Unlike the civillian nicknames we get labelled with; theose our classmates called us at school, the one's various work colleagues may apply to us from time to time, or the ones our siblings find amusing, a military nickname has greater significance, it holds a value only fully comprehended by our contemporaries.
Arguably the Royal Navy has the most entrenched tradition among the services for bestowing nicknames, names not only for each sailor but for places, equipment and actions.
This book, The Andrew, Jack & Jenny, focuses primarily on the names given to each skin and essence the moment they become a matelot.
Royal Naval nicknames are not chosen by the reciepient, they are bestowed, irrevocably, by custon and tradition. Yet each sailor soon becomes attached to their 'new' name, which grows into a large part of their identity, even influencing their character.
It soon becomes the namewhich is spoken with pride in answer to the question "Who are you?"
Excerpt
Unlike the civilian nicknames we get labelled with; those our classmates called us at school, the one's various work colleagues may apply to us from time to time, or the ones our siblings find amusing, a military nickname has greater significance, it holds a value only fully comprehended by our contemporaries.
Arguably, the Royal Navy has the most entrenched tradition among the services for bestowing nicknames, names not only for each sailor but for places, equipment and actions.
This book, The Andrew, Jack & Jenny, focuses primarily on the names given to each skin and essence the moment they became a matelot.
Royal Naval nicknames are not chosen by the recipient, they are bestowed, irrevocably, by custom and tradition. Yet, each sailor soon becomes attached to their 'new' name, which grows into a large part of their identity, even influencing their character.
It soon becomes the name which is spoken with pride in answer to the question "Who are you?"
How these names, these nom de plumes came to be and where they originated is frequently lost in the grey sea-mist of passing time. Especially as new generations of Jolly Jack Tars bequeath new versions and modern interpretations of older, vintage, even historic monikers.
However, some nicknames are so entrenched in history it is doubtful they shall ever alter. These are those which reflect great heroes and remarkable men and women – pirates, explorers, admirals, inventors, navigators. These include people such as Doctor Livingstone, but also lesser-known figures such as Admiral Lord Charlie Beresford.
On the other hand, there are those which only lend their names for a generation or two, the successful sportsmen and women, music hall acts and stars of the silver screen along with popular television personalities; all characters Jack refers to in pursuit of original nickname creation. These, often relatively short-lived, 'celebrity names', are one reason for finding the origin and history behind many nicknames a daunting and often impossible task.
Many navy nicknames have an origin and a history from way beyond these shores. Jack was never one to dismiss opportunity of originality and absorbed foreign words, ideas and ideologies, altering the pronunciation and spelling to suit; hence melding them into the uniqueness of Royal Naval 'Jackspeak'.
Here, in 'The Andrew, Jack & Jenny,' I have researched the darkest bilges of doubt and plumbed the deepest oceans of uncertainty to find the genuine and most academically accepted answers to the origins and history of these Royal Navy Nicknames........
Armageddon, a fact-based historical novel, is the third book of The First Strike Trilogy: A high-stakes race against time and politics unfolds in this gripping historical account of SIOP-62, revisit the tension of a pending nuclear attack, at a time
Armageddon, a fact-based historical novel, is the third book of The First Strike Trilogy: A high-stakes race against time and politics unfolds in this gripping historical account of SIOP-62, revisit the tension of a pending nuclear attack, at a time
