B.E. Smith of London, Ont., says this incident occurred in HMCS Nootka:

A sailor complained that the liver was rotten. The doctor, summoned as judge, pronounced it good.

At the next serving of liver, there were several complaints. “Awful offal,” they called it. The doctor, now uncertain, banned further use pending the opinion of a professional meat inspector.

During a stop at Bermuda, a sample of liver was sent to His Majesty’s victualling depot for testing. The report, delivered before the ship sailed next morning, declared the liver to be “pure and wholesome.”

No one could doubt His Majesty, of course, and the remaining liver was eaten without great griping. Months later, on another Nootka visit to Bermuda, the meat inspector was asked what tests he had applied.

“I ate it,” he said.