I stole this from a friend’s Facebook profile. It seems to be some sort of English Naval recruiter’s version of an Uncle Sam poster. I prefer not to join.
The phrase is falsely attributed to Winston Churchill (”Don’t talk to me about naval tradition. It’s nothing but rum, sodomy, and the lash.“) and is also the name of a best-selling album by The Pogues.
The album cover painting is based on “The Raft of the Medusa” by Theodore Gericault, which in turn may have been inspired by
John Singleton Copley’s “Watson and the Shark.” Brook Watson was a 14-year-old crew member of a trading ship whose leg
was eaten by a shark. Copley met him in London (where Watson later became mayor) and the painting was subsequently commissioned. Upon Watson’s death, a copy was given to a hospital to warn kids of the dangers of swimming in shark-infested waters. I suspect the intended lesson of this public service poster may have been too late for anyone sitting in the ER with a missing leg.
The figure of the unfortunate Watson (did the shark eat his clothes, too?) was based on “The Borghese Gladiator” by Agasius of Ephesus. The gladiator’s form is also echoed in Rubens’ “Conclusion of the Peace at Angers.”
