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.
"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.
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- How many seasons does Sea Patrol have?5 seasons
- How many episodes does Sea Patrol have?68 episodes
- When did Sea Patrol premiere?July 4, 2007
- When did Sea Patrol end?July 4, 2007
- How long are episodes of Sea Patrol?42 minutes
- What is the IMDb rating of Sea Patrol?7.5 out of 10
- Who stars in Sea Patrol?
- Who created Sea Patrol?Hal and Jim McElroy
- Who wrote Sea Patrol?Dave Warner, Tony Morphett, Jeff Truman, Matt Ford, Kristen Dunphy, Michaeley O'Brien, Adam Todd, Cath Collins, Chris Hawkshaw, Di McElroy, and others
- Who directed Sea Patrol?
- Who was the producer of Sea Patrol?
- Who was the composer for Sea Patrol?
- Who was the executive producer of Sea Patrol?
- Who was the cinematographer for Sea Patrol?
- What is the plot of Sea Patrol?Following the crew of the patrol boat HMAS Hammersley, as they patrol the northern sea border of Australia. They have to deal with foreign fishermen poaching fish, smugglers and with political unrest in a neighbouring island state.
- Who are the characters in Sea Patrol?Able Seaman Billy 'Spider' Webb, Able Seaman Harry Costa, Able Seaman Robert J. 'RO' Dixon, Able Seaman Toby 'Chefo' Jones, Agent Steve Weaver, Alby Dumas, Anders Nygaard, Anton Gorski, Asheta Gatu, Bambang, and others
- What genre is Sea Patrol?Action, Crime Drama, Crime, and Drama
- How many awards has Sea Patrol won?1 award
- How many awards has Sea Patrol been nominated for?4 nominations
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