Senior Service

[WebbPA]

British friends, please tell me what a "Senior Service" is.  The Elvis Costello song left me nowhere, but a couple of novels have left me believing it is some sort of cigarette.  Google was not much help.

[Smoke2much]

The Senior Service is the Royal Navy.  It is something to do with the fact that the Navy has been Commanded by the Admiralty since Henry VIII and until the late 1640's (or later !) each British regiment only lasted as long as the Colonel commanding it and thus there was no permanant army.

The RAF came about slightly later LOL.

Will

[WebbPA]

Will, that desn't jive with what I'm reading -   I got the impression from Anthony Burgess that a Senior Service was a brand of cigarette.

[Hagar]

[quote]British friends, please tell me what a "Senior Service" is.

[Scorpiоn]

For some reason, I found all this info fascinating.

I must be thankful for Webb's ignorance!

[Hagar]

For some reason, I found all this info fascinating.

I would never encourage anyone to smoke but there are long traditions attached to it. Cigarettes were issued free to servicemen during wartime & the brand names go back into history. I imagine this would make reading older novels a tad confusing unless you know about them.

Strangely enough I heard a new song the other day either entitled or with some reference to "Woodbine Willie". Wills Woodbines were a famous brand of cheaper cigarettes & the name "Woodbine" or "Wood" was often used for any brand. The original "Woodbine Willie" was an army chaplain who became a legend in the trenches during WWI. http://www.leedsparishchurch.org.uk/woodbine/woodbinewillie.htm

PS. This is the original Woodbine packet.


This is why they were so popular.

Wills, Wild Woodbine were originally sold in packets of five. Packets of 10 were introduced in 1916 and packets of 20 were introduced in 1930. The packet of five was still available up until 1973.

A packet of 5 Woods were held to One Penny until 1915 when a farthing was added to the price. This was only to last till Feb 1920 when the price soared two Two Penny. This price was maintained till 1939.

[Scorpiоn]

Again, this was fascinating. I do suppose it the history behind all these brand names.  I do wonder where Marlboro ciggies get their name from.

I heard a whole volley of name history on the radio the other day, although I can only recollect two at the moment.

Cracker Jack - The first man to taste the as-of-yet unnamed product declared, "This is cracker jack!"  As cracker jack was slang for very good back in the day.  Ask Fozzer for the year.

Victoria's Secret - Done as a jest to Queen Victoria.  As women were still very covered in that time, it was scandalous to insinuate what the Queen preferred as her undergarments.

Bless our useless knowledge!

[Hagar]

Again, this was fascinating. I do suppose it the history behind all these brand names.

Fascinating indeed.

I do wonder where Marlboro ciggies get their name from.

This is the Internet. You can find out most things if you know where to look.
You might find this surprising.

The Marlboro cigarettes story began in 1847 and was marketed mainly to women in London. This marketing strategy did not go over so well. In the 1920's, Marlboro cigarettes were then introduced to the American market as the cigarette of choice for women. It was also advertised as a mild cigarette. The Marlboro cigarettes brand never gained sufficient traction amongst smokers and was eventually taken off the market during World War II.

http://www.cheap-cigarettes.com/marlboro-cigarettes/

Bless our useless knowledge!

Amen to that.

[WebbPA]

Thanks for the info.  I can always count on SimV members for answers to obscure questions.

[eno]

[quote]Thanks for the info.