Although he retired when the boy was still very young, Gilbert's father had been a naval surgeon. Gilbert was always interested in the sea and sailing and had his own boats. A number of his earlier Bab Ballads had naval themes and served as the basis for characters in H.M.S. Pinafore. Excerpts from a few of these are below. The complete Bab Ballads may be found at http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/bab_ballads/html/ballads.html.

Captain Reece was the forerunner of Captain Corcoran

Of all the ships upon the blue
No ship contained a better crew
Than that of worthy CAPTAIN REECE,
Commanding of The Mantlepiece.

He was adored by all his men,
For worthy CAPTAIN REECE, R.N.,
Did all that lay within him to
Promote the comfort of his crew.
.........
A feather bed had every man,
Warm slippers and hot-water can,
Brown windsor from the captain's store,
A valet, too, to every four.
.........
New Volumes came across the sea
From MISTER MUDIE'S libraree;
The Times and Saturday Review
Beguiled the leisure of the crew.
........
One summer eve, at half-past ten,
He said (addressing all his men):
"Come, tell me , please, what can I do
To please and gratify my crew?

In response, the coxswain pointed out that the Captain had a daughter as well as cousins, sisters, a niece and aunts. It would make them happy if they could marry the bachelors in the crew. Although the women were already engaged to various peers, the kind-hearted Captain Reece agreed to marry them to his men.

But what are dukes and viscounts to
The happiness of all my crew?
The word I gave you I'll fulful;
It is my duty and I will.

In return the coxswain said he had a widowed mother who had long loved the captain. So all became one big happy family.

In another ballad Joe Golightly was a humble young sailor who loved the First Lord's daughter, but she did not return his feelings.

The Bumboat Woman's Story tells of Pol Pineapple. She is now old, but when she was younger (i.e. sixty), Lieutenant Belaye, the commander of the gunboat Hot Cross Bun, called her little Buttercup and won her heart. When he was ordered to sea she dressed as a sailor and signed on with the crew. The men were very polite to each other and very concerned with their appearance, but as a crew they were useless, getting sea-sick and afraid to climb into the rigging. The captain had to do everything all by himself. When, at one port Belaye returned to the ship with a new young wife, all of the crew fell down fainting. It seems they were all women in love with Belaye

Here we have the germs of some of the characters and situations of H.M.S. Pinafore.
Captain Reece and his Mantlepiece became Captain Corcoran and the Pinafore.
The Bumboat woman Pol Pineapple became Mrs. Cripps but was still called little Buttercup.
The coxswain became the boatswain, the love-sick sailor became Ralph Rackstraw and all of Captain Reece's female relatives were transferred to Sir Joseph Porter.

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Revised Janaury 2008
Please credit Lyric Opera San Diego when using this material.