Tally (cap)

The tally on a sailor's cap is a ribbon usually bearing the name of a ship or some other establishment to which they belong. Practice varies with each navy, though a conventional tally is black, with a gold or yellow inscription. The inscription may be simply a ship's name (e.g. "H.M.A.S. ARRERNTE"), the name of the navy ("MARINE NATIONALE") or a longer name such as "Red Banner Baltic Fleet" (). During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the ship's name would often be omitted from the tally—leaving just "H.M.A.S", for example—as a precautionary measure against

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ...

. Likewise, the manner a tally is fastened onto the cap varies with each navy. For example, the British tie it into a bow on the left side; the Germans and Russians tie it at the back, leaving behind a pair of streamers; while the French stitch it onto the cap like an ordinary cap band. Occasionally, the tally's colour may vary from the usual black, such as the

Ribbon of Saint George The ribbon of Saint George (also known as Saint George's ribbon, the Georgian ribbon; ; and the Guards ribbon in Soviet context) is a Russian military symbol consisting of a black and orange bicolour pattern, with three black and two orange stri ...

tallies used in the Soviet and Russian navies to denote

Guards unit Guards units () were elite units and formations in the Soviet Armed Forces that continue to exist in the Russian Armed Forces and other post-Soviet states. These units were awarded Guards status after distinguishing themselves in wartime service ...

s. {{Commonscat Military uniforms