NAVAL PRIDE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 204, 30 August 1933, Page 6

NAVAL PRIDE.

An elderly mariner stood at the pierhead as the naval picket boat slid alongside, its brass funnel shining like gold, the hull freshly painted in grey and white, the dolphins in the stern sheets brave'in a new coat of enamel (writes Mr. Hector By water in the "Daily Telegraph"). His gaze rested on the trim midshipman at the wheel, the smart coxswain, and the- statuesque bowmen wielding their 15-foot boathooks like- pikemen at drill. Then his eye wandered to the stately battleship lying , offshore, white awning stre-tched over quarterdeck, spotless canvas hoods on every gun muzzle, the sun twinkling on countless points of highly-polished metal. "A darn sight too much 'spit and polish'," grumbled the old salt,,as he turned away. Perhaps it is true that the Navy how attaches more importance to outward appearances than it was wont to do in the grim years of preparation for "the day." But those who, like the elderly mariner, believe this external smartness to be inconsistent with stark efficiency are utterly wrong. Rather is it a manifestation of the intense professional keenness by which the Navy is animated. Some ships, perhaps, pay a little more attention to "housemaid's work" than others, but there is no reason to believe that SllCh work is allowed to interfere with the war drills and exercises which now occupy almost every hour of the working clay. Moreover, it often happens that the best-kept ship is at the head of her squadron in gunnery, torpedo practice and all-round fighting efficiency. This was particularly true of a ship I knew in the Third Battle Squadron, now disbanded. The battleship in question was always so spick and span that she was at once the envy and despair of her consorts; at the same time she held the squadron record for steaming, shooting, etc., and had captured most of the fleet's sporting trophies. A smart ship, indeed! Bluejackets may grumble now and again at their "spit and polish" duties, but secretly they take an immense pride in the smart appearance of their floating homes. They are, indeed, the first to criticise any fallinjr-off from the common -«tandard of smartness. Ami they go to immense pains to add those decorative touches which give a ship a personality of her i own.