SEA OFFICERS

Greymouth Evening Star, 11 March 1932, Page 10

SEA OFFICERS

THE ADMIRAL

Come all you landsmen bold, And lend an ear;' ’Tis of our AdpiiraL’s fame That you sh'pH hear.

Thus goes the old spng, and manypeople have speculated on the derivation of the word “Admiral” which, like ‘‘General 1 ’ was : not at first confined to either the |ea /pr land service (writes Flinders Barr, in the “Sydney Morning Jigiald”) - Robert the Monk who, about 1Q95, wrote a history of the Saracen War, says that the King of Babylop jyas styled “Our Lord the Admiral qf Babylon.” Probably the word camp from the Arabic “Al-miro,” the chief Qgßtain, and was introduced into Eurpße during the Crusades. Although tfsed previously in France and in England, it was pot until the year 130$ ' .tliat the first commission to an IjJpgtish Admiral of which any record has bpfen kept, was granted, when Edward I. bestow.ed the title, on Gervase Aland, who, on February 4 of that year, was appointed ‘Captain and Admiral cd his fleet of the ships of the Cjngup Ports, and aldo of all other ports <rom the Port of Dover by the seg coast, and of the whole county of Coiffiwaß-” On July 18, 1360, Sir John Beauchamp was appointed by Edwapd -IJI. Admiral of the King’s Southern, Northern, and Western fleets,” and tips would seem tio be the first comnpssjpn to a Lord High Admiral or a similar officer. An ancient manuscript volume called the Black Book of the Admiralty, the first parj pf which was written in the reign of Edward 111. or Richard 11., and the latter part m the reign of Henry IV., V., and VI., gives, in quaint Norman French, a mass of information op the office and duty of an Admiral, the management of fleets, marine law, and the method 'of procedure'in the Admirals or Admiralty Court,. etc., during the 14th century. It must not be forgotten that though there was constant friction between the Admiralty ana Kingjs Courts, the fqrmjar was in those days very powerful, and claimed in many ways to be quite independent of the common law. ‘ The first ordinance in the Black Bo’ok is to the effect that immediately after his appointment an Admiral must select as his lieutenants, deputies, and other officers “the most loyal, sage, apd discreet in the marine IpW and ancient customs of the sea that he can anywhere find.” Then he -is to. get a lis> of the vessels, men, munitions, and stores, and to find out how soon, if wanted, they can be available for the King’s service. If the Admiral was a Knight, his daily pay was four shillings, and he had for each esquire, being armed, one shilling per diem. For thirty men-at-arms lie had every quarter 100 marks, and for every archer sixpence. If -the\ Admiral happened to be a barpp pis daily pay was six shillings and eightpence, apd if an earl he received thirteen shillings and fourpence. One of the Admiral’s special duties was to pick out for the King’s personal use if he went to sea, “the best and most efficient ship of the realm,” which was, when in commission, called “The Chamber of the King” or of his lieutenant, and if the King were to be present, with the fleet, the Steward of the Household was to choose from amongst the best vessels, one ship for the King’s Hall, another for his Wardrobe, a third for his Larder, a fourth for his Kitchen, and more if they were wanted.

ROYAL WARDROBE AT SEA

One imagines it must have been difficult work at sea in heavy weather to fetch the royal raiment, clothing etc., for the’different vessels in which they were carried, but royalties seldom made long voyages in those days. Yet we know that at the battle of Sluys in 1340, England’s first great Naval victory, the ship containing' the King’s wardrobe was captured by the enemy and all on board except two men and a woman were slain. The King’s letter to his son, the Duke of Cornwall, on this occasion, is the first official despatch announcing an English naval victory, and is an extremely interesting document. When on the King’s or Admiral’s service, the pay of each shipmaster or navigator, and of each “constable” of the fleet, was sixpence per day, each mariner had threepence half-penny daily and a reward or bonus of sixpence per week. In return for maintaining the mariners in all their laws and customs and defending them from all injuries, against everyone, “and if there be need to sue for their wages and obtain payment, the said Admiral shall have and take from each pound paid of wages to the mariners, fourpence, for which fourpence the Admiral ought by night, at his masthead, all the time the fleet :s on the sea, to carry two lanthorns. so that all the masters of the fleet may know aijd understand by th? light the course of the Admiral, the which course they shall keep.” There are various other instructions as to the lanterns the Admirals and viceadmirals shall carry, and the districts of the various officers are clearly defined. If the Admiral wished to assemble the other ships round him for a council, he, in the words of the old manuscript, “prendra haut. en mylieu del mast un baner de conseil,” that is, he hoists the council flag at the middle of the mast.

