Rum ration

The rum ration (tot) was a daily amount of rum given to sailors on Royal Navy ships. It was abolished in 1970 after concerns that regular intakes of alcohol would lead to unsteady hands when working machinery.

A sailor onboard HMS York measures out tots of rum for the ship's company, in preparation for the Royal Navy tradition 'Splice the Mainbrace'.

Tradition

The rum ration traditionally consisted of 70 millilitres of rum given out to every sailor at midday.^[1] It was sometimes supplemented with splice the mainbrace. The rum ration was often served from one particular barrel, also known as the "Rum Tub" which was often ornately decorated and sometimes was reinforced with brass.^[2]

Sailors when boarding their ship were asked if they were members of the Temperance movement. If they said they were, it was noted in the ship's records and they were given three pence a day instead of the rum ration.^[3] The time when the rum ration was distributed was called "Up Spirits", which was between 11 am and 12 noon.^[4] Sailors under 20 were not permitted a rum ration.^[5]

History

The rum ration was originally beer with a daily ration of 4.5 litres per sailor until the 17th century. In 1655, rum replaced beer as the sailor's daily alcohol ration because of the capture of Jamaica from Spain. This change was made because beer would often spoil on long voyages. The ration of rum was half a pint per day, and originally issued neat; sailors would "prove" its strength by checking that gunpowder doused with rum would still burn (thus verifying that rum was at least 57% ABV.) In 1740, to minimize problems caused by drunkenness and hoarding of rum, the Navy adopted the practice of diluting rum with water in 1:4 ratio and splitting the ration into two servings, one between 10 am and noon and the other between 4 and 6 pm. In 1756 Navy regulations required adding small quantities of lemon or lime juice to the ration, to prevent scurvy.^[1][6] The rum itself was often procured from distillers in Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago and the British Virgin Islands.^[5] Rations were cut in half in 1823 and again in half, to the traditional amount, in 1850.

The abolition of the rum ration had been discussed in Parliament in 1850 and again in 1881 however nothing came of it.^[7] In 1970, Admiral Peter Hill-Norton abolished the rum ration as he felt it could have led to sailors failing a breathalyser test and being less capable to manage complex machinery.^[8] This decision to end the rum ration was taken after the Secretary of State for Defence had taken opinions from several ranks of the Navy. Ratings were instead allowed to purchase beer, and the amount allowed was determined, according to the MP David Owen, by the amount of space available for stowing the extra beer in ships.^[9] The last rum ration was on 31 July 1970 and became known as Black Tot Day as sailors were unhappy about the loss of the rum ration. There were reports that the day involved sailors throwing tots into the sea and the staging of a mock funeral in a training camp.^[1] In place of the rum ration, sailors were given three 2/3 pint cans of beer a day (two pints) and improved recreational facilities.^[10] While the rum ration was abolished, the order to splice the mainbrace remained as the command for it could only be given by the Monarch and is still used to recognise good service.^[11]

In other navies

Other navies in the world also removed the rum ration. The United States Navy was the first to abolish the rum ration, removing it in 1862.^[12] While the Royal Australian Navy never issued the rum ration, their sailors were entitled to the rum ration when they were on Royal Navy ships.^[13] The Royal Canadian Navy abolished the rum ration in 1972.^[10] The last navy issuing the rum ration regularly, the Royal New Zealand Navy abolished the rum ration in 1990.^[14]

See also

• Beer day

References