Posted by Joe Windsor on August 07, 2006 at 15:26:08 from 84.12.188.159 user Joe.
Hi John (hope that's you - I've lost your post) -
Firstly to amend my lost previous post about boy entrants to the services, HMS Britannia was berthed at Dartmouth in 1863, not when I thought. The rest is fine.
I can't recall if Father Walker's RN rank was ever quoted. Let's assume he was a Lieutenant Commander (two and a half stipes). Hmm. Between the Wars in about the 1920's there was something called the Geddes Axe which savagely cut back the RN - to our grievous disadvantage in the next war. Many officers were thrown out. To still be there in a useful rank, he must have been about 47 years of age. And VERY fortunate.
To keep the maths simple, let's assume all the English stories dated from 1935. (I know that's wrong, I'm doing rough number-crunching here) The services disapproved of officers marrying young. I dimly remember that there were rules forbidding officers from marrying under a certain age - 25? So Dad was born in 1888. He was 13 in 1905 which is when he went to the new RN College in Dartmouth. Hmm. Then he married in 1915 age 27 (a war marriage) and John was born after the war.
When the entries were 13, they spent 4 years at Dartmouth and were then posted to the Fleet as Midshipmen. Their Mess aboard ship was known as the Gunroom and there was a 'boss' who was a Sub-Lieutenant. Who, like a Dormitory Prefect in Boarding School (under whom I suffered and as one I served - and read my kids ghost stories PROVIDING they were good) were either horrid with much caning of Midi's bottoms, or were elder brothers, but stern with it as needed. There's a book to be written about all that!!
The entry age changed from 13 to 16 in 1948 and to 18 in 1955. 16 year olds spent 3 years at Dartmouth and passed out as Midshipmen.
18 year olds spend 2 years and pass out as Midshipmen because rank is linked to age and nowadays most entrants are post-graduates. They pass out as Sub's and the few school-leavers are still Midi's.
It's a pity that there are few Midi's now. A classic sight was a Midi with his white collar-tabs and a whitened telescope under his arm in charge of the Side Party when an officer or VIP boarded the ship. Midi's also were in charge of the ship's small boats and did sterling work! If they were wise they learned much from the Leading Rates in their crew. And so on.
John W would have loved it. I supect Roger was a more mischievous person.
This then lined Dartmouth up with RMA Sandhurst and RAF Cranwell (for aircrew officers) who took school-leavers and produced Second Lieutenants (Army) or Pilot Officers (RAF) That's a rank, not a job-title!!
This history is all entwined into the Ransome ethos and actually drives the views,values and attitudes of grown-ups in the stories and the environment in which the children grew up.
Phew! That has to be it! Cheers all - Joe