Rum Ration
the Navy Network

Bet that South African brandy is like the rum, terrific jet fuel. Although the tot was a great idea and very pleasant the dangers of booze at sea are too much in the present day high tech climate I reckon. The Americans have it right I believe with no grog for anyone. Saves a lot of strife I'll bet but can you imagine the wardroom without their unlimited supply of booze? very hard to picture but a far better navy when considering the harm grog has done, :P

First tot Bulwark far East 69 after 5 years of U.A. A long wait then it was gone 'just like that',a dirty deed indeed.A great social occasion was tot time, as well as a useful bribing item.I think neaters was a better currency than the real thing,if you could obtain it as a junior rate that is. a friendly P.O or chief were very short on the ground as to supply of this elixir

I dont know about other tot consumers,but I seem to remember we were always last for scran and ate like starving rats,did it give us an appettite or was it just me?

Originally Posted by NozzyNozzer

Originally Posted by Nutty

A sad sad day for the the lower deck when the best social occassion and tradition was murdered by the same people who pray at the altar of Health and Safety.

To be fair, never having had the privilege of sampling Tot , I understand that Admiral Mike LeFanu abolished it, at the behest of the then Labour Government, on the grounds that it left matelots sleepy, more likely to get into trouble and was undesirable in the days of new technology (it's difficult to think of mechanical typewriters, transistor transmitter/receiver and bakelite headsets as being new technology, then again, I do rather like modern hifi amplifiers with valves). I also read that the Labour Government used him because he was popular with the Lower Deck and the politicians were afraid of a mutiny.

Tell me Nutty, was Tot really that good

Nozzy

Sorry about the delay in my response but ISP had been very intermittent.

No the actual Rum as a drink was not that important, as a symbol it was extremely important. Tot time was the only social occasion that the Junior Rates had. Senior Rates and Officers had there Mess Dinners, Cock and Arris Parties, unlimited supply of beer and Spirits in Harbour to entertain etc. J/R's could only invited guests down the boat from other boats when in maintenance of locals, Police, Grippos etc when on a Jolly. That was it.

As for the excuse about new high tech equipment, why was that not used with Iron Clads, Steam engines, Dreadnoughts, Submarines, Electric and not candles, Rifled barrels on guns, aircraft carriers, Nuke boats the list is endless.

Mutiny, "Your Having a Laugh Are You Not", I never even heard a single word mentioned on the subject, either on board or ashore, in the time running up to the 31st July 1970 of after, and as for Admiral "WHO" being very popular. Even as a L/S with 11 years service I could possibly have named you FOS/M nobody else. I never saw or spoke to any officer above the rank of Lt/Cmdr after I joined Boats in 1965 to the day I walked out of Viccy Barracks in 1972. Without a single Officer speaking to me in my final 24 hours in the mob to say thanks for you Service Nutty now, Fcuk Off with no pension and four weeks paid leave cos as far as we, Pusser, are concerned you are now dead. No Reserve time for me as I joined Old Bill.
A little thank you may have been nice.

Greenie hit the nail on the head, Rum was stopped because it was a logistical nightmare that the Navy wanted rid of as part of cost cutting exercise and to reduce the Wardroom and Stores Work Load. The High Tech equipment was the excuse. Was none of this High Tech equipment operated in harbour when Officers/Senior Rates now had unlimited access booze????.

It was the first nail in the coffin of Jack Tar.

Nutty

My one and only "Tot" was on a ship at Devonport dockyard in 1967.It was the night Sir Francis Chichester returned from his around the world voyage.We QARNNS nurses were invited by the PO's mess, to a social on board.The PO's had saved their "tots" to give to us(or so they said).
It was "strong" stuff I know that.........I also remember seeing the guys at HMS Neptune walking up for their "tots".Something we didn't see as nurses in the hospital.
Navy Girl

Was on Bulwark somewhere at sea in the far east for first tot. Was stationed at H.M.S.Simbang when last tot was issued and sadly was R.A. but still managed to get an illegal one. I also remember seeing a guard march from H.M.S.Terror all the way through the naval base to sembawang gate,they wore black armbands and their weapons were reversed . AS i recall a lorry collected all weapons at sembawang gate which was the signal for the start of an almighty piss up.

