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CIG031 - Edition 2,000
RN
Much requested and now delivered - the cigarettes of the ‘Royal Navy’ - ‘RN’!
Now we know a lot about this brand due to many members telling us so much about it, in particular, member J. Dawson of Portsmouth. Sailors fondly referred to them as ‘Pursers Blue Liners’ as they carried a blue line down each cigarette and were issued to seamen at shore bases or to Reserve ships not at sea. Each month every person received 3 cigarette coupon entitled you to 100 cigi’s or a tin of tobacco. We guess your popularity soared if you didn’t smoke as the coupons were extremely tradable.
A sailor was allowed 25 cigarettes a night whilst on shore and 200 to go on leave with.
The sailors reckoned they were so cheap at just 3/- a hundred - (late 7 shillings a hundred), because, they were the sweepings from the factory floor. In the 1960’s you could obtain plain and tipped versions. After they increased the price further, they were often smuggled, and lord help you if you were caught.
The cigarettes were in fact manufactured by various manufacturers including ‘Gallaghers’- ‘BAT’ - ‘Sobraine’ and were signified on the back of packs by their initial ie ‘G’ for Gallaghers etc.
Of course in the early days health warnings were not printed on packs, but later packs of ‘RN’ carried them!
‘Anchors Away’ for this lovely Bullnose.
Hi. It was in 1945 when I joined up in the RN, In Pompey Barracks the issue was 2 Tins of cig or pipe baccy per month I think we had a card or something to buy them, then they brought out the blue liners in 200 boxes the buying rate I believe was 2 Sh and 6 pence. the amount to take ashore was 1 full Pkt and a started Pkt Gerald
I joined the navy as a non smoker in 1953. I remember there was some sort of sticker in your paybook to state your smoking status. If you didn’t smoke, you got nothing. Smokers in Royal establishments got the 300 blue liner cigarettes a month issue which cost them 7/6, (seven shillings and six pence, about 37p in today’s money). Once you left the confines of the shore establishment or barracks, and were posted to a ship, (even a reserve fleet vessel) you became entitled to the five stamp issue which came with your pay on alternate pay days; we were paid fortnightly. Each stamp would entitle you to buy one hundred duty free cigarettes from the canteen. The price of these escapes me, but it couldn’t have been more than about 5/- for the hundred I would think.
It was at this point that a non-smoker cashed in. I had to adjust the paybook sticker (a bit of forgery) to become a smoker, but I didn’t have to change officially or request anythng; they just issued me with the stamps which then sold for 2/6 each. That to me was a days pay at the time so it seemed rather good to get this monthly boost in pay.
As a by the way; to further increase one’s pay; be ‘T’ as opposed to ‘G’ and earn an extra 4d a day. (For information if required, ‘T’ was Temperance and you didn’t get the daily rum ration that you got if you were ‘G’ for grog. The third term was RA (Ration Allowance) and these married people didn’t get the rum ration or the 4d)
Another boost was to be good at shooting and earn another 4d a day as a marksman. This was living!!!
Regards
David Webb
PS
Just a thought; wags would take the blue liner packet and add a capital U in front of the R, then stick a capital I between, and finish up the masterpiece with a capital E. Rather unfunny, but just a bit more of the history of these things.
My father was once given a cigarette by Wilfred Pickles. Each one had his name embossed on it. We had a half smoked fag lying around the house for ages in the 50’s until it fell apart.
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