Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

Alwyn Thomas Lavender Covey-Crump (19 February 1907 – 19 May 1991) was a British officer of the

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 Fr ...

. An assistant to the Chief of Naval Information, he was responsible in the mid-1950s for compiling a record of Jack-speak (naval

slang Slang is vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in spoken conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also sometimes refers to the language generally exclusive to the members of particular in-gr ...

) and other historical marine linguistic details. The first edition appeared on 17 May 1955. The compilation, now continually updated, has led to the term ''Covey-Crump'' itself entering into Royal Navy slang. Covey-Crump served on various ships between 1927 and 1945, including HMS ''Vindictive'', HMS ''Enterprise'', HMS ''Duncan'', HMS ''Faulkner'', HMS ''Boscawen'', HMS ''Ceylon'' and HMS ''Liverpool''. He was the second son of Reverend Canon

Walter William Covey-Crump Canon Walter William Covey-Crump (1865–1949) was an Anglican priest, serving as curate and vicar in the diocese of Ely, Cambridgeshire for over fifty years. He also held "high positions" as a Freemason, involving himself in Masonic research ...

, and was married with one son.

Background

Covey-Crump was born on 19 February 1907 in

Stopsley Stopsley is a suburb in the north-east of Luton, in the Luton district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. The area is roughly bounded by the edge of Luton to the north, Vauxhall Way and Turners Road North to the south, Bradgers H ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...

. He was the second son of Reverend

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

; his mother was Hilda Sophia (). His parents married on 11 June 1903 at Haddenham, when his father was by then using the name Covey as a given name. The family was using the

double-barrelled name A double-barrelled name is a type of compound surname, typically featuring two words (occasionally more), often joined by a hyphen. Examples of some notable people with double-barrelled names include Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and Sacha Baron ...

, Covey-Crump, by 1911. Covey-Crump had two brothers: musician Lewis Charles Leslie, and Leo William Rolf, who served in the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a c ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. He attended the King's School, Ely. In 1938, Covey-Crump married Joyce Blackstone at St James, Picadilly, London. the daughter of T. W. Blackstone, former

Deputy Inspector General of Police A Deputy Inspector General of Police (abbreviated as DIG) is a high-ranking official position in Police in Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Nigeria and Sri Lanka. India Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) is a ...

and Police Commissioner in

Southern India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territ ...

. The 1939 England and Wales Register finds him at Flat 5, Nirvana Mansions, Portsmouth. (Note: this document confirms Covey-Crump's birth date. The 1957

Electoral Register An electoral roll (variously called an electoral register, voters roll, poll book or other description) is a compilation that lists persons who are entitled to vote for particular elections in a particular jurisdiction. The list is usually broke ...

finds Covey-Crump and his wife Joyce living at 19 Trenham Drive,

Warlingham Warlingham is a village in the Tandridge district of Surrey, England, south of the centre of London and east of the county town, Guildford. Warlingham is the centre of a civil parish that includes Hamsey Green, a contiguous, smaller sett ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

. They had one son. He died aged 84 on 19 May 1991 at St Albans, and was buried on 24 May.

Naval service

Inter-war years

On 1 September 1925, aged 18, Covey-Crump was appointed acting paymaster sub-lieutenant or

paymaster A paymaster is someone appointed by a group of buyers, sellers, investors or lenders to receive, hold, and dispense funds, commissions, fees, salaries (remuneration) or other trade, loan, or sales proceeds within the private sector or public secto ...

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Af ...

. In December 1927 he passed his accountant officers' examination, class 2, while serving on HMS '' Vindictive''. On 1 June 1929 he was promoted to paymaster lieutenant. In 1931 he was deployed to HMS ''

Enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterprise ...

''. From 14 September 1934 he was deployed to HMS '' Vernon'', a shore establishment in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...

. He was appointed to HMS ''

Duncan Duncan may refer to: People * Duncan (given name), various people * Duncan (surname), various people * Clan Duncan * Justice Duncan (disambiguation) Places * Duncan Creek (disambiguation) * Duncan River (disambiguation) * Duncan Lake ...

'' from 10 September 1935. From 28 September 1936 he was deployed as secretary to Captain Victor Danckwerts of HMS ''

Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most of ...

'',

leader Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets v ...

of the

6th Destroyer Flotilla The British 6th Destroyer Flotilla, or Sixth Destroyer Flotilla, was a military formation of the Royal Navy from 1911 to 1939 and again from 1947 to 1951 History The flotilla was formed in 1911 at Portsmouth, with its first commander, Captain Mo ...

