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From: George Huxtable (no email)
Date: Wed Dec 10 2003 - 10:08:11 EST
Fred Hebard said, of Trevor's account of the Royal Navy's class and
promotion system-
>Very nice discourse.
I agree. And I would support Trevor's recommendation of "The Wooden World".
>I understand, from O'Brian of course, that some
>commissioned officers could come up through the "hawse hole,"
>especially early in the life of the British Navy. So that
>non-gentleman could become gentlemen by that route. Comments?
It was possible. One famous exception was, of course, James Cook, not a
born "gentleman", who at 27 had worked his way up to be offered a ship of
his own in the North Sea merchant trade.
Astoundingly, he then gave that up to enter the Royal Navy as an AB
(able-bodied seaman). His qualities must have been obvious, for within a
month he had been promoted to Master's Mate.
Within two years he was Master of ship-of-the-line Pembroke, and so
responsible for taking the vessel from A to B under the command of her
Captain. It was in that capacity he did his surveying of the St Lawrence,
and later, as Master of his own small surveying vessel, his survey of
Newfoundland, which involved several Atlantic crossings. Presumably, he
would then expect to be addressed as captain of that vessel "Grenville".
Since his appointment as Master of "Pembroke", he had been a
warrant-officer, not a commissoned-offer holding the King's commission, so
not yet a "gentleman"
It was not until he took over Endeavour for her circumnavigation that he
was given a King's commission, as Lieutenant. Through this commision, he
became one of the "gentlemen". Throughout that voyage he was addressed by a
courtesy-title as captain of the ship, but was not appointed (or paid) as
such.
After returning, Cook was, for the second voyage (in Resolution),
commissioned as Commander, one rank down from Captain.
Returning from that, he was appointed, now as Captain, to a sinecure post
at the Naval Hospital at Greenwich, from which he volunteered to go, again
in Resolution, on his third and fatal voyage. Such a small vessel would not
normally have someone of Captain's rank in charge, but the circumstances
were exceeptional.
So we have to distinguish between the job of a ship's captain, which Cook
had been doing, and presumably addressed as, ever since he left "Pembroke",
and the rank of Captain of a King's Ship, which he didn't achieve (nor the
pay that went with it) until his final voyage.
=================
This next bit, I admit, is somewhat off-topic, but it does have some relevance.
I think it's worth adding to Trevor's excellent account that in Britain
(and particulaly in England rather than Scotland) we still remain
bedevilled by the same class system that so restricted naval appointments
in the 18th century. It surprises many visitors, particularly Americans,
who have embraced equality of opportunity.
Nowadays, the distinction is made not by birth so much as by education. We
have what are curiously called "public" schools, which have fees set at a
similar level to the total income of ordinary working people, so they are
the preserve of an elite rich. The vast majority attend the free State
schools.
Differentiation between the two is made by speech. In State schools the
kids naturally acquire a distinctive local accent, but the others isolate
their pupils as far as possible and inculcate a "public school accent",
which any Briton will immediately recognise. It is this that still flags up
membership of a "governing class".
So, in the British Army, for example, you will find that anyone who speaks
with that accent will be an officer, or on his way to becoming one. It
would be astounding to discover an ordinary Joe in the Army who spoke that
way. Nowadays, true, it is possible for a bright State-school product to
make his mark and advance, along a path like that of Colin Powell. But his
task is much harder than it is for posh-speakers.
This distinction applies in many fields: The law, politics, boardrooms.
Less, nowadays, in the Royal Navy. It's never been a big problem in the
Royal Air Force, for which technical ability was more important right from
the start.
In Britain, the "governing class" still looks after its own, via the "old
boy network" of the public schools.
You might guess, from the above, which side of that divide I hail from. And
you would guess right.
George.
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contact George Huxtable by email at , by phone at
01865 820222 (from outside UK, +44 1865 820222), or by mail at 1 Sandy
Lane, Southmoor, Abingdon, Oxon OX13 5HX, UK.
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