Unfamiliar Uniform - RN Rating - Ceylon - 1918

[Dominion-of-the-North]

Colleagues:

I recently acquired the post card in the attached image.  The reverse says: "Feb 16th 1918, Colombo, Ceylon".  The cap tally is "HMS Venus", which fits, since Venus was part of the East Indies Squadron at the time.

I have been studying this image for a week, and the more I look at it... the more puzzled I become.  In short: I have never seen anything like this rig  worn in-or-around 1918.  It looks more like a post-SWW rig (specifically, I'm thinking of "No. 8's", so-called "Action Working Dress") rather than anything worn (in the tropics, or elsewhere) by RN ratings around 1918.  We've all seen Great War photos of stokers in their white traditional sailor's rig covered with coal dust, or, if they were lucky, coveralls -- suggesting these were the RN's "working rigs" at the time , not the rig shown in the attached.

My original assumption was that this chap was serving in a locally-raised mine-sweeping unit, formed in 1917 to sweep the approaches to Colombo Harbour, after mines were laid by SMS Wolf.  To me, the uniform has the impression of a temporary working rig thrown together by local tailors for such a force, ("but then why the HMS Venus cap tally?", is the question I keep asking myself). 

In addition, the chappie, himself, does not present the air of a professional seaman:

• he wears no rank or rating badges (suggesting he is a new Seaman), yet he seems rather older than most new-entrants to the regular navy;
• he does not seem to know how to wear his cap (or tie his cap tally); and
• he seems (at the risk of giving offense) rather more physically fit than most professional seaman of the period.

Any thoughts or further observations gratefully invited.

Cheers,

Glen,

In Our Dominion of the North

Edited 13 January by Dominion-of-the-North