jamesbow Posted 26 January , 2006 Share Posted 26 January , 2006 hi to all, as a newbie here i would like to ask a question regarding facial hair.i was led to believe since a child that my father was special because he was allowed to have a long waxed ,moustache.as a leading stoker i thought this was not allowed(kings regs) you had to have a full beard and moustache or clean shaven,you could not have just a beard, or just a moustache.i have photo's of my father in uniform ,at sea and in his tropical whites with his moustache,any ideas would be very welcome.i have been asked also to put my fathers service record on here,so here goes: william alfred bowskill born bedfordshire 1883, he joined up on the 28-12-1905 . ships , shore stations are as follows: acheron pembroke topaze diamond (sunfish) st george(sunfish) astraea (sunfish) actaeon(porcupine) doris drake bacchante july1914-feb 1916 prince george pyramus europa. i have a speech written on wax stamped paper of admiral de robeck to the fleet on leaving the dardanelles,talks about lord kitchener etc.if any one is intrested i will post it on here when i work out how to do it?. all the best jamesbow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeppoSapone Posted 26 January , 2006 Share Posted 26 January , 2006 Wasn't there a conversation on this sort of thing last year? IIRC 'Dirty Dick' was one of the participants. Someone had a postcard of a sailor with just a moustache and wanted to know more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Dennis Posted 26 January , 2006 Share Posted 26 January , 2006 ...i have a speech written on wax stamped paper of admiral de robeck to the fleet on leaving the dardanelles,talks about lord kitchener etc.if any one is intrested i will post it on here when i work out how to do it?. all the best jamesbow James, welcome to the forum. You have posed an interesting question and I will watch with interest to see what comes of it. Concerning the speach by De Robeck, yes please! Regards, Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joseph Posted 26 January , 2006 Share Posted 26 January , 2006 Hello James, This is an extract from the regulations at the time so could well have been an exception to the rule. Royal Naval Reserve and Royal Fleet Reserve personnel could wear a Moustache whilst training. It would be nice to see the photograph if you can post it. KR & AI. 1913 Chapter XIII Section VII Art. 0553 553. Beards and Moustaches. - The Captain is to permit all the officers and men of the ship, including the Royal Marines, to wear beards and moustaches if they so desire. When the permission is taken advantage of the use of the razor is to be entirely discontinued, as moustaches are not to be worn without the beard, nor the beard without moustaches, except in the case of officers' stewards and cooks, and marines, who, whether afloat or ashore, may wear their beards and moustaches or moustaches only, as each may elect. 2. The hair of the beard and moustaches or whiskers is to be kept well cut and trimmed. The Captain is to give such directions as may seem to him desirable upon these points, and is to establish, so far as practicable, uniformity as to the length of the hair, beards, moustaches or whiskers of the men. If you could post a scan of his service certificate it would let the experts give a better summary. Yes please for the speech that would be nice. Regards Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historydavid Posted 26 January , 2006 Share Posted 26 January , 2006 Welcome on board James. I hope you manage to sort out the scanning and uploading technique because I would very much like to read de Roebck's speech. Best wishes David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesbow Posted 26 January , 2006 Author Share Posted 26 January , 2006 thanks for replies, have'nt mastered putting photos ,scans on yet. i did try a little earlier,but got message saying photo to big?.will try again tomorrow,james Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNCVR Posted 28 January , 2006 Share Posted 28 January , 2006 Wasn't there a conversation on this sort of thing last year? IIRC 'Dirty Dick' was one of the participants. Someone had a postcard of a sailor with just a moustache and wanted to know more. Yes I was involved in this thread also & submitted a couple photos of sailors wearing moustaches, but I tried last nite to pull up that thread (useing keywords) unsuccessfully. I was told that a lot of the older posts have been archived but I dont know how to access them tho - perhaps a moderator can advise us on this???? Bry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Maclean Posted 28 January , 2006 Share Posted 28 January , 2006 Here's one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manchester terrier Posted 28 January , 2006 Share Posted 28 January , 2006 what do the sunfish and porcupine in brackets mean? and was there an HMS Doris? seems a strange name. Where does it come from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNCVR Posted 28 January , 2006 Share Posted 28 January , 2006 Both Porcupine & Sunfish were Destroyers of 1895, both were sold in 1920. The ships before them are Cruisers - Diamond, St George, Astraea, Actaeon - at that time serving as Destroyer Depot ships. Doris was a 2nd class Cruiser of 1896 - she saw service in the Boer war & contributed sailors to the Naval Brigade ashore during that conflict. She also participated in the Dardanelles campaign of 1915-16 & bears battle honours for both campaigns. She was named for the wife of the sea-god Nereus & mother of Nereides in Greek mythology. Bryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manchester terrier Posted 29 January , 2006 Share Posted 29 January , 2006 cheers for the info Bryan. I would never have thought Doris was a name from Greek mythology! Absolutely fascinating! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zooloo Posted 29 January , 2006 Share Posted 29 January , 2006 Vice-Admiral Gordon Campbell mentions in his book My Mystery Ships (About Q-Ships) that he had a moustache. His reason was so he look like a "Merchantman" when trying to lure U-Boats. When ashore and in full uniform with a moustache I think he found it startled other sailors, which amused him. He certainly describes it as something extraordinary. zoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNCVR Posted 29 January , 2006 Share Posted 29 January , 2006 Still unable to locate the thread concerning moustaches in the RN, but as I recall the conclusion was that RNR & RNVR (& perhaps RFR) ratings & Marines were permitted moustaches. Perhaps Dirty Dick will recall the detail if he picks up on this. Bryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joseph Posted 29 January , 2006 Share Posted 29 January , 2006 Having now seen the photo, its unlikely he was RNR/RFR in tropical kit, in those days it would take 3 or 4 days to get tropical so not worth it unless on attatchment. “The RNR and RFR men were allowed to keep their moustaches whilst in uniform provided they were only conducting their initial or refresher training for a period of less than 7/14 days. Upon mobilisation they were required to shave them off.” Bryan a thread on moustaches but not conclusive. Regards Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNCVR Posted 30 January , 2006 Share Posted 30 January , 2006 Thanks Charles - I just read it but I must have missed it first time round as dont recall it but I see one of the pics from my collection has been used but thats OK as I know the chap that used it. I was mistaken tho when I mentioned above tha I was a participant - actually Dirty Dick had posed the same moustache question on the British Medal Forum & thats how we got into that discussion & that was the one I was involved in. In any event - here sis the link to the BMF & that topic for those following this thread: http://www.britishmedalforum.com/viewtopic...light=moustache Bryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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