Chapter One, the first version, is complete, just about, I will tweak it a bit more after a couple of days.
After a nightmare with Endnote not syncing, so not able to use it, I finally managed to get it fixed (thanks to my internet provider).
So a few hours tidying up references and adding them to the document. I found it mildly amusing that I could reference both these books in the same chapter.
Just as at home the traditions surrounding Christmas in the Royal Navy start well in advance.
The Royal Navy whether in a shore establishment or at sea take part in this tradition.
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"Christmas day would start with ‘gimpy gifts’ in the mess whereby everybody received a ‘present’ from their oppo. The gift would normally be an insult and would highlight any faults and inadequacies of the recipient!
On hearing the pipe ‘standby for Captain’s rounds’ the mess would muster and await the youngest sailor in his newly empowered guise. Lagging behind him would be the real skipper, in the role of Bosun’s mate, trying his best to blow the bosun’s call! After a beer and best wishes they would proceed to conduct rounds in the rest of the mess decks, no doubt a bit bleary eyed by the end. " Royal Navy Association - Norwich
Hartlepool is a coastal town in the North of England, many have never heard of it.
Hartlepool is the home of HMS Trincomalee and the National Royal Navy museum, however, it is another aspect of the town's nautical heritage that it is perhaps better known for.
Legend has it that coastal towns lived in constant fear of an invasion during the Napoleonic war. Fishermen and seafarers are a superstitious bunch at the best of times and observed all outsiders as potential spies.
During a storm a French ship struggled, observed by the town's fishing fleet. When it sunk off the coast of Hartlepool, the crew all lost at sea, except one. That one survivor was a Monkey dressed in military uniform. For many years it was stated that the locals, having never seen a real Frenchman and not being able to understand the monkey decided he must have been a french spy. It is said that during his trial the monkey failed to provide a defence and so he was sentenced to death by this Impromptu people's court and was hanged from the mast of a fishing boat.
One other alternative was that the Monkey was actually a powder monkey, these were often small boys that were used to supply cannon with powder during battle. A small french child would likely have been unable to communicate with locals through language barriers, his traumatic sinking and fear from being away from home.
Is it true?, who knows, it is likely that the story comes from a musical song written by Ned Covan in 1855, or maybe from an earlier song about a visiting Baboon.
Many Hartlepool residents seem proud of their Monkey Hanger nickname, with the local Football team Hartlepool FC known as the Monkey Hangers, and having a mascot called H'Angus the Monkey. The clubs fanzine is called MoneyBizz .
Two local rugby teams also incorporate monkeys into their logos. Hartlepool RFC and Hartlepool Rovers.
The famous Monkey is commemorated with this statue in the marina, which is used to raise money for local charities.
The growth in cheaper printing also made it possible for more of these images and stories of daring sea battles to be distributed.
Artists such as Thomas Rowlandson often painted his sailors in very similar clothes, so while there was no uniform prescribed at this stage, in the public mind at least sailors were easily recognisable. Mostly his sailors are dressed in a blue jacket with red striped or beige trousers, with a scarf or handkerchief around their necks.
Other Rowlandson images such as this one of an old sailor still show similar clothing. Though he wears the older style red knitted hat.
https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/5/collection/810613/a-sailors-will
This image shows a sailor wearing an item of clothing that was synonymous with the Royal Navy Slops or a Skilt. Basically, a very large baggy pair of shorts either worn on its own or over trousers or breeches to protect them. These items of clothing were one of the first items of PPE.
These items were mass produced and purchased by sailors from the ships slops.
Interestingly Issac Cruickshank sailors were dressed almost identically to Rowalandsons sailors as can be seen here.
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O587198/the-sailor-and-the-quack-print-cruikshank-isaac/
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O587197/making-a-sailor-an-odd-print-cruikshank-isaac/
This similar imagery could be down to the artists copying each other as this appears to be commonplace with images often described as in the style of or following …..
There are lots of myths and rumours surrounding the origin of some of the items of the Royal Navy uniform. Some are more plausible than others.
One such myth I have seen repeated many times is the reason for the white stripes on a blue collar.
Royal Navy Collar
The myth states that there are three white lines that represent Nelson's three great battles (Nile, Copenhagen and Trafalgar). And yet the French Navy also have three white strips, despite the fact they were beaten in the same three battles by the British.
The collar itself was often said to have originated to protect uniforms for tarred plaits often work by sailors in the 18th century, Royal Navy uniform was not introduced until the mid-19th century, by which time hairstyles had changed, and so tarred plaits were not the issue they had once been.
