Nelson & His World

The Royal Mail has issued stamps of naval uniforms over several centuries. Of particular interest to us are the three depicting men from Nelson's day: an able seaman, a marine, and an Admiral.



http://dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/12 ... h-the-ages

The Royal Mail's own website features the stamps at:

http://www.royalmail.com/portal/stamps/jump1?catId=32200669&mediaId=105000774

Alas, they only have 1st class stamps and 90P ones, which is more than a bit limited. They have long given up doing special issue 2nd class stamps. I used to check what special stamps were being issued in any one year and then stock up on the 2nd class ones to use on Christmas cards, as the Christmas stamps are generally not very good (and last year they were terrible).

Lesley

http://www.adkinshistory.com

I wonder how many of us here knew that the ubiquitous duffle coat, much beloved of students, Jonathan Creek, small children, and one even smaller bear, actually sprung to prominence through its original use as a naval watch coat?

The issue of the new naval stamps, and particularly that of the Captain of 1941 who is shown wearing one, reminded me of this fact. The coat was originally introduced around 1890, made of a material called duffel, and had the familiar large horn buttons, which were designed so that officers could button and unbutton them whilst wearing gloves in cold weather. Naturally it found great favour during both World Wars, and I think it was probably from films of the latter War that I first knew them. And yes, I had one too for a short period. One thing about them however that has changed is the colour, or colours, since you can now buy them in a multitude of hues. In the navy you could only have the one – brown!

Here's a clip from 'The Cruel Sea' set in WW2 - with views of duffel coats (and cups of cocoa - they're always drinking it in war films.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vj6o_z_H ... re=related

Anna,

Thanks for that, and you may have just have solved my evening's viewing here at our summer (now late summer) cottage, where we don't have a television - out of choice! I do however have several DVD films to watch on the computer and the Cruel Sea just happens to be one of them.

As you say the duffel coats are much in evidence – and did I forget earlier to mention that the hood was made rather wide, originally in order to fit over the naval cap? (A hot cup of cocoa is also, I can tell you, very welcome on a cold watch).

I think the film is brilliant on many levels. Besides bringing home the miseries of the Battle of the Atlantic, this particular scene also brings out another aspect of the seamen – his thought for and his efforts freely given if possible, to help those who were but a short time before enemies, but who now face the dangers of that other seamen's 'enemy', the sea. I am sure this is not a British characteristic, but is common with seamen everywhere. I am reminded too that this is of some long standing, and I seem to remember one of the Frenchmen aboard his ship in the storm after Trafalgar, wrote of his amazement at the British seamen who had taken over the ship. Perhaps you can find the reference?

Kester,

There are probably several examples, but one that I know of is on page 222 of Trafalgar: The Biography of a Battle (Abacus) by Roy Adkins, when Captain Jean-Baptiste Prigny wrote afterwards: 'The act that astonished me the most was when the action was over. It came on to blow a gale of wind, and the English immediately set to work to shorten sail and reef the topsails, with as much regularity and order as if their ships had not been fighting a dreadful battle. We were all amazement, wondering what the English seamen could be made of. All our seamen were either drunk or disabled, and we, the officers, could not get any work out of them. We never witnessed such clever manoeuvres before, and I shall never forget them.'

Lesley

http://www.adkinshistory.com

"...and cups of cocoa - they're always drinking it in war films."

Not quite cocoa as many would think of it - and in the Navy you would never call it that - it was 'Kye'. It was made from melting a slab of dark cooking chocolate in boiling water and adding condensed milk to taste.....

Chocolate and condensed milk....mmm.... sounds wonderful, PN. (I've got a magnet on my fridge, that says, 'If there's no chocolate in heaven, I'm not going.')

Kester: re your comment about the sea and its dangers as the common enemy: I've managed to trace a poem I read, I know not where or when, about the kindness of French sailors to their English opponents when the English ship was ablaze during a battle. I've posted it on the poetry thread so poetry-allergic members can avoid.

PN,

Yes, of course, in the navy its Kye, and I think it is also sometimes called that on other, non-naval, ships.

Lesley,

Thanks for the reference. I believe I was partly thinking of that one but, as you say, there are probably other examples, and perhaps more to do with the saving of life.

Anna,

Thanks for the poem – and I did read it! We know of course, most examples of this from the British side, since we have greater access to the written accounts, but this illustrates that it was common to seafaring generally. It still is of course. It shows too that the enemy have a good side – and I am sure that not all helpless British airmen on parachutes were callously shot down by German fighters, as they sometimes depicted in old World War ll films. Incidentally was the Captain Farmer the same Nelson knew?

Kester:

Yes he was. This link contains a comment by a descendant.

http://chrsouchon.free.fr/farmere.htm

It also quotes 'my' poem, with a title and author, and another poem about the same incident from a French perspective, but voicing the same sentiment.

Another descendant was the writer Mary Wesley, ('The Camomile Lawn' etc.), whose maiden name was Farmar - with the same change of spelling noted in the link.

Anna,

Thanks for the link. What a lovely (presumably folk) tune, by the way!