Former head of the Royal Navy says decision to scrap 'she' title for ships is 'an insult to generations of sailors'

A decision to scrap the "she" title for boats will "insult generations of sailors", the former head of the Navy says.

Admiral Lord Alan West, former First Sea Lord, has spoken out after a British maritime museum began referring to ships it exhibits as "it" in a bid to appear gender neutral.

In a rare move, BBC Radio 4's today programme took a call from a listener, Lord West, after he was so incensed by the news that he rang the show.

He said that the move is "stark staring bonkers" and "political correctness gone mad", adding: "It's a sort of insult to generations of sailors, the ships are seen almost as a mother to preserve us from the dangers of the sea and also from the violence of the enemy. To change it in this trite fashion is just absolutely stupid.

"We've done it for centuries as that's how we refer to them, we have to be very careful with little tiny pressure groups that make people change things. It's a very dangerous road we are going down.

"I don't think it's dated at all...sometimes things that are dated are there for very good reasons and I am very proud of some of those facts."

A spokesperson for the Royal Navy agreed that the tradition should not be changed, and added: “The Royal Navy has a long tradition of referring to its ships as ‘she’ and will continue to do so.”

The row began after the Scottish Maritime Museum near Troon changed its naming policy after vandals scratched out references to boats as "she" on information signs, forcing the charity’s director to scrap the gender-specific term altogether.

On social media, supporters of the museum expressed their dismay. "This isn’t how it works. You don't get to erase history, and like it or not ships have always been referred to as she," said Jennifer Sorbara.

"Political correctness is getting out of hand, the few are trying to bully the majority," said Harry Silvers. "There is room in this world for everyone."

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