Todd war diary, 3 August 1914-29 February 1916 / Arthur Todd - Page 21
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[Page 21]
Not all the stokers stoked, but many were mustered as fire parties with hoses all along the length of the ship below decks ready to put out any fires which might run. The Officers' servants in some cases worked the shell hoists. The Assistant Paymaster sat on the confidential books & cyphers near the conning tower ready to heave the lot overboard with leaden weights should the ship sink. The Cooks, ship's police and other people when nobody else needed were by general consent told off as general nuisances to the doctors.
Such then was daily panic calculated which put fear into the hearts of those unused to the Navy's preparations for frightfulness.
Later however familiarity as in most things brought the solace of contempt; and when the sails were down and nothing to prevent unwary feet from going overboard, we strove to walk about the decks like the other officers with as nonchalant an air as possible taking care to keep well away from the edge and to have something handy to seize when the ship rolled.
Apart Except for these trivial excitements which rapidly became a part of the daily run it is a lazy life for all except those on duty especially for the "Good morning party" a name by which doctors paymasters parsons and others who do not keep a watch are known satirically by the others their messmates. The chief recreations I found on board were eating sleeping bridge and pulling the Padres's leg.
It is an unwritten law in most ships that no one wishes another Good morning at breakfast especially if he be a watchkeeper who has spent the greater part of the early morning on the bridge; at any rate one shouldn't