Interwar ratings were not a fixed lower-class bloc. Naval service offered skills and training, with promotion and, in exceptional cases, a path from ordinary sailor to admiral. That mobility encouraged household ambitions such as paying for a child's piano lessons or buying an instrument by instalments. These commitments made pay a direct concern for families trying to improve their circumstances. Class-based interpretations of Invergordon therefore need to account for sailors' material interests and the opportunities the service offered.
Notable Point · 38:34-41:26
Naval service and household ambitions
Naval training and promotion could improve sailors' social position while creating family commitments that depended on continued pay.