FAQ

Having, myself, served in the Navy and, on retirement, found myself working with many Australians, I suppose I could, arguably, be something of an authority on nicknames used in the Armed Forces.

"Charge" (played by John Batchelor) is not really a nickname in the Navy. It is more of a rank that is usually between that of a Chief Petty Officer and a Warrant Officer. "Charge" is actually short for "Charge Chief Artificer"; or in the case of the character played by John Batchelor, "Charge Chief Engine Room Artificer".

"Swain" is not really a nickname, either, and more of a rank in the Navy. It is short for Coxswain and is usually equivalent to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. On small ships, it would be equivalent to the rank of a petty officer, as in the case of the character played by the actor, Matthew Holmes.

"Ro" is because the character played by Kristian Schmid, is a Radio Operator - "RO" for short.

"Buffer" (formerly played by Jeremy Lindsay Taylor) is more of a title than a nickname. It is a name usually given to the Chief Bosun's Mate on a ship and is usually in charge of all seamanship duties that happen on the Upper Deck. Ropework, mooring the ship alongside, raising and lowering sea boats, dropping and upping the anchor, is usually supervised by the "Buffer".

"ET" (formerly played by David Lyons) is simply due to the ratings branch or trade. Electronics Technician - "ET" for short. Larger ships would have anything in the region of twenty Electronic Technicians. Therefore, this nickname would probably only be used on minesweepers and submarines, where there would be only one Electronic Technician borne.

"Chefo" (formerly played by Joshua Lawson) is another name that would usually apply to the sailor's job aboard a ship. Although in the British Navy, a chef/cook might be referred to as *"Cheffy". The Australians tend to substitute the letter "Y" with an "O" for a nickname or shortened title. For example: "Dicky", for Richard, becomes "Dicko"; "Robby" for Robert, would become "Robbo", and so on.

"Bomber" (played by Kirsty Lee Allan) is the nickname given to anyone whose surname is Brown -possibly after the type of leather hats that Australian sheep shearers sometimes wear. Although, in the British Navy, anyone whose surname is Brown is sometimes called "Buster", after a comic strip character in an American newspaper.

"Dutchy" is a nickname usually given to someone named Holland, or Mulholland, in the case of the character played by Conrad Coleby.

"Two Dads" as a reason for a nickname is somewhat complicated. It is usually a nickname for a person whose surname is hyphenated, as with the character of Leo Kosov-Meyer (played by Nikolai Nikolaeff). Having a hyphenated surname is usually based on an agreement between the two families, when a bride and a groom marry. It is a nickname that only the Australians seem to be able to get away with. In other cultures, the notion of a man having two fathers would probably be taken as an insult.

"Spider" (played by Jay Ryan) is not so complicated. It is usually given to person whose name is Webb. A game of word association really.

"Knocker" (Commander Maxine White, the Squadron Commander, as played by Tammy MacIntosh; or Ryan White, the Midshipman, played by Dominic Deutscher) is usually given to a person's whose surname is White. I am not quite sure of the origin of such a nickname. I would hate to think that it was anything to do with the Dutch-built Thames tug boat that was built 1924 and put up for scrap in 1982 and was, in 1984, rescued by the Museum of London Docklands. It is now berthed at Trinity Buoy Wharf and registered as a National Historic Ship. This certainly does not apply to the lovely character of Commander Maxine White.

*Footnote: "Cheffy" is a nickname that is not usually accepted in the British Navy, unless one wants to wear the food, instead of eating it.

No; the island depicted in Sea Patrol is fictional.