bolitho's latest exploits, even though
Trafalgar remains at a distance as it did for the nation at the time.
It overshadowed everything,
and had the battle been lost, the invasion of Britain would have followed
in a matter of weeks, not months. The victory was to enable British
soldiers to land and advance in Europe when such hopes had previously seemed
like dreams. That same victory was to give us a hundred years of
peace, even though it cost us a hero whose memory is still revered by friend
and old enemy alike. There were decisive battles fought at sea after
Trafalgar, but to many lovers of those days of sail, it was the summit
of all which had gone before.
Like most sailors Bolitho never
met Nelson, and yet was deeply moved by his loss. A symbol perhaps,
the true hero whose charisma was an inspiration to men too often dismissed
as cannon-fodder. It would never occur to Bolitho, a man beset by
his own family problems and one devoid of conceit, that he too may have
these same qualities.
In 1804 Bolitho hoists his
flag above the seventy-four gun ship Hyperion. He is eager
to quit the land although it is less than three months since his return
home. Plagued by both his troubled marriage and the eye injury he
suffered in his last bloody battle with Contre-amiral Jobert, he sees the
old Hyperion, a ship he once commanded as a young captain, as a
form of escape.
But the ship is full of tormenting
memories and lost faces, with little to sustain him until he arrives in
Antigua, where he is roused by a flame of love and passion which can only
bring damage to his reputation.
Then in the following year,
1805, one which is to mean so much to England and her hard-pressed fleet,
Bolitho sails east for Gibraltar. It is a time all those who follow
his flag will remember as Hyperion clears the way for victory.
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VI
Alexander Kent
Honour This Day
 In
Honour
This Day our greatest living writer of historic naval fiction has written
his most spellbinding novel to date. Full of colour, action, and
the thrill of danger, it is a rousing adventure which will delight Richard
Bolitho's many followers around the world.
It is September 1804.
England stands alone against France and the fleets of Spain. Vice
Admiral Richard Bolitho hoists his flag above the veteran 74-gun ship,
Hyperion,
and sets sail with a new squadron for the Caribbean. Ordered to plan
and effect a daring raid on the Spanish Main, Bolitho spares himself nothing.
But alongside the thrill and success of battle, a new excitement stirs
Bolitho's heart leading him to defy convention and risk his reputation.
His future full of uncertainty, he sails for Gibraltar and a rendezvous
all who follow his flag will remember.
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VII
The Richard Bolitho Figurine
 Some
of you will recall that in my last Newsletter I mentioned the exciting
project on which my wife Kim and I have been working for some time, the
creation of a Richard Bolitho Figurine. I can scarcely believe that
the dream is now almost a reality. After so many discussions and
planning sessions the first experimental model was made.
Over the next few months a
small collection of figurines will be produced by the Albany Fine China
Company in conjunction with Thomas Goode Limited of London.
Each figurine will be one of
a numbered edition, bone china, hand crafted and decorated, and authentic
in every detail. A remarkable recreation not only of a stirring period
but of an individual.
For further details visit the
Richard
Bolitho Figurine link on this website.
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VIII
‘Anthony Valentine reads
Richard Bolitho – Midshipman’
It's October 1772. Richard Bolitho, a midshipman
of four years standing, is waiting in Portsmouth to join his new ship,
the 74-gun Gorgon. Her captain has been ordered to the west
coast of Africa to 'show the flag'.
Gorgon's ships' company
soon find out that the enemy they encounter is just as ruthless and skilful
as any who challenge the navy's authority. In this, chronologically,
the first book about Richard Bolitho, the listener is introduced to the
life and times of the men in Nelson's Navy. As in his subsequent
books, Alexander Kent captures the excitement and detail of the times,
and gives us a thrilling story for the young of all ages.
Anthony Valentine, who is particularly
well-known for his television portrayal of Raffles and his performance
in ‘Colditz’ brings the whole story to life.
© Bolitho Maritime Productions Limited 1975
Abridgement for recording purposes: Sam Curtis
For Music for Pleasure Limited
Produced by Graham Goodwin
® 1977 Music for Pleasure Limited
Recommended price: £4.99
Available from record shops and from multiple
and department stores
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VI
Douglas Reeman
The Iron Pirate
Heineman is proud to welcome Douglas Reeman, master
of the modern sea story, whose naval adventures have earned him a vast
international following. In The Iron Pirate he has written
one of his most exciting, atmospheric novels, a certain bestseller.
It is the summer of 1944. On
every front the war is going badly for Germany. In the Baltic, the
navy is on the defensive as the Russians drive the once victorious divisions
back into the sea.
One ship, the crack heavy cruiser
Prinz
Luitpold, whose luck and skill have become a legend to friend and enemy
alike, is like a symbol. Her captain, Dieter Hechler, loves his ship
like his country, but knows that no war can be won on the defensive.
When he is ordered to quit
the Baltic and head out into the Western Ocean, he accepts it as an honour,
and not as the trap it soon becomes.
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