A new book by Richard Harris, “D’you hear there!” offers a great insight into daily life aboard Royal Navy ships and submarines, using daily ‘pipes’ or main broadcast announcements as the guide.
The book translates the language of the pipes, but is not merely a glossary of naval terminology, but is a vehicle for the kind of dry humour and accumulated wisdom that characterises life at sea. Each Pipe is explained along with the actions and reactions of the ship’s company. The 8 main chapters cover time in harbour, on FOST, being at sea, runs ashore and homecoming. The weird and wonderful situations that occur in the course of naval duties, together with the constant gentle banter between different branches, are described, making for a great read with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments.
Some selected highlights from this compact and easy-to-read book include:
‘Chef Knowles, pizza, Gangway.’ This appears to be a fairly straightforward pipe unless the ship is at sea (which has happened on occasion). The pipe informs the recipient that a pizza delivery has arrived at the bottom of the Gangway. It is worrying if a chef has ordered it, especially before evening scran, and even more so if the chef is on duty, given that they will have made the evening meal.
From the section entitled ‘What is a flight deck actually for anyway?’…
‘D’you hear there, the flight deck BBQ will commence at 1800. ‘Rig: Banyan Rig’ Occasionally, to break the monotony of long passages at sea, and give the chefs the evening off, the ship will have a barbecue on the flight deck. In reality, the chefs do not have an evening off as they will cook most of the meat to ensure people do not die of food poisoning. All unnecessary items, such as the helicopter (which some consider has no place on the flight deck and really should be back at RNAS Yeovilton), will be removed.
Apart from being highly amusing, this book serves as a useful informal guide to what it’s like to serve at sea in the RN. For those who have served, it will be instantly familiar, while for those considering a career in the RN, this is a helpful unofficial primer to some of the language and peculiarities that stem from centuries of tradition and sailors’ wit. (Those who enjoyed this book might also like a similar, but more raucous, lower-deck view of naval life available for Kindle: “Totally Steaming, a year on HMS Fearless”).
Harris brings considerable authority to the subject, having served for 31 years in the RN, joining the RN Reserve as an Able Seaman, and leaving the Regular Service as a Commodore in 2023. He served at sea in nine ships and undertook operational deployments to the Arabian Gulf, South Atlantic, Mediterranean and Arctic Circle. He commanded the new entry training establishment, HMS Raleigh, as well as being responsible for training Officer Cadets at BRNC, Dartmouth, giving him an unusually broad perspective on how the Navy shapes and sustains its people.
The text is accompanied by fine Illustrations provided by Captain Jim Nisbet, RN (Retd), in a style reminiscent of the former Navy News cartoonist, ‘Tugg’ Wilson.
The book is dedicated to Commander Amy Gilmore, a popular RN aviator who passed away from cancer in July 2025, and some of the proceeds from the book will be given to charities that helped Amy.
Pre order on Amazon
£8.99 (Hardback) | £6.29 (Kindle) | £4.50 (Audiobook)
Published May 6th 2026.
