Warrant Officers Journal

The bits and pieces I will add here will give you an idea of the content of the Journal; the membership and naval ranks belonging to it; its obituaries and death grants from the DBA {Death Benefit Association}, and the occasional advertisement printed in the Journal, ubiquitous in 1943, but lacking [just one or two] in 1900.

Remembering that all warrant officers of the pre 1949 period were officers and not ratings, it is no surprise to see that the membership, especially in the 1930's and 1940's, was roughly fifty percent warrant officers and fifty percent 'rankers', wardroom officers who had been promoted from the warrant rank.

The aim of the Journal and its editorial was two fold. Firstly, it sought to better the lot of the warrant officer in all areas of naval life, and it was directed upwards to the Admiralty Board and laterally to fleet officers. It was dignified, well written and consistent, and not even its sternest critics could have ever doubted the loyal intent of this group of men. The shrewd editor and his staff [many of whom had served for long periods at sea in the wardroom] trawled the high ranks for those who were sympathetic to their demands and needs, getting them to speak on their behalf to learned bodies, and getting them to write articles for the Journal as well as in other printed matter, especially newspapers. The Journal had a wide circulation to other than warrant officer groups, and was read in the chief petty officers mess, the wardroom and in the Admiralty. Secondly, it was used as a vehicle to disseminate information concerning the DBA [Death Benefit Association], a financial tool run quite separately on the lines of a Friendly Society, although these initials are used so liberally throughout every issue that one might think that the DBA is the 'dog' and the NWOJ the 'tail'. Anyway, put the two together, and what resulted was an excellent voice piece for the betterment of the warrant officer.

To my knowledge, no other rank-based journal has been published since this Journal ceased in 1949, and therefore, I think it safe to suggest that the Journal was unique, as any such journal which pre dates this one, would have been considered seditious in earlier days of the 19th century. The Naval Warrant Officers' Journal cannot be compared with printed matter and web sites of today's [2004] organisations and associations which are owned by, and configured for, rank-based branches, like for example the RNCCA [Royal Naval Communications Chiefs Association - of which I am a member]. In this example, the RNCCA is basically a social club and its printed material comes in the form of light hearted anecdotes and newsworthy articles. It is very aware of and interested in Service Conditions for those still serving, but it doesn't seek to change or influence them. However, there is a similarity between the RNCCA and the DBA/NWOJ which is that our modern day 'rankers', SD officers who were once Communicator Senior Rates, rightly and properly belong to the RNCCA bringing with them a quality which can only enhance and enrich the imagine of the Association. Being a member of a 'social club' is not the same of being a member of a 'lobbying society', especially at a time when their grievances and problems were very real, and, but for their efforts and determination, often insurmountable.

ON THIS SUB-PAGE ALONE, THERE ARE OVER 240 PLATES TO OPEN AND READ. AS YOU OPEN EACH IN TURN, A 'CARPET' OF SOCIAL HISTORY IS UNROLLED BEFORE YOUR EYES, WHICH HAS FASCINATED ME DURING THE CONSTRUCTION PROCESS, AND I HOPE THAT YOU TOO WILL ENJOY LOOKING BACK ON THE LIVES OF THESE MEN. WERE THEY ASKING TOO MUCH? WHY SHOULD THEY BUCK THE SYSTEM, WHICH, IN THE TIME HONOURED WAY, SAYS THAT "THE CREAM WILL ALWAYS COME TO THE TOP", AND YET THEY WERE NOT THE CREAM OF THE NAVY OR OF SEA-GOER'S, OR FOR THAT MATTER, OF THEIR SOCIAL CLASS? AS A GROUP, THEY WERE 'BOY TO GRAVE' NAVY MEN, BUT THEY WERE 'ALSO RAN's' [NEVER RACE WINNERS]; KNEW THE RULES OF EACH RUNG ON THE NAVY LADDER BETTER THAN MOST, AND YET COMPLAINED BITTERLY WHEN THE LADDER DIDN'T ALLOW THEM ACCESS TO THE PARTS OF SHIP THEY ASPIRED TO, BUT WHICH WERE OUT OF BOUNDS. OR WAS THE ROOT OF THEIR GROUSE IN THE SOIL OF ENVY? THE BRITISH ARMY AND THE AMERICAN NAVY WARRANT OFFICERS WERE TREATED WITH MORE RESPECT, GIVEN MEDALS AND DECORATIONS DENIED TO WARRANT OFFICERS IN THE NAVY, PROMOTED IN THE FIELD [FOR GALLANTRY] AND ROUTINELY ELSEWHERE AS A REWARD FOR MERIT AND DILIGENCE. MOREOVER, THE AMERICAN NAVY HAD GRANTED FULL COMMISSIONED STATUS TO ITS WARRANT OFFICERS, A MOVE COPIED BY THE ROYAL NAVY SOME FIFTY YEARS LATER. AND WHAT OF THE ADMIRALTY, WERE THEY BLAMELESS. DID THEY 'POUR OIL ON TROUBLED WATERS' OR DID THEY 'FAN THE FLAMES', BY DESIGN OR BECAUSE OF INDIFFERENCE? THE ADMIRALTY NEEDED OFFICERS IN FITS AND STARTS AND NEARLY ALWAYS TOOK THE OPTION OF RECRUITING FROM OUTSIDE SOURCES RATHER THAN FROM WITHIN. MERCHANT NAVY OFFICERS AND OFFICERS FROM THE RESERVE WERE EMPLOYED DASHING THE HOPES AND ASPIRATIONS OF THE YOUNG, ABLE AND EDUCATED WARRANT OFFICER. OTHER SCHEMES FOR PROMOTION FROM THE LOWER DECK FAVOURED THE YOUNG PETTY OFFICERS, BYPASSING THE NEEDS AND ABILITIES OF THE WARRANT RANK. THE CATALYSTS FOR CHANGE WHICH SET FREE MANY A GOOD WARRANT OFFICER FROM HIS 'CHAINS' WERE THE TWO WORLD WARS. HAD THESE HORRIFIC HAPPENINGS NOT TAKEN PLACE, ONE WONDERS WHETHER ANY CHANGES WOULD HAVE BEEN MADE. CERTAINLY THE WARRANT RANK HAD NOTHING TO THANK THE ADMIRALTY FOR, ALTHOUGH IT DID HAVE GOOD REASONS TO THANK MANY OF THE ADMIRALS IN THE FLEET WHICH SUPPORTED THEIR CAUSE.