. From 1 June 1937 he was paymaster lieutenant-commander. On 16 August 1938 he was sent to HMS ''Victory'' shore establishment for an accountant officers' technical course. On 2 January 1939 he was again deployed to HMS ''Victory'' for Tactical School.

Second World War

On 11 August 1939, Covey-Crump was appointed to the shore establishment ''

HMS Boscawen Two ships and a shore establishment of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS ''Boscawen'', after Admiral Edward Boscawen, whilst another ship was planned: * was a 4-gun cutter purchased in 1763 and sold in 1773. * HMS ''Boscawen'' was to hav ...

''. In that year, he was assistant to the Chief of Naval Information. He was promoted to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

on 1 June 1943. In 1944, he was serving on the cruiser HMS ''

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

''.

After the war

In 1946, Covey-Crump was serving at HMS ''

St George Saint George ( Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

'' shore training establishment, finishing in January 1948. In February 1948, he was appointed to HMS '' St Vincent'', a shore training establishment. He was appointed to HMS ''

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

'' from 15 March 1948 until at least August 1950. On 22 January 1950, while Covey-Crump was serving in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

under Vice Admiral

Louis Mountbatten Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of German ...

on HMS ''

'',

King Farouk Farouk I (; ar, فاروق الأول ''Fārūq al-Awwal''; 11 February 1920 – 18 March 1965) was the tenth ruler of Egypt from the Muhammad Ali dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and the Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I, in 1 ...

visited the ship, and was presented with a special matchbox when lighting his cigar. "From the ship's ''Father Christmas'' one of the officers, Commander A. T. L. Covey-Crump, had received the present of six boxes of matches. The specially-printed label bears the legend ''Commander Covey's Crumptious Matches'' beneath a horseshoe". Farouk was a collector and belonged to the British Matchbox Labels Society (BMLS); the gift was described as a "great rarity". The president of the BMLS also owned one of the six labels. In 1955, his compilation of Jack-speak was published within the Navy. He was appointed registrar at the Royal Naval Barracks, Devonport the same year.

Compilation of naval terms

''Alphabetical Glossary of Naval Terms and Abbreviations'' (1955)

Covey-Crump privately published, within the Royal Navy, his first-edition typescript of ''Alphabetical Glossary of Naval Terms and Abbreviations'' on 17 May 1955. It contains "a collection of Naval slang, abbreviations, legends and historical tit-bits", and a list of Naval nicknames. The National Archives website has an online transcription of it, commenting that it "provides a valuable resource for researchers looking for answers to many historical questions about the Royal Navy". The historical reenactment company HMS Richmond suggests that the collection of Jack-speak in this compilation is centred on the period around 1775. It is "mainly aimed at those with a background in the senior service", and was "the first official collection of naval slang". The compilation itself became known in the Royal Navy as ''Covey-Crump'' and the phrase thus entered the list of naval slang. One example from the compilation is: "Blazer: The name for this coloured coat comes from HMS ''Blazer'', whose Captain (Captain J. W. Washington) in 1845 had his boat's crew dressed in blue and white-striped jackets. This was, of course, before the days of authorised uniform for Naval ratings".

Reviews

* "So richly endowed is our language with the

patois ''Patois'' (, pl. same or ) is speech or language that is considered nonstandard, although the term is not formally defined in linguistics. As such, ''patois'' can refer to pidgins, creoles, dialects or vernaculars, but not commonly to jargon o ...

of the sea that it is surprising that so few glossaries of nautical terms and their origins have found their way into print. One excellent example that never got that far is the one compiled by Cdr. A. T. L. Covey-Crump for the Chief of Naval Information in the 1950s – ''Navy News'' still has its own well-thumbed copy of the type-script". t has an"idiosyncratic appeal".

Updated and modern versions of the ''Alphabetical Glossary''

Jackspeak continues to evolve: Covey-Crump's 1955 edition marks a moment in time, and there was an updated edition in 1967. Surgeon Captain Rick Jolly, who as a surgeon commander with the Commando Logistic Regiment commanded the field hospital at Ajax Bay during the

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial ...

produced his own dictionary of "Jackspeak" in aid of the South Atlantic Medal Association, in 2000.

Collections

Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...

Notes

References

External links

RN Life – Navy Slang
–

website (archived on

The National Archives National archives are central archives maintained by countries. This article contains a list of national archives. Among its more important tasks are to ensure the accessibility and preservation of the information produced by governments, both ...

website) {{DEFAULTSORT:Covey-Crump, A. T. L. People from Bedfordshire Royal Navy officers of World War II Royal Navy traditions Military slang and jargon Military humor Nautical slang 1907 births 1991 deaths Military personnel from Bedfordshire People educated at King's Ely