Paddy Wester is a traditional
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
term for a young or inexperienced seaman. It might also refer to a "new-boy" in a mess; in times of stability, the "Junior Hand" might remain as such for some years until someone newer is posted.
It was also used in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
City Fire Brigade and possibly other fire brigades with naval traditions to designate a man (as it was until recently a male only profession) drafted or seconded onto a shift to cover a temporary shortage. At the
Roll Call
''Roll Call'' is a newspaper and website published in Washington, D.C., United States, when the United States Congress is in session, reporting news of legislative and political maneuverings on Capitol Hill, as well as political coverage of c ...
beginning the shift, as names were called, the stranger would be addressed as "Paddy Wester".
Following the children's cartoon from ''
Trumpton
''Trumpton'' is a British stop-motion children's television series from the producers of ''Camberwick Green''. First shown on the BBC from January to March 1967, it was the second series in the Trumptonshire, ''Trumptonshire'' trilogy, which com ...
'', Cap'n Flack might call the roll "Pugh, Pugh, (they were twins) Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Paddy Wester and Grub."
The origin of the term is a popular sea shanty about an infamous
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
boarding house master named ''Paddy West'' who would shanghai recruits and pass them off as experienced sailors to captains looking for crewmen. According to folklore, he would make the new recruits jump over a piece of rope and walk around a table with a cowhorn on it in order to say with a straight face to the captains that they all "
crossed the line" and went "
ten times round the horn." His other methods of teaching them about seafaring include having the recruits fold his
window blinds
A window blind is a type of window covering. There are many different kinds of window blinds which use a variety of control systems. A typical window blind is made up of several long horizontal or vertical slats of various types of hard mater ...
like a
Main Royal and having his wife pour buckets of water on them to simulate the sea conditions during a storm. The recruits were quickly demoted at sea when it became clear they had little seafaring knowledge and thus originates the term's use of derision.
The historical accuracy of this tale is uncertain and the earliest known date of recording appears to be 1951.
References
External links
''Paddy West'' Ballad''Paddy West'' performed by Timothy Walsh
Royal Navy traditions
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