UNCOMFORTABLE QUARTERS

The first mention of cabins on board an English ship would seem to be in June, 1228, when four shillings and sixpence were paid “for making a chamber in the said ship to place the king’s things in.” The old admirals must have been very uncomfortable at sea, but probably they did not ipind, as anything approaching hixpry was disapproved of by the genuine old sea-dogs, and we find Sir Walter Raleigh complaining of the luxurious habits which were creeping into the service. He was especially disgruntled because “the mariners doe covet store of cabbins, yet indeed they are but sluttish dens, that breed sickness in peace, serving to cover stealths, and in fight are dangerous to teare men with their splinters.” However, ideas of greater comfort gradually prevailed, and a very interesting light on the quarters of the Lord High Admiral of the British fleet which fought the Spanish Armada in 1588, is afforded by” the bill jof one William Byford “upholsterer,” for the trimming of the cabin in the (Ark Royal, Lord Howard’s flagship. ißyford charged thirty-nine pounds six I shillings and eightpence, “finding at his own charges all manner of green 'cotton, danix (a coarse damask) lace, copper nails, tacks, curtain rings, green and yellow fringe, mockado (imitation velvet), and other necessaries,

with the workmanship thereto belong'ing.”

As years rolled on, ships • grew larger, until at the fend of the old three-decker period, about the middle of the last century, the admirals’ quarters on the flagships were qpite palatial, and must have been particularly enjoyable in the Mediterranean and West Indies. Nelson had a very small staff, and this notwithstanding the fact that a British admiral not only possessed vast military powers but had to be a skilled diplomatist as well. In 1840 on board H.M.S. Princess Charlotte, 104 guns, the flagship in the Mediterranean, there were 32 commissioned officers all told, as compared with 54 on board H.M.S. Iron Duke, Admiral Jellicoe’s flagship in September, 1914. The dress of a British admiral has only comparatively recently become of a fixed pattern. Even in 1840, an admiral had a red collar and red cuffs, both ornamented with much gold braid, and in Nelson’s time there seems to have been little regularity in dress.

In the 17th, 18th, and early part of the 19th centuries, there was much prize money to be picked up, and many admirals became very rich men.

On April 12, 1782, Admiral Sir George Rodney, in command of a British fleet, severely defeated the French fleet under De Grasse, in the West Indies. Although on this occasion the British .admiral got little- prize money, >he was raised to the peerage as Baron Rodney, and received a pension of £2OOO per aiihum. The politi-cal-‘party which had sent out Rodney and his fleet, fell from power soon afterwards, and the new government, loudly disapproving of their predecessor’s nhval policy, sent to recall Rodney and his fleet. Therefore, the news of his victory, though very popular generally, placed the government in a very embarrassing position, and the victor was but coldly received in high quarters; he was given a peerage and put on the shelf. One of Gillray’s first caricatures refers to this. We see Rodney as a naval St. George, attacking very vigorously a huge French dragon; behind him comes King George running, with a baron’s coronet in his hands, “Hold, my dear Rodney,” he says, “you have done enough. I will now make a. lord of you, and you shall- have the happiness of never being heard ‘of again.” In Rodney’s time as in Nelson’s time there were no cables or wireless, and nothing on the waters swifter than a sailing dispatch boat, thus an admiral could win a victory or avoid a defeat on his own responsibility. After all, this seems to have been the best way, for an admiral continuously in touch with the powers that be on shore, is more or less deprived of his own initiative and' may become in time a kind of glorified robot.