Leading Seaman | Could, exceptionally be selected for Warrant Officer or even a Mate, but rarely were there openings. |
Petty Officer 2nd class | As above but several per year did circumvent the 1st class PO to become WOs (under 10). |
Petty Officer 1st class | Many very bright POs got to be Warrant Officers without waiting for lengthy recommends and much paper work. This was not popular with "old and bold" (under 10) WOs who had to wait long periods before being promoted and then a further ten years before becoming an (over 10) WO. Until 1853 there was no Chief Warrant Officer rank so the (over 10) WO was at their zenith. |
Petty Officer 1st class | This rate was introduced in 1853 as a result of the Royal Commission on Manning. This is the badge for a CPO viz an anchor and crown surrounded by a laurel. The three badges shown below were GCB’s, shown because men so advanced from the 1st class PO would have been entitled to wear. CPO’S were dressed as seamen, blue jackets in square rig, so the badge was worn on the left sleeve. Men so rated were of course very experienced 1st class POs, but for all but a few, there was no prospects of further promotion. The ranks/rates of 'Chief Warrant Officer' and 'Chief Petty Officer', were in contention. The 'Chief' meaning CWO won the day and were always called "Chiefs" by the navy and by their superiors, if and when not "Mr". Rating 'Chiefs' were always called CPOs - as in 'see -pe - ooh's'. No one would ever dream of calling his rate a "Chief" as we do today and have done for years from the 1940s onwards. Chiefs (WOs) ran the ship and were respected and feared (if worthy of it?) by the CO and his Wardroom officers, and by the ships company respectively. |
Warrant officer with (less than 10) years seniority. | Three buttons on fluted cuffs, a rank (note not a rate) which could be acquired reasonably early on, by bright and enthusiastic PO's. He would (or might have stayed in this rank for at least ten years) although he could have circumvented the two WO's shown below to gain a commission as a Wardroom officer. Throughout I call the cuffs attached to the sleeves on a Warrant Officer tunic "fluted" but the Admiralty describes them as "round cuffs, with three buttons and notched holes of blue twist thereon." |
Warrant Officer with (10+ years) seniority (¼" stripe above three buttons on fluted cuffs). | It took at the very least a full ten years to get this thin stripe but as in all cases of the WO rank, it was all 'dead men's shoes' promotion if one stayed as a Warrant Officer. There were opportunities to better oneself to get a commission. This WO wears a curl or a loop on his his stripe indicating that he is an Executive WO i.e. a Gunner or a Boatswain. The orlop deck in the early days of these Warrant Officers was the deck on which the routine admin of ship was run, but it was where the WOs had their cabins and where the Surgeon performed his duties in his operating theatre. |
CWO (Chief Warrant Officer) usually with 20 years seniority as a Warrant Officer, (½" stripe) above their three buttons. | Introduced in 1853 as a result of the Royal Commission on Manning. Those first promoted had already been WOs for nigh on twenty years and by 1860 had been retired, or commissioned to Sub Lieutenant, or given an honorary Lieutenancy and then retired. Many CWOs craved the honorary lieutenancy rather than being commissioned as a Ranker because in retirement (and many were 'old and bold' and yearned for a rest) their pension was enhanced and their privileges increased. In 1880 the majority, now younger than their forebears of 1853, aspired a commission and the chances of becoming a Lieutenant (ranker) proper on the active list. Much later on, and after much lobbying, it was mooted that the promotion to a Chief, was done on a time served basis, as was the case of ten years from 2nd class WO to 1st class WO. This was recommended to be after eight years as an (over 10) WO. This of course would increase the numbers of Chiefs, demanding an increase in the naval vote from which to pay them. As this snippet (taken from the WO's Journal) shows, it took many years before the Admiralty agreed. CWO Introduced In the next snippet, if you don't want to read the whole piece (which is interesting in naval terms) read what is relevant to this section, namely the first page, right hand column starting at the paragraph "After the old and young the middle aged....." to the end of the file. It beggars belief that any man could serve in one rank for such a lengthy period without hope of further promotion. The WO's Lot In the file above you will see a mention of the 'Ernest Appeal.' This is a revised version of that appeal Earnest Appeal The extremely long wait for promotion lead to much frustration and resignation of their plight, and all too often this led to the bottle WO's Drinking Problem Whilst senior officers were aware of this problem, it was more or less left to the WOs and their Journal which repeatedly warned their members of the perils of their ways and the need for either abstinence or better still moderation in their alcohol intake. Many were shamed into altering their ways. There have been several times when sailors drinking has become a worry to the navy, but only once to my knowledge, that's by research and experience, have I seen a concerted effort to resolve the problem. That was called the Bristol (or HMS Bristol) System which I mention in this file Alcohol was a serious problem in the Navy of the 1970s. |
Sub Lieutenant | This Wardroom rank was acquired either by training (Midshipman thence Sub Lieutenant) or by fast-track - WO to Mate, or by becoming a Ranker from the CWO rank. |
Lieutenant | The next step-up from a Sub Lieutenant, although the rank could be acquired through bravery in war or an an honorary rank. |
Lieutenant over 8 year's seniority. | One's title of Lieutenant didn't change although the pay and perks reflected the years served as a Lieutenant. In those days, one went from a Lt to a Commander. In 1914 the title Lieutenant Commander appeared. Before 1914 and from way back, one will find in documents, in particular the Navy List, the rank of Lt Cdr or Lieut Com. This was an abbreviation of "Lieutenant in Command" and always of course a senior Lieutenant, one with eight of more years seniority in that rank. Whilst many ex lower deckers promoted to the upper deck via the Mate system, either Mate Executive or Mate Engineer, went on to be a Commander and higher to flag rank, rankers rarely achieved that status simply because they were too old at the time of their promotion to keep up (or catch up) with officers who had joined as Cadets or Midshipmen. Many Rankers got to this rank and commanded vessels. |
Commanders and above (all with brass hats) * were not middle management. * Brass hats is and was an Army expression. In the navy we always refer to our headgear as caps. In a tri-service environment (the British Legion pre remembrance service in the Royal Albert Hall for example) when giving the order to cheer Her Majesty, the Garrison RSM will always say "remove or replace headgear. |
The Masters emblem, also worn by a Master-of-the-Fleet. | The Surgeon emblem, also worn by the Physician. | The emblem of the Purser. Notice the convoluted rope work. | The emblem of a Secretary, a late joiner to the ranks of WO's. |