Changes to Royal Navy uniform
A uniform is a set of clothes worn to help identify somebody’s job. People working in the Royal Navy wear different types of uniforms depending upon their position in the Navy, the job they are doing and where they are working in the world. During the 20th century naval uniforms changed many times, especially in the way people made them and the materials used to make them.
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Introduction
Sir Admiral Frank Twiss describes Royal Navy uniform (RNM)
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Read a transcript of this oral history
To learn about the issuing of naval uniforms, select Next
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Issuing of uniforms
Issuing of uniforms
In the nineteenth century sailors still made their own uniforms from spare material, or ‘slops’, found on board the ship. The cost of the cloth was taken from their wages. Some sailors worked as tailors in their off-duty hours and helped to produce uniforms for their shipmates. In 1907 the Admiralty began handing out ready-made uniforms and in 1917 they issued these for free.
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Rules for naval dress
Rules for naval dress
During the early 20th century the Admiralty set out rules for naval dress and punished sailors if they did not wear the correct uniform at the right time. In 1935 an officer’s wardrobe contained 12 different types of uniform. For example, the Navy would expect officers to wear a different uniform for completing his daily tasks, going to evening meals, and during ceremonies. Gieves, a company which made naval uniforms, published a ‘dress wheel’ for officers to help them choose what to wear.
The Navy expected sailors to go ashore on leave dressed in their uniforms. A person called the Master-at-Arms was responsible for conducting an inspection of sailors’ uniform. He or she would make sure that the uniforms were clean and correctly worn. During the 1970s, following the threat from the IRA, the Navy discouraged sailors from wearing naval dress when going ashore.
To find out about World War Two uniform, select Next
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World War Two uniform
World War Two uniform
During World War Two it was difficult to get supplies of naval uniform. This meant that sometimes crews of smaller ships couldn’t follow the naval dress rules. These sailors wore non-uniform items like knitted blue jumpers and scarves. A shortage of expensive gold lace during the war meant that officers only wore rank lace half way around the sleeves of their jackets instead of all the way round.
On the other hand, the Navy strictly enforced the importance of wearing uniform to protect sailors in different areas of the conflict. This included wearing tropical uniform in hot climates, arctic uniform in cold climates and diving suits for under the water. New kinds of clothes protected sailors’ skin against heat from the blasts of enemy weapons.
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Post war changes to uniform
Post War changes to uniform
After World War Two the Admiralty got rid of some of the officers’ ceremonial uniform, including coats, sword belts and white gloves because these pieces of clothing were too expensive to buy. In 1959, however, the Navy did re-introduce a ceremonial coat for Captains, Commodores and Admirals. In 1974 the Navy produced dark blue, 'woolly pullies' and windproof jackets for officers and senior sailors and dark blue berets for junior sailors. These were much more comfortable to wear when working on the ship.
During the Falklands War the Royal Navy fought in uniforms made from man-made materials like Nylon. These types of fabrics were not very good in extreme heat and melted onto sailors' skin. At the end of the 20th century, therefore, people in the Navy began wearing clothes made from natural materials like cotton and wool. These were coated in special chemicals which protected sailors when faced with extreme situations such as fire, dangerous gases and radiation.
