By Pat
Hagan and Jo Macfarlane
11th
January 2009
Daily
Mail
Many
people probably won't be surprised, but a new survey has revealed that the
Royal Navy has 17,000 drunken sailors.
In the
new survey, one in five sailors said they drank over 50 units of alcohol a week
– more than double the recommended safe limit for men, which is 21 units.
Almost
half admitted to binge-drinking at least once a week, and about 15 per cent
were classed as ‘problem drinkers’ who had been asked to cut down by bosses,
friends, doctors or loved ones in the past year
Of
course, drunkenness is nothing new in the Royal Navy. It's been happening for
centuries.
Since
1590, a British sailor's daily rations included a gallon of beer, which was
stronger the further from Britain they were.
Rum
became popular in the Royal Navy from 1655 and from 1731 each sailor was issued
with half a pint a day (the equivalent of a gallon of beer).
It wasn't
an uncommon site to see drunken sailors working on a ship - and falling to
their deaths from the rigging.
It wasn't
until 1970 that rum rations (which were an amazing 94.5% proof) were abolished
in the Royal Navy.
What
shall we do with the 17,000 drunken sailors? Survey reveals shocking extent of
alcohol abuse in Royal Navy
In
Nelson's day it may have been the done thing to go into battle three sheets to
the wind.
But a new
report has revealed that drunkenness in the modern Navy has spiralled to such
an extent that it could be damaging fighting capability.
Damning
research commissioned by defence chiefs shows that alcohol abuse is a much
bigger problem among naval personnel than among the civilian population.
Got a
problem? In a new survey one in five sailors said they drank over 50 units of
alcohol a week
In the
new survey, one in five sailors said they drank over 50 units of alcohol a week
– more than double the recommended safe limit for men, which is 21 units.
Almost
half admitted to binge-drinking at least once a week, and about 15 per cent
were classed as ‘problem drinkers’ who had been asked to cut down by bosses,
friends, doctors or loved ones in the past year. This compares with six per
cent of men in the general population.
The
researchers said that if the survey was a true reflection of boozing in the
Navy, it would indicate that 17,000 Royal Navy personnel were regularly
drinking to ‘hazardous levels’ – that is, to such an extent that it was having
a direct impact on their health.
The
research was carried out by the King’s Centre for Military Health Research in
London to assess the scale of the Navy’s drinking culture.
The
researchers said: ‘Our results demonstrate that alcohol misuse is common within
the Royal Navy.
Different
era: Sailors being issued with rum at the Royal Navy barracks in Portsmouth in
1933
‘It may
be argued that the military culture makes service personnel especially
vulnerable to the consequences of heavy drinking; in effect, alcohol misuse may
be viewed as an occupational hazard of military life.
‘The
direct impact of alcohol misuse upon operational effectiveness is not yet
known. But it is unlikely that this would not have a detrimental operational
effect.’
The
researchers said that there was a tendency for sailors to ‘alternate between
restraint while at sea and the opportunity for excess while on shore’.
Last year
researchers at King’s published a study that looked at the drinking habits of
all of the UK’s armed forces.
It
uncovered a worrying culture of drinking and suggested that it was driven in
part by isolation and boredom.
But they
said it could also be fuelled by a need to bond with colleagues after intensive
periods of duty or training. A sense of communal risk-taking and comradeship is
thought to promote drinking as a way of bonding.
The Navy
survey of 1,333 personnel found those most at risk were young, single,
low-ranked sailors.
The
results appear to show that efforts to curb heavy drinking, including
alcohol-awareness days and penalties for staff who commit alcohol-related
offences, have failed to tackle widespread abuse.
Defence
Minister Kevan Jones said: ‘I’m well aware of the potential harmful effects of
alcohol and there is no room for complacency.’
The Royal
Navy’s history is awash with alcohol.
From as
early as 1590, a sailor’s daily rations included a gallon of beer – and the
further from home, the stronger the brew.
As the
Navy ventured even further afield, easier-to-preserve spirits such as brandy or
arrack – an Arabic spirit – became a common substitute.
After
1655, when Jamaica was captured, rum became popular, and it was officially
issued from 1731, when a half a pint was deemed equal to a gallon of beer.
Jolly
tars: Sailors enjoying a beer
Men were
traditionally given a double ration after the strenuous task of repairing the
mainbrace – a heavy part of a ship’s rigging – and the order ‘Splice the
mainbrace’ ultimately became a euphemism for any issue of extra drink.
Double
rations were often served before battles.
In 1850,
the Admiralty’s Grog Committee found, unsurprisingly, that rum was linked to
discipline problems, and in the following year decreased the ration to one
eighth of a pint – still potent, given that the official proof of Navy rum was
set at 94.5 per cent soon afterwards.
To combat
drunkenness, the Admiralty also directed that no officer was to partake of
liquor until the sun was over the fore yardarm.
Rum
rations were abolished on July 31, 1970, known as ‘Black Tot Day’.
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