Captain Cook Memorial Museum him on as apprentice seaman for a three-year term. Cook served Walker first as apprentice, then as seaman and lastly as master’s mate until he joined the Royal Navy in 1755. He spent most of his time at sea on Walker’s colliers, mainly in the coal trade between the Tyne and London but including voyages to the Baltic and Dublin. The Whitby historian George Young, ‘Life of Cook’ 1836, stated that during Cook’s apprenticeship Walker retained Cook in Whitby on occasion and lodged him in the attic of the house in Grape Lane. There should be no difficulty in accepting
Able seaman (rank) Able seaman (rank) In the British Royal Navy in the middle of the 18th century, the term able seaman (abbreviated AB) referred to a seaman with more than two years' experience at sea and considered "well acquainted with his duty". Seamen with less experience are referred to as landmen (for the first year at sea) or ordinary seamen (for the second). In 1653 the Royal Navy introduced a new pay scale as part of reforms following defeat in the Battle of Dungeness the previous year. Included in these reforms were, for the first time, separate pay scales for more experienced