The reason for Blue uniforms is not as is often stated to do with camouflage or that sailors were on the sea, it is simply down to the availability of cheap colour fast dye in a time before the availability of synthetic dyes, colonising India meant a ready supply of indigo.
Early naval clothing was often red or grey, and not the blue we think of today.
Queen Victoria popularised the fashion of dressing children in the sailor suit, after dressing her son Prince Albert in a sailor suit as a child of four in 1846.
This tradition has continued with Royal Children, most recently with Prince Lois wearing a sailor suit for the Trooping of the Colour (2022).
https://www.forces.net/news/royal-navy-submariner-trainees-get-new-badge
https://www.facebook.com/britanniaassociation/posts/a-recent-rntm-directive-03-03321-notified-royal-navy-personnel-that-to-commemora/4095024360553141/
The Brynmoor Jones Library (University of Hull)
Things I love about the University of Hull.
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I recently blogged about Mudget Submarines (XE craft) built in Huddersfield on the site of the University by local company Thomas Broadbent.
I recently stumbled across a local Victoria Cross winner buried in Halifax.
James Joseph Magennis was not a local man by birth. He was born in Belfast to a working-class Roman Catholic family, sadly it was only 10 years after his death that his home town recognised him and his achievements. It was only in 1998 after the troubles had started to relax and the Good Friday agreement in place that the Council of Belfast finally honoured their VC winner. A memorial was erected for him in the grounds of Belfast City Hall.
Having joined the Royal Navy at the age of 15 Magennis, he served initially of Destroyers before moving to Submarines and later volunteering to serve on Midget submarines.
Megennis a diver took part in the sinking of Turpitz (1943) for which he was mentioned in dispatches, before also taking part in the sinking of Takao. It was this mission for which he earned his VC.
After a period of training in Australia, the crews of the XE craft took part in Operation Struggle, an attack on Seletar Naval Base.
London Gazette Citation
Leading Seaman Magennis served as Diver in His Majesty's Midget Submarine XE-3 for her attack on 31 July 1945, on a Japanese cruiser of the Atago class. The diver's hatch could not be fully opened because XE-3 was tightly jammed under the target, and Magennis had to squeeze himself through the narrow space available. He experienced great difficulty in placing his limpets on the bottom of the cruiser owing both to the foul state of the bottom and to the pronounced slope upon which the limpets would not hold. Before a limpet could be placed therefore Magennis had thoroughly to scrape the area clear of barnacles, and in order to secure the limpets he had to tie them in pairs by a line passing under the cruiser keel. This was very tiring work for a diver, and he was moreover handicapped by a steady leakage of oxygen which was ascending in bubbles to the surface. A lesser man would have been content to place a few limpets and then to return to the craft. Magennis, however, persisted until he had placed his full outfit before returning to the craft in an exhausted condition. Shortly after withdrawing Lieutenant Fraser endeavoured to jettison his limpet carriers, but one of these would not release itself and fall clear of the craft. Despite his exhaustion, his oxygen leak and the fact that there was every probability of his being sighted, Magennis at once volunteered to leave the craft and free the carrier rather than allow a less experienced diver to undertake the job. After seven minutes of nerve-racking work he succeeded in releasing the carrier. Magennis displayed very great courage and devotion to duty and complete disregard for his own safety.
XE-3 was just one of the eight Midget submarines built in Huddersfield, so it seems fitting that after the war, Magennis chose to settle just up the road in Halifax.
Post in progress
I suppose it should come as no surprise that much of the art surrounding sailors depicts them leaving for sea, or returning home.
In the Eighteenth century sailors, regularly went to sea for extended periods often years rather than a few months as they do today, and so a farewell was something that held much more meaning than today, coupled with the risk of them not returning due to disease, accidents, weather, war or simply a new wife and family in another port made homecomings all the sweeter.
Sailors Farewell
Sailors Homecoming
I'll be revisiting this post later and adding a lot more to it.
One day a week I teach in two very different establishments. I am so proud of all my learners, well done all.
The first is a performing arts college, where I teach basic costume skills. This morning all of the students researched, designed and made their own Berets. Below are a few.
The second is a group for adults with learning disabilities, and I am so proud of one of my students who has never done cross stitch before but persevered with this cross stitch kit.
Had my third supervision meeting tonight, and made lots of notes.
Gave a brief presentation on the history of Royal Navy uniforms.
Letters Home
To commemorate Armistice day this year, The Royal Navy released a fantastic short film titled Letters Home.
The film follows Tom, a member of the Royal Navy 63rd Division in France, his brother Billy on the HMS Queen Mary, and their younger sister at home.
I love books, and I especially love old books. I recently purchased this book, mainly because I liked the front cover, yes I did judge a book by its cover.
