British Warships over 300 years apart in design. So different in many ways and yet so similar in many other ways.
The modern ship has the technology to generate sufficient electricity to serve a medium size UK town, generates fresh water measured by the ton with the use of evaporators and has a ventilation system which eliminated the infamous condensation drips.
Condensation drips were so commonplace in the earlier metal ships, that to complain of them was fruitless as they were a fact of life. So even today if a sailor complains unnecessarily he will soon be told by his mess mates to "Stop Dripping".
Old sailing ships would rarely carry anyone skilled in cutting hair, therefore with months at sea the sailors hair would grow long. To keep it out of the way the men would wear it in a pony tail using tar to hold it in place. From this comes the slang term for a British sailor, that of "Jack Tar". To stop the tar from spoiling his shirt, the sailor would tie a rag around his neck. From this comes the square sailors blue collar of today's smart British uniform.
The very first military uniforms were provided as cheaply as possible, hence a standard 56 inch width material was divided by two to provide the trouser legs giving us the "Bell Bottoms" that are worn today. There were no hanging spaces so the trousers had to be folded to fit in a locker. Even today the Bell Bottomed trousers carry horizontal creases instead of vertical ones. However I do believe this may have changed since I left the RN.
Both the old and new designed ships have one very important thing in common. The upper deck is a very dangerous place and access is restricted to the part of the crew who have the responsibility for those operations carried out on that deck. On the sailing ship a mass of ropes capstans and sails would make it a very unsafe place for any goofer who should not be there. Goofer being the naval term for a spectator.
The flight deck with jet engine intakes, rotors, propellers, steam catapults and aircraft jet efflux (to say nothing of the weapons) is out of bounds to the majority of the crew if the ship is operational.
Gun decks must remain free and unrestricted to enable the gunners to do their job. If you do not work there you do not go there during operational manoeuvres.
In both the old and new ships the majority of the crew goes about its task for weeks or months at a time without seeing the sun. Artificial light below decks often gives a man the feeling that he is working in a coal mine except this one constantly pitches and rolls with a distinct possibility that if things go wrong, he could drown.
The old sailing galleon had no electricity, no ventilation except from the canon ports and the only fresh water was stored in barrels and carefully guarded as it was the lifeblood of the crew. When sailors washed (rarely in those days) they would have used salt water. Occasionally with mechanical breakdowns this is still a necessity today.
With no refrigeration on the old sailing ships, fresh meat was kept alive on the ship to be butchered as and when necessary. In fact miniature farm yards would have been common place between decks. Therefore conditions below decks would have been very unsavoury and the only fresh air available would have been from the canon ports that would remain open in all but the highest sea states.
It would have been commonplace for the old sailors to put their heads out of the canon ports to breathe the fresh air. With no sanitation, sailors had no choice to relieve themselves by "going over the side". It was very likely that below would be other crew members with their heads in the firing line, so to speak. Therefore it was recognised good practice to shout "HEADS" before relieving yourself and giving all below time to pull their heads back safely into the ship.
Today with modern sanitation on the warship, the bathroom facilities are still referred to as "The Heads".
Just another example of an English word originating from our sailing past.
Not a lot of people knows that.... as Michael Caine would say.
