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There are many customs and traditions associated with the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
of the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. Many of these traditions have carried on to other
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
navies, such as
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
and
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
. These include formal customs such as separate crests associated with ships, ensigns and fleet reviews. There are also several less formal customs and traditions, including Naval slang commonly referred to as Jackspeak and the traditional games of
Uckers Uckers is a board game for two to four players traditionally played in the Royal Navy. It has spread to many of the other arms of the UK Armed Forces as well, including the Commonwealth Forces. It can now commonly be found in the Royal Mari ...
and
Euchre Euchre or eucre ( ) is a trick-taking game, trick-taking card game played in Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand, Upstate New York, and the Midwestern United States. It is played with a deck of 24, 25, 28, or 32 standard playing cards. There are no ...
.


Heraldry


Ensigns

Commissioned ships and submarines wear the
White Ensign The White Ensign, at one time called the St George's Ensign because of the simultaneous existence of a crossless version of the flag, is an ensign worn on British Royal Navy ships and shore establishments. It consists of a red St George's Cr ...
at the stern whilst alongside during daylight hours and at the main-mast whilst under way. When alongside, the Union Jack is flown from the
jackstaff A jack staff (also spelled as jackstaff) is a small vertical spar (pole) on the bow of a ship or smaller vessel on which a particular type of flag A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours an ...
at the bow, but can be flown under way on only special circumstances, i.e. when dressed with masthead flags (when it is flown at the jackstaff), to signal a court-martial is in progress (when it is flown from the starboard yardarm), or to indicate the presence of an Admiral of the Fleet, including the Lord High Admiral or the Monarch (when it is flown from the highest hoist).


Ships badges

The
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
assigns badges to every ship, submarine, squadron and shore establishment. Before the age of
steam ship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. The fir ...
s, ships were identified by their
figurehead In politics, a figurehead is a practice of who ''de jure'' (in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yet '' de facto'' (in reality) exercises little to no actual power. This usually means that ...
. With the removal of the figurehead, ships badges and mottos were created to graphically represent the ships. The official process for creating the badge was initiated by
Charles ffoulkes Charles John ffoulkes (1868–1947) was a British historian, and curator of the Royal Armouries at London. He was a younger son of the Reverend Edmund Ffoulkes, Edmund ffoulkes. He wrote extensively on medieval weapon, arms and armour. He was ...
after
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
who was appointed as the Admiralty Advisor on Heraldry. Soon after his appointment The Ships' Badges Committee was established. This was amalgamated in 1983 with the Ships' Names Committee (founded in 1913) to create the Ships' Names and Badges Committee. The
Naval Crown The Naval Crown () was a gold crown surmounted with small replicas of the prows of ships. It was a Roman military award, given to the first man who boarded an enemy ship during a naval engagement. In heraldry a naval crown is mounted atop t ...
adorns the top of all the badges. The frame is gold rope. Originally, different classes of ships had different shapes, but currently all ships and submarines have a circular design. Shore establishments have an offset square design.


Ship names

The names of ships are considered by the Ships' Names and Badges Committee. The committee passes their recommendations for approval by the
Navy Board The Navy Board (formerly known as the Council of the Marine or Council of the Marine Causes) was the Regulatory agency, commission responsible for the day-to-day civil administration of the Royal Navy between 1546 and 1832. The board was headqua ...
and then the Minister of Defence. The chosen names are then formally approved by the monarch.


Ceremonial

The Royal Navy uses a number of unique ceremonies which often have their origins in the days of sail.


Colours

This is the formal ceremony of raising or lowering of a ship's
ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...
and
jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, incl ...
when in port or at anchor. All shore establishments fly only the
White Ensign The White Ensign, at one time called the St George's Ensign because of the simultaneous existence of a crossless version of the flag, is an ensign worn on British Royal Navy ships and shore establishments. It consists of a red St George's Cr ...
. The lowering ceremony is referred to as "Sunset" or "Evening Colours" if sunset occurs after 2100. It may be accompanied by the "
Sunset Sunset (or sundown) is the disappearance of the Sun at the end of the Sun path, below the horizon of the Earth (or any other astronomical object in the Solar System) due to its Earth's rotation, rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth, it ...
"
bugle call A bugle call is a short tune, originating as a military signal announcing scheduled and certain non-scheduled events on a military installation, battlefield, or ship. Historically, bugles, drums, and other loud musical instruments were used ...
. Ships at sea fly the White Ensign continuously.


Divisions

A formal parade of a ship's or shore establishment's company. At the
Britannia Royal Naval College Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth, also known as Dartmouth, is the naval academy of the United Kingdom and the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy. It is located on a hill overlooking the port of Dartmouth, Devon, En ...
, the " Lord High Admiral's Divisions" is a parade held in the presence of the monarch or his representative.


