Glory hole is naval slang used in both the merchant and Royal Navy to describe different things:[1]
- In the Navy this refers to a place for general untidinesses.
- On passenger liners the Stewards' mess is referred to as the the 'glory hole'
- On coal-burning tramp steamers, the stoke hold was referred to as the 'glory hole'
On destroyer HMS Relentless during World War Two, "the messes down in the 'glory hole' had about 30 persons, the communications ratings, the quarter masters and mates, captain’s boat crew, radar operators, ASDIC operators, electricians (torpedo men) and some AA gunners". [2]
On passenger liners, the stewards' quarters were known as being upleasant, bug riddled, places, "No place can be so utterly devoid of 'glory,' of comfort and privacy and so wretched a human habitation as the usual ship's glory hole".[3]
References edit
- ^ Royal Navy list of navy-slang
- ^ Waterson, Kenneth. "The Story of my Life on Board the Destroyer H.M.S. Relentless 1944/1945, Chapter 1". British Broadcasting Corporation.
- ^ Jessop, Violet; Maxtone-Graham, John (2004), Titanic Survivor: The Newly Discovered Memoirs of Violet Jessop who Survived Both the Titanic and Britannic Disasters, Sheridan House, Inc., p. 117
Bibliography edit
- Return to Glory Hole, Walter Bell,Trafford Publishing (2004)
- Foc's'le and glory-hole: a study of the merchant seaman and his occupation, James Christopher Healey, Merchant marine publishers association (1936) (University of Virginia digitized version 2007)