Here are some of the songs and sounds I play over my hi‑fi to get me in the mood for writing about the sea. Certainly, if I am a little bleary in the morning, there is nothing like a full broadside from the guns of the Fleet...

(If you have any problems, here is some advice)

• Piping the side Among the most evocative sounds of the Royal Navy is the bosun’s call

• Heart of Oak Still the Navy’s own call to duty

• Under way at sea seven bells and it's time for grog!

• Roast beef of Old England played as the officers go to dinner

• Seagulls swooping around the ship as she sails

• Drums beat to quarters

• Cannon fire heard across the sea

• A full broadside of twelve pounders

THE BOSUN'S CALL

yron, in ‘Childe Harold’ wrote “Hark to the boatswain’s call the cheering cry” and there are references to this device from Medieval times – the Bosun’s Call provided a very effective method of communicating at sea; its distinctive whistle could cut through the din of the noise of loud voices, cannon blasting and storms raging.

The badge of the office of the Boatswain, it was operated by the Boatswain’s Mates when passing orders to the seamen, ranging from lowering a boat to bending and setting sail. With its three distinctive tones (straight whistle, warble and trill) a great number of combinations are possible; around 50 orders were conveyed in this way in Kydd’s day.

The names of the components of the whistle reflect its nautical associations – the tube is known as ‘the gun’, the part which makes the sound is ‘the buoy’ and the flat plate that holds the device together is ‘the keel’. It is suspended on a silver chain.

Apart from its working uses, the Bosun’s call had an important ceremonial role for Piping Aboard, now reserved for a Captain of a ship. The Piping Aboard ceremony was always led by the Bosun. Today, the Bosun’s call remains a much-loved part of the customs and practices of the Navy and is still used to attract attention – through the loudspeaker system. The Piping Aboard ceremony (with its distinctive low, high, low call) is also retained. (The Queen of England, due to her rank as England’s Lord High Admiral, is accorded this honour.)

Advice for sound problems

These sounds are simple .wav files; Windows Media Player and others are now so complex they can get confused. In this case, right-click on the links above and 'Save Target As...' to save the file to your hard disk. Generally a double click on the saved file will suffice.