Pipe the side

A ceremonial greeting by a
guard of honour A guard of honour (Commonwealth English), honor guard (American English) or ceremonial guard, is a group of people, typically drawn from the military, appointed to perform ceremonial duties – for example, to receive or guard a head of state ...
on the arrival of a
flag officer A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which that officer exercises command. Different countries use the term "flag officer" in different ways: * ...
or the commander of another ship, members of the
royal family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...
or foreign officers in uniform. The actual piping is done using a
boatswain's call A boatswain's call, pipe, or bosun's whistle is a pipe or a non-diaphragm type whistle used on naval ships by a boatswain. The pipe consists of a narrow tube (the gun) which directs air over a metal sphere (the buoy) with a hole in the top. Th ...
and consists of a low note, rising to high and falling to low again, lasting for twelve seconds on a single breath.Jolly 2014, p. 336


Pipe the still

A signal made boatswain's call which brings a ship's company to attention, especially for the "Colours" ceremony or when saluting a passing warship. A second call of "carry on!" returns the company to their duties.


Fleet reviews

The Fleet Review is an irregular tradition of assembling the fleet before the monarch. For example, at the most recent Review on 28 June 2005 to mark the bi-centenary of the Battle of Trafalgar, 167 ships of the RN, and 30 other nations, were present. The fleet review in 2005 showed the marked contrast between the size of the Navy in 2005 compared to the last review in 1977. In total the Royal Navy had 67 ships on display, with the largest ship present being the French carrier ''Charles De Gaulle'' at over 200 feet longer than HMS ''Invincible''.


Service nicknames

Nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...
s for the service include ''The Andrew'' or ''Andrew Miller'' (of uncertain origin, possibly after a zealous press ganger) and the ''Senior Service''. It is also referred to as the ''Grey Funnel Line'': ship owning companies, or lines, painted their steamships' funnels in distinctive colours such as
Cunard The Cunard Line ( ) is a British shipping and an international cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its four ships have been r ...
's red and black or the eponymous
Blue Funnel Line Alfred Holt and Company, trading as Blue Funnel Line, was a UK shipping company that was founded in 1866 and operated merchant ships for 122 years. It was one of the UK's larger shipowning and operating companies, and as such had a significan ...
, while the Royal Navy's funnels are plain grey.


Naval salute

Originally subordinates would remove their headgear to a superior. In a book called ''New Art of War'', printed in 1740, it is stated that; This was different from the Army salute, which originated by showing that a person wasn't armed, hence a salute displaying an open palm. The Naval salute was a sign of respect, with Officers doffing their caps and seamen touching their forelock or knuckling their forehead. However, during the 19th century the Royal Navy was evolving into the modern Navy, as ships spent more time on station and ashore next to the Army and within Victorian society. Therefore, the modern salute, with the hand at 45 degrees, palm facing in, was adopted, and was more in keeping with actions of the Army. It is said that the reason the palm faces in is that sailors' hands were covered in tar from the sheets and rigging and it was considered unseemly to show an officer or a member of the Royal family a dirty palm; however, it is more likely that it was a natural development from the actions of raising a cap or touching forelock. The action also took the shortest up and down movement, unlike the Army salute, and was more practical onboard a warship. The change was not welcomed by all and some senior Officers were still noted to be raising their caps into the early 20th century.


Toasts

The Toasts of the Royal Navy are a set of traditional drinking toasts. In June 2013 the Tuesday and Saturday toasts were officially changed under orders from the Second Sea Lord, Vice-Admiral
David Steel David Martin Scott Steel, Baron Steel of Aikwood (born 31 March 1938) is a retired Scottish politician. Elected as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament for Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles (UK Parliament constituency), Roxb ...
, to reflect the fact that women had been at sea in the Royal Navy for nearly two decades. Officially the Tuesday toast is now "our sailors" and the Saturday toast is "our families". While most of these toasts are self-explanatory, "a bloody war or a sickly season" refers to the desire and likelihood of being promoted when many people die: during war or sickness. In addition, when referring to "Old Ships" (alternate toast for Wednesday), "ships" is referring to 'shipmates'. On completion of the daily toast, it was often customary to conclude with the following tribute. "But the standing toast, that pleased the most was, to the wind that blows the ship that goes, and the lass that loves a sailor" – Charles Dibdin (1740–1814). The toasts are typically given by the youngest officer present at the mess dinner. By tradition, these toasts are proposed immediately after the
loyal toast A loyal toast is a salute given to the sovereign monarch or head of state of the country in which a formal gathering is being given, or by expatriates of that country, whether or not the particular head of state is present. It is usually a ma ...
, on the relevant day of the week. The Navy makes the
loyal toast A loyal toast is a salute given to the sovereign monarch or head of state of the country in which a formal gathering is being given, or by expatriates of that country, whether or not the particular head of state is present. It is usually a ma ...
seated. This was a special dispensation granted by
William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...
, who had narrowly missed cracking his head several times on low deckheads when serving in the Royal Navy.


