Royal Navy WW1?

[Lenore]

Thanks for the information, Lenore. I'm not really familiar with Australian history so that knowledge will probably come in useful at a later date. Presumably if he was in the UK and was classed as a British citizen he would have been subject to the same regulations as any other able bodied man who was eligible for military service.
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I'm a little puzzled about the uniform. All Naval Ratings with the exception of artificer apprentices wear their branch badge on their right arm. This signifies which branch (or trade) they belong to. Your man doesn't appear to have one which is unusual. Having said that I do know that dress uniform altered slightly between the 2 wars so his may have been subject to a different dress code.

Hi Graham,

Thanks, that it all good info re HMS Pembroke.

I don't know that an Australian in the UK would be subject to the same regs as other able bodied British subjects, but he would subject himself to them by volunteering. But it is an interesting technical question. You know that the AIF was not subject to the same British Military law - gave the old Generals no end of the vapours.

I would have suggested that maybe Jim was out in his new tropical suit prior to sewing on his badges - but the uniform looks a little bit lived in, so I don't know if that is the case. Maybe the merchant seamen were a bit different? Or as you say, regs a little different in this period. I can't seem to lock into a good set of images of RN ratings in WW1 anywhere to test the theory.

Best wishes,

Lenore