Step aboard the imagined H.M.S. Nonsuch and discover a warship’s daily life. John Irving’s wartime tour links uniforms, watches, meals and mess-room customs with the slang, jokes and traditions of the Royal Navy.
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Step aboard H.M.S. Nonsuch, an imagined battleship with a community of officers, sailors and Royal Marines. Lieutenant-Commander John Irving, R.N., guides the visitor from the picquet-boat and quarter-deck through cabins, gunroom and mess decks, explaining the habits that make a warship a world of its own.
The tour finds stories in everyday details: the boatswain’s call, a sailor’s bell-bottoms, hammock stowage, the rum issue and the wardroom’s seated toast to the King. Irving follows a day in harbour from reveille and deck-scrubbing through colours, drills, meals and shore leave to the evening rounds. The following morning brings preparations for sea, signals, weighing anchor and the ship’s departure with her escort. Along the way come officers’ nicknames, practical jokes, the work of the Royal Marines and explanations of how watches and departments fit together.
Written from a wartime naval officer’s perspective, the book preserves the language and outlook of its period. A foreword by Admiral Sir William James introduces the tour, while illustrated badges and a glossary help readers distinguish a “killick” from a “snotty” and learn what it means to “part brass-rags”.
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