Affiliation

Ships will engage in a number of affiliations. It is often misunderstood that ships are named after places when normally they are associated with the local lord e.g. the Duke of Marlborough. There were, however, a number of vessels named after places during World War II after schools, cadet units and charities. At one time every Sea Cadet unit in the UK had an affiliated ship (with the exception of Kettering, which is affiliated with 800 Naval Air Squadron; Yeovilton, now disbanded; and Yeovil unit which, owing to its location on RNAS ''Yeovilton'' (HMS ''Heron''), is affiliated with 848 Helicopter Squadron). However, now that Sea Cadet units outnumber Royal Navy vessels, this is no longer possible.


Naval slang

The RN has evolved a rich volume of
slang A slang is a vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in everyday conversation but avoided in formal writing and speech. It also often refers to the language exclusively used by the members of pa ...
, known as ''Jackspeak''. Nowadays the British sailor is usually ''Jack'' (or ''Jenny'') rather than the more historical ''
Jack Tar Jack Tar (also Jacktar, Jack-tar or Tar) is a common English language, English term that was originally used to refer to sailor, seamen of the British Merchant Navy, Merchant Navy or the Royal Navy, particularly during the British Empire. By World ...
'', which is an allusion to either the former requirement to tar long hair or the tar-stained hands of sailors. Nicknames for a British
sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor'' ...
, applied by others, include ''Matelot'' (pronounced "matlow"), and derived from mid 19th century nautical slang: from French, variant of matenot which was also taken from the Middle Dutch ‘bed companion’, because sailors had to share hammocks in twos, and ''
Limey This glossary of names for the British include nicknames and terms, including affectionate ones, neutral ones, and derogatory ones to describe British people, Irish People and more specifically English, Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish peop ...
'', from the lime juice given to British sailors to combat
scurvy Scurvy is a deficiency disease (state of malnutrition) resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, fatigue, and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, anemia, decreased red blood cells, gum d ...
 – mainly redundant in use within the Royal Navy. Royal Marines are fondly known as ''Bootnecks'' or often just as ''Royals''.


Uckers and Euchre

Uckers Uckers is a board game for two to four players traditionally played in the Royal Navy. It has spread to many of the other arms of the UK Armed Forces as well, including the Commonwealth Forces. It can now commonly be found in the Royal Mari ...
is a two or four player board game similar to
Ludo Ludo (; ) is a Abstract strategy game, strategy-based board game for two to four players, in which the players race game, race their four from start to finish according to the rolls of a single dice, die. Like other cross and circle games, Ludo ...
that is traditionally played in the Royal Navy. It is fiercely competitive and rules differ between ships and stations (and between other services).
Euchre Euchre or eucre ( ) is a trick-taking game, trick-taking card game played in Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand, Upstate New York, and the Midwestern United States. It is played with a deck of 24, 25, 28, or 32 standard playing cards. There are no ...
, pronounced you-ker, is a
card game A card game is any game that uses playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, whether the cards are of a traditional design or specifically created for the game (proprietary). Countless card games exist, including famil ...
also played on board ships, in naval establishments and also in
pubs A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...
in Cornwall and Devon. It is similar to
Trumps A trump is a playing card which is elevated above its usual rank in trick-taking games. Typically an entire suit is nominated as a ''trump suit''; these cards then outrank all cards of plain (non-trump) suits. In other contexts, the terms ''trump c ...
, and equally competitive. Euchre involves nominated partners, is played with only the nine card and higher, apart from the two of spades – called the "Benny" – (making 25 cards in all) and uses the eight and seven cards as a score board. The winner is the first team to score 15.


Songs and marches

There are several songs that are commonly associated with the Royal Navy including "
Heart of Oak "Heart of Oak" is the official march of the Royal Navy. It is also the official march of several Commonwealth navies, including the Royal Canadian Navy and the Royal New Zealand Navy. It was the official march of the Royal Australian Navy, but ...
" (the official quick march) and "
Rule, Britannia! "Rule, Britannia!" is a British patriotic song, originating from the 1740 poem "Rule, Britannia" by James Thomson and set to music by Thomas Arne in the same year. It is most strongly associated with the Royal Navy, but is also used by th ...
".


See also

* Trafalgar Night: On 21 October each year the commissioned officers of the Royal Navy celebrate the victory at the
Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement that took place on 21 October 1805 between the Royal Navy and a combined fleet of the French Navy, French and Spanish Navy, Spanish navies during the War of the Third Coalition. As part of Na ...
by holding a dinner in the officer's mess. *
Taranto Night Taranto (; ; previously called Tarent in English) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Taranto, serving as an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base. Founded by Spartans ...
: On 10/11 November, or as close as possible, the
Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is the naval aviation component of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy (RN). The FAA is one of five :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, RN fighting arms. it is a primarily helicopter force, though also operating the Lockhee ...
celebrate the WWII
strike Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) * Hobart Huson, author of several drug related books Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm * Airstrike, ...
on the Italian port of
Taranto Taranto (; ; previously called Tarent in English) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Taranto, serving as an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base. Founded by Spartans ...
. This marks the formal mess dinner of the Air Arm in lieu of Trafalgar Night which is usually celebrated as a dinner with partners.


Notes


References


External links


Royal Navy Life and Customs in World War 2


* {{Naval Service (British) Royal Navy traditions