The Royal Navy Tot club of Antigua and Barbuda was founded in 1991, by amongst others, an old Royal Navy Artificer (which I now count myself as, both old and an Artificer!). The club’s primary purpose is each day, in the company of like-minded individuals, to enjoy a tot of rum; that’s half a gill of the nearest equivalent to Pussers Gunpowder Proof rum (the rum that was used in the RN tot until 1970 when the daily tot officially ended). On each daily occasion there are two toasts: the daily one from the officers’ wardroom (you can check all those out online), and the other ratings toast, to “The King, God Bless Him”.

This is not a club you can simply pay your dues to and join. Applicants need sponsorship from an existing member, to then attend as their guest on seven evenings in fourteen days, and drink on each occasion, a full tot of rum and very important (and actually the biggest challenge), learn all about the most famous battles that Admiral Lord Nelson fought in.  I like a glass of rum like any old salt, so I didn’t find the drinking of seven tots over as many days particularly challenging (you can take up to 14 days to do the seven). The challenge was to learn, and in some detail, all about the history, context and battles that took place at sea, off Cape St Vincent, the Nile, Copenhagen and of course, Trafalgar.  A four page crib sheet is provided with the barest of details, but prospective members are expected to be able to show they’ve read around the subject more widely, especially former sailors, and to relate the interesting extras. Did you know for example, that at the battle of Trafalgar, the signal that was sent first to Nelson’s, fleet as lots of people know, was “England expects that every man will do his duty”. That’s not what he actually asked for; the original request was “Nelson confides that every man will do his duty”. Lieutenant Pascoe, responsible for signals, asked the Admiral, whether, since ‘Nelson’ and ‘Confides’ would have to be spelt out in full and would be a very long signal, could he substitute the first two words with ‘England Expects’ (both single flag code words), which Nelson agreed to.

I can honestly say that I’ve not prepared more thoroughly for any exam or interview in a very long time. The test, an interview, conducted over 60-90 minutes, is conducted by one of the club’s examiners. I was permitted to ‘bribe’ the examiner, in fact it’s encouraged (a tipple of their choice, with which I was happy to oblige), and I was then grilled for the next hour. To ensure a consistent level of scrutiny is applied, the examiners themselves are sometimes observed by one of the club’s officers, and this was the case for me. This only added to my level of nerves!  

I actually really enjoyed the researching of the battles last week, the individuals who played various parts and the strategic context and consequence. It was fun to replay that in my interview, and within minutes I was in full flow story-telling mode. My preparation paid off and I was officially ‘passed’ to formally seek membership.     

Wednesday night was what is called the ‘Mismuster’. In the days of the tot, if you missed yours through no fault of your own, you were entitled to have a separate one. In the Tot club, it’s reserved for celebrations and for new members like me. A chance to say a few words of thanks to my sponsor Richard and to the gentle but persistent inquisitors in my test, Louise and Anne, all washed down with another full tot (on top of the first daily tot) and a half tot for every other member present (and there were a few). My responsibility was then to pay for all the rum for the Mismuster! Luckily for me, I shared the cost with another member who was making a separate Mismuster announcement.

I paid my dues last night, collected the T shirt, and perhaps most prized of all, the Tot Club burgee to fly from Cassini. The burgee is quite special; it’s used with the specific permission of the Admiralty in London and is a white ensign of the pattern used in 1805. The only other club members in the world who fly a white ensign (albeit as their ensign rather than from the mast signal halyards) are the members of the Royal Yacht Squadron. We’re very honoured as a club, and I feel so too personally.  

Simon

Louise, one of my examiners. Preparing to enjoy the 7th tot and our new burgee flying (middle flag) with our RNSA and ARC flags