I suppose it is a well known fact that rum was introduced to counteract scurvy so it was taken for medicinal purposes. Why was it named the tot though? Maybe bcause so many tottered around after downing it. I can still picture the rum rats, perched on the side of the fannie, whiskers twitching. Difficult to imagine the Andrew without the familiar "up spirits " that's progress suppose :P

Originally Posted by Nutty

Originally Posted by NozzyNozzer

Originally Posted by Nutty

A sad sad day for the the lower deck when the best social occassion and tradition was murdered by the same people who pray at the altar of Health and Safety.

To be fair, never having had the privilege of sampling Tot , I understand that Admiral Mike LeFanu abolished it, at the behest of the then Labour Government, on the grounds that it left matelots sleepy, more likely to get into trouble and was undesirable in the days of new technology (it's difficult to think of mechanical typewriters, transistor transmitter/receiver and bakelite headsets as being new technology, then again, I do rather like modern hifi amplifiers with valves). I also read that the Labour Government used him because he was popular with the Lower Deck and the politicians were afraid of a mutiny.

Tell me Nutty, was Tot really that good

Nozzy

Sorry about the delay in my response but ISP had been very intermittent.

No the actual Rum as a drink was not that important, as a symbol it was extremely important. Tot time was the only social occasion that the Junior Rates had. Senior Rates and Officers had there Mess Dinners, Cock and Arris Parties, unlimited supply of beer and Spirits in Harbour to entertain etc. J/R's could only invited guests down the boat from other boats when in maintenance of locals, Police, Grippos etc when on a Jolly. That was it.

As for the excuse about new high tech equipment, why was that not used with Iron Clads, Steam engines, Dreadnoughts, Submarines, Electric and not candles, Rifled barrels on guns, aircraft carriers, Nuke boats the list is endless.

Mutiny, "Your Having a Laugh Are You Not", I never even heard a single word mentioned on the subject, either on board or ashore, in the time running up to the 31st July 1970 of after, and as for Admiral "WHO" being very popular. Even as a L/S with 11 years service I could possibly have named you FOS/M nobody else. I never saw or spoke to any officer above the rank of Lt/Cmdr after I joined Boats in 1965 to the day I walked out of Viccy Barracks in 1972. Without a single Officer speaking to me in my final 24 hours in the mob to say thanks for you Service Nutty now, Fcuk Off with no pension and four weeks paid leave cos as far as we, Pusser, are concerned you are now dead. No Reserve time for me as I joined Old Bill.
A little thank you may have been nice.

Greenie hit the nail on the head, Rum was stopped because it was a logistical nightmare that the Navy wanted rid of as part of cost cutting exercise and to reduce the Wardroom and Stores Work Load. The High Tech equipment was the excuse. Was none of this High Tech equipment operated in harbour when Officers/Senior Rates now had unlimited access booze????.

It was the first nail in the coffin of Jack Tar.

Nutty

I certainly understood the role the Tot played in the service, never had one officially but was priveledged enough to be given a few in my time. Even so for several reasons it's time was coming to an end when it went. The real problem I and many others in the wardroom felt was that the JRs got very little for the loss of something that was highly regarded. There certainly were grounds for giving the JRs something more than the opportunity to buy an extra can of beer, perhaps a full bar may have been just too difficult to ppolice (we both know there are always those who will abuse a priviledge) but it could have been better, and should have been.

Never had anything to do with Adm Le Fanu, but I knew people who did and they thought highly of him, and his reaction when his son left the navy was very good. I never heard any murmurs about mutiny either, I think the Labour Party of the time was shit scared of the forces and were themselves the source of stories about mutinies and coups.

Peter

Tot = a small measure (as opposed to the whole container/bottle etc)

Similar with kids - a tot is a small version of something bigger