The Royal Naval tradition of issuing its sailors with a tot of rum – an official practice for 230 years – was discontinued on this day in 1970, leading seamen to dub the date ‘Black Tot Day’.
Rum had actually been given as a daily ration to ratings as far back as 1655, but the practice was formalised in 1740, when Admiral Edward Vernon decreed that half a pint of rum, split into two servings and diluted to four parts water, one part alcohol, should be issued to sailors each day.
In 1824, the ration had been halved in an attempt to solve discipline issues in the navy; as early as 1850, the Admiralty’s splendidly-named Grog Committee had even recommended its abolition. Though the daily tot survived, officers lost the right to it in 1881 and warrant officers in 1918.
By 1969 the ration had fallen to an eighth of a pint of rum a day for those over the age of 20. Senior ratings could drink their tot neat; juniors were now made to dilute theirs to two parts water, one part rum.
[July 4, 1954: Britain drools as food rationing finally comes to an end after 14 years]
In December that year, responding to an enquiry from MP Christopher Mayhew, the Admiralty conceded that the rum ration was incompatible with the safe operation and maintenance of the complex machinery on board Royal Naval vessels.
A debate in the House of Commons in January came to the same conclusion, and as a result, the final tots of rum were issued at six bells in the forenoon watch (11am) on July 31. The decision was unpopular among sailors, though they would be allowed an extra can of beer a day in compensation.
Some ratings wore black armbands to receive their final tot; in one training camp, HMS Collingwood in Fareham, Hampshire, sailors held a mock funeral procession to commemorate the occasion, complete with a coffin flanked by drummers and a piper.
- Drinks rations were first given to sailors purely for hydration. Beer was the staple beverage of the Royal Navy until the 17th Century, being a self-preserving substitute for water, which became undrinkable when kept in casks for long periods.
- Beer became impractical due to the sheer volume needed to water a large crew on a long voyage. Rum became the chosen spirit to replace it after Jamaica was captured from Spain.
- Originally, sailors would check their rum had not been watered down by pouring it onto gunpowder and setting light to it. If the powder would still light, the rum was ‘proven’ to be over 57% alcohol – hence the use of the word ‘proof’ today after ABV measurements.
- After dilution of the rum ration with water into ‘grog’ became compulsory, sailors who did not want to drink it could choose to take a small compensatory cash payment instead; most non-drinkers would forego this and swap their grog with other sailors for favours.
- The rum ration would commonly be served between 11am and 12 noon, a time known as “up spirits”. The ration would come from a single oak barrel, known as the rum tub, which was often ornately decorated.
- Rum tots were served in special glasses reserved for the purpose. They were washed on the outside but not the inside, in the belief that residue of past tots would stay on the side of the glass and make the tot even stronger.
- The naval slang term “splice the mainbrace” – once an order to carry out a difficult repair job on a ship’s rigging – became a euphemism for the granting of an extra tot of rum or grog to the crew. It is still used on special occasions today, such as during the Queen’s Golden Jubilee celebrations.
- The Royal Navy was not the last to abolish the rum ration; the Royal Canadian Navy followed suit in 1972, but the Royal New Zealand Navy continued the tradition until 1990.
