Something I've always been curious about but never found an answer too was how naval life compared to being a soldier during WWI. Was joining the navy a safer bet than joining the army? How did the life of an Allied sailor fare compared to an Allied soldier?
Thank you for your time.
It was terribly boring, and almost absolutely safer compared to the Trenches.
If he was with the Grand Fleet he could look forward to endless drills, a few sweeps of the North Sea, and staring at the dull hills of Scapa Flow in the Orkneys.
He might spend his time ashore playing football, or hiking, or competing in rowing and sailing regattas against other crews. While on deck concerts, plays, boxing matches, and lectures might help pass the time. All the while training a few hours a day, or perhaps his squadron would go to sea for a few days to practice tactics, or have a gunnery drill inside Scapa itself.
If he was with the Battlecruisers he would be down in the Firth of Forth and often be able to catch the packet boat up to Edinburgh and enjoy the city life a bit.
Or if he was with a patrol squadron he might be in any of several smaller ports and spend most of his time staring at nothing but gray sky and slightly bluer seas. If he wasn't sent to sit in the heat and swelter off the coast of Gallipoli perhaps.
All in all it was a life of routine, boredom, and more routine. In the entire war the main battlefleets were in sight and shooting at each other for a grand total of 90 minutes.
Certainly smaller vessels saw more action, and the rise of the U-Boat made everyone feel more vulnerable, but naval life was often hours of nothing looking at nothing on the off chance that an enemy is hiding out there.