Naval Traditions: The Mariner's Beard.

[ChrisKelly]

Curious to know how this tradition started...  

 

I've noticed that, in all the photographs I have seen from the Second World War, all the US Merchant Marine and British Merchant Navy personnel are always clean shaven, notwithstanding exigent circumstances. Military navies, a different story...

 

Comments? Thoughts?

 

Some interesting things:

 

First image: This Aug. 29, 1945 file photo shows Prince Philip of Greece, during a naval visit to Melbourne, Australia. (Associated Press photograph).

 

Second image: Sporting a beard, Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Crump, a Navy journalist, sits in his office in Naples, Italy, in 1971. (Stars and Stripes)

 

Further Reading:

 

https://news.usni.org/2014/10/23/brief-history-grooming-u-s-navy