Sailor, A Pictorial History
Alice McGowan
Life aboard the world's fighting ships from the beginnings of photography to the present day. (First published in Great Britain in 1977)


Fantastic book I recently came across, filled to the brim with inspiring photos and interesting facts.
Did you know, for example, that: "The Royal Navy has special rules about beards: no one may grow just a beard or only a mustache.
A sailor must grow a "full set" or remain clean-shaven."
That "most newly joined sailors endeavored to get rid of their 'new boy' appearance as soon as possible,
and to this end navy blue collars were often scrubbed to produce the faded look of the more seasoned hand."
That regulations prescribed for those collars to have 3 vertical folds ironed into them.
And that a small item for personal use, made illegally by the petty officer sailmaker from government material in the navy's valuable time, is called (a) "rabbit".