New this year: Reuben Ranzo!

Chanteys in Royal Navy?
Standard “RN chanty” disclaimer:
No, indeed; from C19, when it caught on in the merchant service, whaling fleets, &c, shanty singing, according to all authorities I have read, was forbidden in the Royal Navy, the necessary work rhythms being provided by drum and fife, or perhaps fiddle, rather than by a solo singer; and the hauling crew were encouraged to use their breath for the task rather than for singing.

The so-called Indianmen worked both sides of the aisle, peacetime or wartime. The cost/benefit of keeping a musician on the payroll always figured in. No shortage of fiddle and fife music in the merchant marine or singing in the RN.

On both topics, c.1879 Australian (merchant?) passage: “Burying of the Dead Horse” (Havergal, Music in the Royal Navy, Proceedings of the Musical Association, 1891.) Fwiw: The author entered the service as a cadet in 1864; promoted to full LT in '76 for service on the Challenger expedition. Also surveyed the Bahamas, Jamaica & St. Vincent on the H.M.S. Sparrowhawk. Seems more than a bit confused betwixt “fore-bitter” & “shanties” though.