Why naval pay differed by entry cohort

What was the difference between peacetime and wartime Royal Navy pay?

Pay depended on when and under what terms a sailor entered: prewar, wartime, postwar, and war-service-only personnel could receive materially different rates for the same work.

Pre-First World War entrants held the most favorable rate, with wartime and postwar cohorts on different terms and war-service-only personnel forming another category. The resulting gap could reach roughly 15 to 20 percent for the same role. Officers and NCOs sometimes found administrative ways to reduce the inequity, but the layered pay system remained a source of comparison and grievance.