Issue 003 / February 2014

Picture the Past

Navy gazing

Navy gazing

Simon Wills offers advice on what can be learned from photographs of ancestors who served in Queen Victoria’s navy

Dr Simon Wills, genealogist and historian

Dr Simon Wills

genealogist and historian

The Royal Navy employed thousands of personnel in Victorian times and they travelled the British Empire, often sending home photographs of themselves. However, although commissioned officers had had standardised uniforms since the 18th century, a standard uniform for seamen was not introduced until 1857. From this point onwards it begins to be possible to look at a picture of a Navy employee and work out what their role was, and often more besides. Photographs can expose all sorts of information about a naval ancestor: their rank, the era that they served in, their duration of service, their specialist role, and military campaigns that they participated in.

During the course of the 19th century, naval uniforms went through a series of changes and, confusingly, each employee also had a series of different uniforms to wear for different occasions. However, the Admiralty issued written regulations to ensure that all commanding officers knew how to comply. As the Royal Navy embraced technology, there emerged a need for specialist roles in the service to meet new challenges. As a result, new ranks and experts joined the crews – engineers and torpedo specialists, for example – all requiring a distinctive means of identification.

The examples that follow show the kind of details you can glean from Victorian photographs.

Ceremonial uniform

A captain in full ceremonial uniform in about 1890
A captain in full ceremonial uniform in about 1890, worn for special occasions. Note the cocked hat, sword, epaulettes, and cuff slashes under which you can see his four ‘stripes’ designating him as captain. The many variations on this uniform allowed every rank of officer to have their own distinctive version, but each incorporated the various elements shown here. His campaign medals are (left to right): China War Medal (1861), Egypt medal (1882-89), and Khedive’s Star (1882-89).

The tally man

The tally man
The ‘tally’ or ribbon around a seaman’s cap can reveal the name of his ship. In this example, only part of the name is visible …LACA…. However, the Index to 19th Century Ships (found here) identifies the only possibility as HMS Implacable. This is an early photo from around 1860, when it was then the fashion for the ends of a tally to droop loosely down a man’s head rather than being bowed neatly at the side. The uniform at this stage was a relatively new concept and it was rather baggy. This man is a second-class petty officer from the fouled anchor surmounted by a crown on his left sleeve.

A group of ratings

A group of ratings
This is a group picture from about 1880 and shows ordinary seamen or ‘ratings’. Sometimes these groups are family members (eg brothers), but are often simply men who served together. They are wearing the straw hat known as a sennet, and the tally on the one on the floor at bottom right shows their ship as HMS Iris. The man seated on the right has an anchor fouled with a rope on his left arm without a crown above it, showing he is a leading seaman and more senior than the other two.

A clean record

A clean record
This photo from about 1880 shows a rating in the uniform known as ‘whites’ or ‘ducks’, used in hot climates. This varied in its presentation during Victorian times. Sailors either wore the sennet with this outfit or a white cloth cap with a black tally. The single chevron visible on his left arm is a good conduct badge indicating three years’ unblemished service. A second chevron could be given after eight years’ good service, and a third after 13 years. The badge on his right arm depicts a gun, showing he was a gunnery expert, and the crown above it shows he was a First Class Gunner Seaman.

Petty officers

Petty officers
These are first class petty officers in about 1890, as shown by the crossed double anchor badge with a crown on their left arms. This rank is harder to see on the arm of the man in the middle because on certain forms of the uniform, arm badges were embroidered in red and these don’t show up well in black and white photos without a magnifying lens. Each man also has a double chevron on the same arm, demonstrating at least eight years’ good service.
Badges on the right arm show a man’s specialty or expertise. For example, the man on the right has two crossed torpedoes with a star and crown showing he was a torpedo instructor.

Seafaring sawbones

Seafaring sawbones
This man’s sleeve ring or ‘stripe’ does not have a loop in it, showing that he was not a commissioned military or ‘fighting’ officer of the Royal Navy. The picture dates to about 1860. His single stripe marks him as junior, and his coat buttons in two groups of three indicate a surgeon. He is an assistant surgeon. There were similar uniforms for paymasters and engineers.

Aye aye, captain

Aye aye, captain
A Royal Navy captain in 1859; note his long frock coat. At this time, the rank of captain was denoted by only three sleeve rings or ‘stripes’, although this changed to four in 1861. From 1861 onwards, one stripe was a sub-lieutenant, two stripes a lieutenant, and three stripes a commander. As commissioned military officers all these ranks have stripes with a loop or ‘curl’ in the uppermost ring. Note that the subject’s cap has a single line of gold leaves along the peak, denoting a rank of commander, captain, or commodore (2nd class).

An officer cadet

An officer cadet
The young man on the left was an officer cadet when this photo was taken in 1899, as revealed by the white tags he has on each upper lapel. His cap has a good image of the officer’s cap badge consisting of a circlet of laurel leaves around a fouled anchor, surmounted by a crown. Commissioned officers all had this cap badge, although it varies a little with the era. It can be a good way to differentiate them from merchant navy officers and other seafarers.

From civvy street

From civvy street
The Victorian Navy employed many men who were not seamen or commissioned officers. They were appointed via a written warrant to fill a specific need on board and were known as warrant officers. They were sometimes recruited straight from civilian life (eg carpenters, sailmakers) or could be specialists trained by the Navy to a higher standard than petty officer level. This photo was taken about 1875 and this man’s warrant rank is shown by the three buttons running across each cuff.

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