Posted by andyb on September 15, 2006 at 10:44:01 from 213.249.162.132 user beardbiter.
In Reply to: Re: Commander Walker (was Shades of Yesteryear; Beckfoot Hot Water) posted by Jock on September 15, 2006 at 10:11:02:
I'm not sure, given what we learn from AR's autobiography etc about his background, career and contacts that he knew all that much about Navy protocol etc. I've sometimes wondered why he chose the Navy as a career for the Swallows' father. Ted Walker seems very different from Ernest Altounyan whom I imagine as a more exotic and bohemian character than the RN office. As Taqui said of the fictional Swallows as compared to the flesh and blood Altounyan children "we were not nearly so navy".
I suppose one motive would be to separate the fictional from the 'real-life', for fear of offending his friend? Another would be that it conveniently removes him from the scene while setting the standards for nautical correctness which help give the Swallows a life of their own. (But where did Nancy get it from?)