chief_of_da_fence
Jr. Member
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In the Navy is the colour officer armed?
Also, directors of music, if they choose to wear one.Pusser said:Yes. It's the only time a Naval officer is permitted to hook up his/her sword.
RumRunner said:Hmmm, I wonder why the Naval Officer always carries his sword.
I'll dig some dirt up on that. Unless someone here knows why?
Naval officers, in accordance with dress regulations,
are required to carry or trail their swords rather than
being hitched at the waist. The scabbard is suspended
from two long hanger straps requiring the wearer to carry
the scabbard to prevent it dragging on the ground, unlike
army and air force officers who hitch their swords and
scabbards to their belts.
The myth surrounding this unique naval custom is that
naval officers are required to carry their swords as a
mark of disgrace, allegedly for involvement in the
Spithead mutiny of 1797 that was confined to sailors,
not officers, although it might be said that officers
mismanagement led to that situation. It wasnt until
Victoria came to the throne that details regarding the
carrying of swords became uniform and Victorias reign
was well after the Spithead and Nore mutinies. In any
case, the major mutinies of the Royal Navy involved
ratings, with officers having no involvement. There is
some suggestion that Victoria had made a casual remark
that naval officers were not gentlemen (and the
wearing of a sword was the mark of a gentleman.) In one
sense she was quite correct.
Naval officers in British society were unique. The navy
had, by the late 1600s, made it clear that being a
gentleman was not sufficient to enter or succeed as a
naval officer. Skill, as opposed to social status, was the
mark of a naval officer and the navy exercised equality
of opportunity at the point of entry over a century before
the army saw the merits of such a program. Army
commissions, very much the preserve of the nobility,
were generally purchased. Naval commissions were
granted only after a young teenager had learned his
trade, passed his examinations and was selected for
promotion on the basis of merit. When wartime required
the navy to expand its officer corps, most were drawn
from the seaman pool where education and skill in
handling ships carried weight; social status carried none.
Those aristocrats who did enter the navy found
themselves competing on an equal basis with the sons
of merchants and labourers. Given that, naval officers
were not considered less than an aristocratic army officer;
just different, and the title naval officer carried with it a
degree of social standing which indeed made one a gentleman.
So, while they may not have been the sons of gentlemen,
naval officers were certainly considered gentlemen in British
society.
Some historians suggest that naval officers never wore
swords at sea and when the sword was used, the scabbard
was discarded as useless, particularly when boarding another
vessel. That certainly makes practical sense except that for
most naval officers, who were unlikely to be good fencers, an
edged sabre was the weapon of choice for close quarters
fighting. Swords and rapiers had little place in the hack and
slash boarding fights of the days of sail.
What is more likely is that the army changed and the navy did
not. Trailing a sword shows up as an act of pride among light
horse regiments where both officers and troopers loosened
their spurs and allowed their trailing sword scabbards to rattle
over the cobblestones.
Naval officers, who would have no reason to wear a sword
except when ashore, copied what was then a military display.
So, all officers, regimental and naval, actually trailed their
swords, with slings as long as possible, as a means of
attracting attention to the wearer. This is the origin of the
term, sabre rattling.
On parade, all officers carried their swords whether they were
army or navy. Soldiers eventually slung their swords from
their belts, for practical purposes, particularly as field drill
developed. Naval officers, having never used swords for
practical reasons and rarely wearing them in any case, saw no
need to change and continued to carry them when dress
dictated.
New Zealand naval officers today still continue the tradition
of carrying their swords on parade.[/quote
Senor Mono said:Commonwealth naval officers appear to "hook" their swords most of the time- see photos of our recent massive Victoria parade, and see photos of the recent presentation of the colour. Everyone is hooked.
Navy units I have served with in Canada always hook the sword onto the sword belt. In my experience there is a lot of confusion in the CF with respect to the wearing of naval swords and the use of sword drill. I see naval sword belts on the outside of tunics at some units
I see naval sword belts on the outside of tunics at some units
Privateer said:Reviving necro thread on this point:
Sorry, I'm not up to speed on how to import images. Go to this CBC link - it's the fourth image in the gallery: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/06/03/pol-throne-speech.html