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five more words..them willing to show it.

Admiral Martin was a lower-decker. See also my home page - NAVY THINGS - Bits and Pieces VOL III - article 28 HMS Bulolo - Page 12 - Operation Zipper and Force W led by Rear Admiral Martin CBE DSO before the KBE.

too long to continue

just an example...we will not continue

In the table below, I have published just the first few lines/sentences and paragraphs of each of the months of 1901 which are bound in Volume XIV of the Journal. That means that Volume I held the contents of the first year of production which ended with December 1888 edition, but the Association proper started on the 1st April 1877 - below, you will see the celebration of the silver jubilee which took place in 1902. It all makes FASCINATING reading and covers many stories.

JAN	FEB	MAR	APR	MAY	JUN	JUL	AUG	SEP	OCT	NOV	DEC
If you come to the end of a story and you would like to know what happened, then please email me stating exactly what it is that you wish to continue - line and verse etc.

For those of you wondering why the coat of arms shown on the monthly plates is odd, I have no answer. The word 'mon' {French for 'my'} is missing. I can find no good reason as to why it is written in this manner, namely 'dieu et droit', meaning God and right, which in the context of monarchs, doesn't make sense. Certainly Queen Victoria's motto [the sovereign's personal motto] was 'dieu et mon droit' ,which of course is manufactured into every post-1970 warrant officers badge. The Royal Coat of Arms at the time of Trafalgar was which belonged to George III, and represented England, Scotland, Ireland, and, placed as an extra heraldic shield {escutcheon overall} on the front touching or embracing all three countries, the arms of Hanover to which George I, II, III, IV, and William IV belonged - note, all MEN. The rules of the Hanoverian Empire denied all WOMEN from succession. So, when Queen Victoria followed William IV [her uncle] she became Queen of the three countries but not of Hanover, and therefore the Coat of Arms had to be changed. From 1837 to this very day it looks like this and the gender of the sovereign no longer matters. The Coat of Arms is only a small part of the whole thing which looks like this . The lettering on the Garter, symbol of the most ancient of all orders which surrounds the Coat of Arms, says [in Latin], 'evil to him who evil thinks'.

Apart from the front pages shown above, here are some of the subjects covered on other pages for the year ending 31st December 1901.

TABLE 3 - - an enormous amount of information here......... Look for my personal 'hidden' cell picture.

1 2	12

					1 2 3 4 5 6				1 2
12 3 4						1 2 3 4 5 6
			1 2		1 2					1 2 3
			1 2		1 2					1 2 3
			1 2	1 2			1 2		1 2
			1 2	1 2			1 2		1 2
		1 2		1 2 3 4 5	1 2			1 2 3 4 5
1 2		1 2		1 2 3 4 5	1 2			1 2 3 4 5