Beer on RN ships & Splicing the Mainbrace
D.C.KOH
Is there any other sort of beer on tap onboard HM ships, apart from
Courage Bitter?
If so, what are they?
Also, is there any one naval station that the RN holds their stocks of
rum for mainbrace splicing occasions?
And which station(s) might that be?
And is the tot distributed during mainbrace splicing, grog or undiluted
rum?
Thanks in advance,
Dan
Chris Swan
In article <336DED...@QMWCC7.qmw.ac.uk>,
RA6...@QMWCC7.qmw.ac.uk (D.C.KOH) wrote:
RN warships are supplied with their beer, wines and spirits
by NAAFI/the part of Scottish and Newcastle that was
formerly Courage. They offer two tap bitters, CSB (which is
really lager with caramel in it) and Tetleys. Tetleys
doesn't have the life of CSB (before or after opening) and
so CSB is usually the preferred option for most messes.
Lager (Fosters) and Cider are also available on tap.
Rum for splice the mainbrace is bought by the Captain, and
will come from the Wardroom wine store. This will usually be
supplied by Scottish and Newcastle, although Wardrooms are
at liberty to buy their stock from any supplier.
For splice the mainbrace the rum (usually regular Dark Rum
40% alc. by vol.) is served neat. This does not stop
anybody from adding their own Coke to dilute it should they
be that way inclined :-)
--
Chris Swan
jsho...@glojo.demon.co.uk
On 7 May 1997 19:14:49 GMT, Chris...@iee.org (Chris Swan) wrote:
In reply to your question concerning the supply of beer, and rum to
the Royal Navy, I would just like toreminisce over the days when the
Royal Navy had "Ships of wood and men of steel".
The main issue of rum was at the end of the forenoon watch. Mid-day.
On warships that had a dining room then rum was issued to all Junior
Rates over the age of 20 or 21yrs. (It is so long ago I cannot
remember the exact age, but it was definetly one or the other) When
joining the ship you had to declare whether you were 'G' or 'T'. Which
stood for Grog, or Teatotal. If you were Teatotal then you were not
entitled to an issue of rum.
If the rum was being distributed in the dining room, then there was a
senior rating either marking off your name, or marking your Grog card.
Next was another senior rating who issued out a measure of rum (This
was usually witnessed by the Officer of the Day whilst in harbour, and
the Supply Officer when at sea). Next came the 'Butcher' who mixed in
the measure of water. All Junior Rates had there own rum glass on my
ship, and the glass was darkened so nobody could see just how much
water was mixed with the rum, and how much was spilled back into the
water tub. Suffice it to say, If you looked after the 'Butcher, he
would look after you. Senior ratings had there rum in there living
accomodation. COKE!!!!!!!! in with rum. COKE!!!! WITH RUM I
have never heard of, or had the experience of anyone mixing anything
with their 'Tot' of rum. Apart from water of course. (Tot being the
measure that was issued) On older ships that did not have a seperate
dining room, then the rum was collected in a Rum Fanny by the Duty Rum
bosun, and issued out by the Leading Hand of the Mess. This rum had
already been diluted with the proper quantity of water.
If I am not rambling on to much I will briefly mention the bartering
system. I am sure that you could have purchased a Warship with the
right ammount of rum. To obtain various favours you had a scale of
rum on offer. Firstly
'Sippers' that would pay for the loan of an item of clothing.
'Gulpers' Would be for a big favour.
1/2 a Tot or a Tot would purchase Big Time. For example, Doing your
duty, or Doing your duty over a Week-End.
Next was your birthday. Everyone in the mess would give you either a
'Sip' of Rum, or a 'Gulp'. Plus obviously all your other friends
would also do the same thing. There were also sailors that would give
you there complete issue, on the proviso that you reciprocated the
gesture. Finally came the 'Afternoon' watch keeper. Some watch
keepers would go to the later issue of rum, that was only for
Watchkeepers unable to come to the mid-day issue. Some watch keepers
however had an arrangement with there opposite number and would give
them, their Tot, on the proviso that the gesture was reciprocated when
the duties were reversed.
You would think that there would be a large number of drunken sailors
falling over themselves, and passing out. Not so, however.
One of the many reasons for the stopping of rum issue was the fact
that modern warshipos had a lot of delicate equipment, and having
sailors under the influence of alcohol, would not be the ideal
situation. Senior Ratings now have a duty free spirits in lieu of the
rum, and they also have keg beer on tap, in their mess. Junior
ratings now have a number of cans of beer that they can purchase each
day.
I hope you can understand my poor grammer and spelling. Thank you
everyone for their contributions to a News Group that I enjoy reading.
MDC
On Thu, 22 May 1997, jsho...@glojo.demon.co.uk shared with us:
>On 7 May 1997 19:14:49 GMT, Chris...@iee.org (Chris Swan) wrote:
>
>In reply to your question concerning the supply of beer, and rum to
>the Royal Navy, I would just like toreminisce over the days when the
>Royal Navy had "Ships of wood and men of steel".
>
>The main issue of rum was at the end of the forenoon watch. Mid-day.
>On warships that had a dining room then rum was issued to all Junior
>Rates over the age of 20 or 21yrs. (It is so long ago I cannot
>remember the exact age, but it was definetly one or the other) When
>joining the ship you had to declare whether you were 'G' or 'T'. Which
>stood for Grog, or Teatotal. If you were Teatotal then you were not
>entitled to an issue of rum.
Yep - and if you declared yourself T you received 3p per day Grog Money.
>
>If the rum was being distributed in the dining room, then there was a
>senior rating either marking off your name, or marking your Grog card.
>Next was another senior rating who issued out a measure of rum (This
>was usually witnessed by the Officer of the Day whilst in harbour, and
>the Supply Officer when at sea). Next came the 'Butcher' who mixed in
>the measure of water.
In my day the grog was already mixed (1 part rum, 2 parts water, total
nearly half a pint) and in RNB was usually served from a bloody great
zinc bath, except on special occasions when the traditional rum tub was
used. The procedure was you drew your tot and had to consume it in
front of the OOD - and generally, to show how macho you were, you downed
the whole lot in one.
>Next was your birthday. Everyone in the mess would give you either a
>'Sip' of Rum, or a 'Gulp'. Plus obviously all your other friends
>would also do the same thing.
And Admiralty Fleet Orders contained, with monotonous regularity,
notices about "A recent fatality..." when some poor bloke died as a
result of having too many generous friends.
>
>I hope you can understand my poor grammer and spelling. Thank you
>everyone for their contributions to a News Group that I enjoy reading.
>
>
And thank you for bringing back the smell of the rum issue......
--
Regards "If you can't convince them,
Malcolm Confuse them".