Son of a Gun 💣
“Son of a Gun” isn’t an insult. It’s a birth certificate.
I was called one plenty as a young scallywag.
For centuries, Royal Navy ships would be away for years. Women came aboard in port. Some stayed onboard.
Nine months later, no cabin spare. The baby arrived where there was room. Between two cannons, on the gun deck.
Son of a gun was born!
No father to speak of, and the Navy had a new recruit before they could walk.
Today it means grit and a rebellious streak.
🫡 Angle Recruitment... We find the grit your workforce needs.
Fun Facts
💡 Daniel Tremendous McKenzie was born aboard HMS Tremendous during the Glorious First of June in 1794. Fifty years later the Admiralty gave him the Naval General Service Medal for being there. Rank on the roll: Baby.
💡 Admiral Smyth’s Sailor’s Word-Book of 1867 noted one admiral who swore he was literally cradled under the breast of a gun carriage.
💡 Women were at Trafalgar. Jane Townshend of HMS Defiance applied for the same medal in 1847 and was turned down, on the grounds that it would open the floodgates.
💡 The dictionaries are not fully sold. The earliest print use, in 1708, is already just a cheeky name for a rogue, so the gun deck story may have been bolted on afterwards. Sailors have never let that stop them.
The Maritime Origins Series
Maritime Origins is a storytelling series created by Jason Nangle, Founder of Angle Recruitment, a global maritime recruitment and executive search firm.
The series explores the fascinating history behind everyday phrases that originated at sea, as well as the remarkable stories, traditions and characters that have shaped maritime culture.
Many sayings still used today were first spoken by sailors navigating the challenges of life on board ships. Alongside these phrase origins, the series also highlights lesser-known maritime stories, legends and historical moments from the world of shipping.
Through short stories and visual posts, Maritime Origins connects the language, heritage and traditions of seafarers with the modern maritime industry.
New posts in the series launch every Tuesday on LinkedIn and are then shared across other platforms including Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and X. Follow
Jason Nangle on LinkedIn and Angle Recruitment across your preferred social platforms.
Aloof began as a Tudor helm order to keep a ship's head to windward and clear of a lee shore. How a lifesaving steer became a snub. Maritime Origins.
The mast glows blue. No heat, no flame, just tension in the air. Once a sign from the gods, now called St Elmo’s Fire. Still enough to unsettle any crew.
After the Benlomond sank in 1942, Poon Lim spent 133 days alone on a life raft, surviving through ingenuity, resourcefulness and extraordinary determination.
