- Author
- NHSA Webmaster
- Subjects
- History - general
- Tags
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- RAN Ships
- None noted.
- Publication
- June 1983 edition of the Naval Historical Review (all rights reserved)
Another form of execution was ‘hanging from the yard arm’. This was a very hideous method indeed. With a normal hanging the victim was ‘dropped’ so that his neck was broken and so he lost consciousness immediately. When hung from the yard arm, the victim stood on the deck and a noose was placed round his neck. The noose was led through a block at the outboard end of the yard. When the signal was given, three or four men took the end of the rope over their shoulders and simply marched off. The victim was hauled up to the mid position and slowly strangled. Quite a humane form of execution.
Keel hauling was another favourite form of punishment. In this case the victim was secured in the centre of a long line. One end of the line was passed under the bowsprit so that each end of the line was on opposite sides of the ship. The victim was then kicked into the water on one side and hauled up on the other. If he didn’t drown he was cut to pieces by the marine growth on the ship’s bottom. These forms of punishment were indeed harsh, and were meant to be. The crimes for which they were awarded were widespread. Some crimes would be ignored today, but in those days ‘discipline must be preserved’ was the catchword. Even the charge of ‘silent contempt’ could bring a flogging through the fleet. The main weapon used to combat lapses of discipline was the cat o’ nine tails. It was made up from nine or ten strands of thin line. A knot was tied in each tail, and the whole made up onto a short handle. When not in use the cat was kept in a green baize bag, and from this the phrase ‘the cat is out of the bag’ arose. When we look at the way the poor pressed sailor was treated, we see he was a very down trodden individual indeed. Pressed into service against his will, he knew that if he deserted he could expect no mercy. Recovered deserters had to be hung, that was the law. All things considered, it is a bit hard to understand the last line of ‘Rule Britannia’.
If you recall, the words are ‘Britons never never shall be slaves’.
To conclude this little resume, as late as 1960 (probably later) boy seamen at HMS Ganges were still being birched on the bare buttocks for such crimes as grinning at a petty officer.