Last week I attended the annual Social History Society conference held at the University of Portsmouth. It was my first Social History Society conference, and I was particularly lucky to have the opportunity to present a paper on sailors and naval pageantry alongside my PTUC colleagues Daniel Swan and Chris Spackman on the first panel […]
Despite a concerted effort by the establishment in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century to create an image of professional, respectable men, Jack’s licentious proclivities ashore have continued to form a key part of his popular image.[1] Yet what did sailors themselves record on the subject of sex? Christopher McKee has argued that ‘most […]
In his blog for North American Conference on British Studies, Port Towns & Urban Culture’s Simon Smith, explores the experiences of British Sailors during the First World War. “As we mark the centenary of the Great War this August it reveals just how much this episode of our history continues to interest and influence our […]
There remains a stereotypical image of Jack Tar as a man with loose morals who enjoyed himself ashore whenever he got the opportunity. Yet, how far this stereotype stands up has increasingly been questioned by historians.[1] This article does not intend to join in this debate per se but rather to reflect on the stereotype […]
