HMS Warrior - 1860
Warrior's officers on the quarterdeck, late 1860s
The officers
The Wardroom: the officers mess and recreational space aft set for a formal dinner - Photo © Peter Milford
HMS Warrior - 1860 |
Warrior's officers on the quarterdeck, late 1860s |
|
|
The officers |
|
|
|
|
| Warrior was managed by her 45 officers and warrant officers. They were responsible to the Captain for the running of the ship and had to ensure that the sailors and stokers beneath them were trained and performed the tasks required of them. Like ships before and after, Warrior ran to a strict chain of command. At the top was the Captain with overall and absolute responsibility to the Admiralty for the ship and all the men who served in her. Below the Captain came the Commander, the second in command. If anything happened to the Captain (illness or death in battle), he would step up to take over command of the ship. The Commander's normal duties were to oversee the general seagoing capability of the ship, to ensure that the gun crews were trained and efficient and that the ship was fully rigged and operational as well as presenting a 'seamanlike' appearance. The navigation and sailing of the ship was handled by the Master, often an older professional seaman with long experience. The Captain, Commander and Master were the senior officers on board and had their cabins at the after end of the main deck. | |
 The Commander's cabin: Maindeck - Photo © Peter Milford |
The Commander's cabin has much of the feel of the Captain's - with carpets on the floor, stuffed chairs and a desk. The
bulkheads (walls) are panelled and pictures are hung. There is plenty of space, very much conveying the senior position of the Commander.
Warrior carried a Chief Engineer - responsible to the Captain for the smooth running of the machinery on board and the work of the engineers and stokers beneath him. The Engineering Branch of the Royal Navy was new; Engineer officers were initially regarded as below their seamen brothers but had, by 1860, achieved comparable commissioned status. |
 |
Warrior carried 10 Engineer officers to manage and supervise the
running of the boilers and steam engine - working in watches and supervising their watch team of stokers and trimmers.
The running of the ship was in the hands of the Lieutenants, the main group of officers on board. They were the leaders of the
seamanship teams, managing the seamen, the basic muscle power of the ship, as they performed a range of duties - from manning the
guns, to trimming and setting the sails, replacing and repairing ropework and ships fittings, manning the ships boats etc. There were also three
Royal Marine officers to manage the Royal Marine detachment.
Sub-Lieutenants and Midshipmen were junior officers under training. Midshipmen often joined the ship at an early age, perhaps just 12 or 13. They would be under the tuition of the Master and Lieutenants and were expected to become proficient in seamanship and navigation. They lived in their own lower deck Gunroom, a less formal mess than the traditional Wardroom of the other officers and were well advised to listen and learn from older seamen - even though, as officers, they were above them in the ships hierarchy. |
|
The Warrant Officers formed the rest of the ships officers, generally leading specialist groups - the Shipwright, Carpenter and
Paymaster (responsible for the ships stores and food). The Boatswain was the senior non-commissioned officer, the most senior seaman in
the ship. He, together with other Chief and Petty Officers lived in their own messes forward on the main deck.
The main group of ships officers lived in the Wardroom in the after part of the ship. Here there was a central dining and recreational space with cabins for the officers on both port and starboard sides of the ship. The Wardroom was a formal mess, run under the Presidency of the Commander. The Captain was not a member of the Wardroom and had to be invited to join the other officers in their mess. |
|
Officers cabins: Photos - © Peter Milford |
|
Officer's cabins were just wide enough to fit a cabin bunk - a design now making a comeback in fitted bedroom furniture. The
raised bed has space for drawer storage underneath (and the officer would press his trousers by laying them underneath the mattress before he
climbed into bed). There is a small fold down desk top and shelving space for a few books and personal possessions. Only space for immediately
required items and uniforms could be provided - other items would be kept in the officers sea trunk which would be taken down into the
ship's hold for storage.
As the position of the officer climbs the ship's hierarchy, his cabin becomes larger - and eventually climbs from the lower deck to the main deck. Even the smallest though offered some degree of privacy, far more than that enjoyed by the common seamen or stokers living on the main deck, seated at tables between the guns and sleeping in hammocks slung side by side from the deckhead (ceiling). |
The Wardroom - central dining area with officers cabins on each side: Photo © Peter Milford |
| Compare the pictures of the officers cabins and the Wardroom table, set for dinner, with those of the seamen's mess and hammocks on the main deck. The Wardroom was a formal mess - retaining the feel of a Victorian country house and confirming the position of the officer as a gentleman. |
Page creation: July 1998
© Copyright
