How They Giggled, How They Laughed

DESCRIPTION: "How they giggled, how they laughed, How the sailors of the Grand Fleet chaffed When they heard their Admiral declare 'You can land your bally German fleet right there.'"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1893 (Kane-SongsAndSayingsOfAnUlsterChildhood)
KEYWORDS: navy sailor
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Nov 1918 - German High Seas Fleet interned at Scapa Flow
Jun 21, 1919 - High Seas Fleet ships scuttled to protest British behavior
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Kane-SongsAndSayingsOfAnUlsterChildhood, p. 181, "How they giggled, how they laughed" (1 text)
Roud #25463
NOTES [171 words]: Alice Kane didn't know what this fragment was about, but it seems pretty clear to me: One of the major demands of the British at the end of World War I was that the German fleet cease to be a threat to the Royal Navy. The British demanded that almost all modern units of the German fleet be brought to British waters, under the eyes of the British Grand Fleet (referred to in the song). The Germans, having little choice, arrived in the Firth of Forth on November 20-21, where Admiral David Beatty, commander of the Grand Fleet, ordered, "The German flag will be hauled down at sunset today and will not be hoisted again without permission." A few days later, starting on November 25, the German ships went to Scapa Flow in the Orkneys, where they were even more isolated and could not threaten the British coasts. So the Admiral giving the orders is Beatty, and the order he gave is either the one sent in the Firth of Forth or the one sending them to Scapa Flow.
Fowke lists this as a parody of "Granny's Old Arm Chair." - RBW
Last updated in version 6.5
File: KSUC181H

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