I have included a number of abbreviations no included in the original listing, for want of anywhere else to put them

The following abbreviations in books and accounts signify :
• A.B.- Able Seaman.
• A.D.- Artificer Diver.
• B.R.- Book of Reference.
• C.P.O.- Chief Petty Officer.
• C.B.M.- Chief Boatswain's Mate.
• C.S.- A man or boy engaged for continuous service.
• D.- Diver.
• D.- Discharged.
• D.D.- Dead.
• D.E.M.S.- Defensively Equipped Merchant Ship
• D.P.- Detained Pay.
• D.S.Q.- No longer borne for pay, having been in hospital or sick quarters for the full period for which pay is authorised.
• E.A.- Efficiency allowance.
• E.P.- Extension pay.
• E.R.A.= Engine-Room Artificer.
• F.E.- I've seen the following authoritative suggestions : Full engagement or First entry or entered, but I don't know which is correct.
• F.T.- Passed Field Training
• G.B.- Bedding gratuity under Art. 1437.
• G.C.- Clothing gratuity under Art. 1436.
• 1 G.C.B.- A man wearing one good conduct badge, and so on.
• G.L.- Gunlayer.
• G.M.- Gunner's mate.
• G.M.- Grog money.
• G.S.A.- Good shooting allowance.
• H.L.M.- Hard-lying Money.
• Invalided.- Discharged from the Service on account of sickness.
• L.T.O.- Leading Torpedo Man.
• M.A.A. = Master at Arms.
• M.P.A.- Musical proficiency allowance.
• Non-C.S. or N.C.S.- A man or boy entered for non-continuous service.
• N.S.- New system.
• O.D.- Slang for Ordinary Seaman. �
• O.F.- Qualified in oil fuel.
• O.G.- Outfit gratuity to chief petty officer under Art. 1436.
• O.S.- Old system.
• O.S.- Ordinary Seaman. �
• O.U.- Official Use e.g. O.U. 5041 = Handbook of signalling.
• ORD.- Ordinary Seaman. �
• P.O.- Petty Officer.
• P.T.I.- Physical Training Instructor.
• Q.A.- Qualified in Armourer's work.
• Q.A.E.- Qualified for Artificer Engineer and noted for promotion.
• Q.M.- Qualified Man in Gunnery, R.M.L.I.
• R.- Run.
• R.M.- Recommended for good conduct medal.
• R.M.G.- Recommended for good conduct medal and gratuity.
• R.Q.- Run, with a query.
• S.A.- Qualified in small arms.
• S.G.- Seaman Gunner.
• S.S. (when signifying Engagement).- A man entered for special service.
• S.T.- Seaman Torpedo Man.
• T.B.- Passed torpedo-boat training.
• T.B.D.- Passed destroyer course, Art. 831.
• T.C.- Torpedo Coxswain. �
• T.G.M.- Torpedo Gunner's Mate.
• Turbines.- Qualified in turbine machinery.
• U.T.- Under Training.
• V.S.A.- Victualling store allowance under Art. 1455.
• W.S.- Working Suit to Marines.
• W.S.A.- Working Suit Allowance.
• W.T.- Wireless Telegraphy.
• W.T.B.- Qualified in Water Tube Boilers (" large " or " small " to be stated).

� Taffrail, in a foot note on page 7 of his book, Pincher Martin, O.D., written circa 1916, advises that :

O.D. = the slang term for 'ordinary seaman.' ' O.S.' is one official naval contraction, and ' Ord.' another. ' O.D.' is derived from the latter, in the same way as an able seaman is known as an ' A.B.'

� The torpedo coxswain of a destroyer is a very important person indeed. He is always a chief petty officer or petty officer who acts as ex officio master-at-arms of the ship, and as such supervises the discipline, is the mouthpiece between the men and the officers, brings men up for punishment when they have misconducted themselves, and makes out and forwards the punishment returns to the depot ship. This, since serious offences are infrequent in torpedo-craft, is perhaps the least of all his duties. He also performs the work carried out by the ship's steward in a big ship, being responsible, under the supervision of the C.O., for the drawing and issue of all clothing, victuals, and rum, besides keeping the store-books for the same. As these have to be forwarded to the victualling paymaster of the depot ship at certain intervals, this, since it involves no small amount of paper work and much calculation, may be called the most onerous of his tasks.

But the coxswain's chief function, his raison d'etre, is to act as a skilled helmsman. He is generally a man of long service and tried experience, who has done all his time in torpedo-craft. He knows, or should know, the individual idiosyncrasies of practically every type of destroyer in the navy ; and, this being the case, he is the commanding officer's right-hand man if he is good and he usually is and his bete noir if he is bad. He steers the ship going in or out of harbour, when she is moving away from or going alongside a jetty or another ship, during steam tactics and manoeuvres, or in action. In short, he is the qualified helmsman whose presence is required at the wheel in any circumstances calling for special skill and knowledge. He draws extra pay for his attainments, and has been through special courses to fit him for his rating ; but his value lies in the fact that he has learnt his trade through long experience at sea.

P. 254 of "Pincher Martin, O.D." by Taffrail, circa 1916."

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