British Navy.
Officers’ shoulder straps
| 1. Captain | 2. Commander | 3. Lieutenant Commander |
| 4. Lieutenant | 5. Sub Lieutenant, Chief Gunner and Chief Boatswain | 6. Gunner and Boatswain |
The officers of the British Naval Air Service wear as a distinguishing mark of their service a gilt spread eagle on each sleeve above the rank stripes and a silver spread eagle in the center of the cap insignia in place of the anchor worn there by other officers. Their service buttons also have the spread eagle in place of the anchor for other officers.
Officers of the Royal Naval Division detailed for duty on shore wear a uniform of khaki-colored cloth similar in design to the service uniform of British Army officers; their sleeves bearing the rank stripes of the same widths, number and arrangement as for other naval officers but made of braid of a slightly different shade than the material of the coat, and their shoulder straps bearing the same insignia of rank as that worn by the corresponding grades in the army.
Officers of the British Royal Naval Reserve wear the same uniforms as those prescribed for officers of the regular service, except that the stripes on the cuffs and on the shoulder straps while of the same number for the different grades are of a different design. The design of these stripes represents a rope twisted of two strands and in place of the “curl” above the upper stripe to indicate officers of the line there is a star shaped design made up of two interlocked triangles of narrow gold braid. The corps or branch of Staff officers of the Royal Naval Reserve is indicated by stripes of cloth between the twisted strand stripes, the distinctive colors for the different corps or branches being the same for Staff officers of the regular navy.
Officers of the British Naval Volunteer Reserve wear the same uniforms as those prescribed for the officers of the regular naval establishment, except that the stripes on the sleeves and shoulder straps to indicate rank, while being of the same number and arrangement for the different grades, are laid on in waving lines instead of in straight lines as in the case of the regular officers. The distinctive color stripes to indicate the various corps or branches for Staff Officers of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve are the same as for the regular service.
Officers of the Royal Naval Reserve and of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve attached to the Royal Naval Air Service wear their respective uniforms with the addition of the spread eagle design above the rank stripes on the sleeves and shoulder straps.
Officers of the British Colonial Naval Establishments maintained by the greater colonial divisions of the British Empire wear distinctive marks to indicate their especial service. These naval establishments comprise the Royal Indian Marine, the Australian Navy and the Canadian.
The enlisted men of the British Navy wear uniforms very similar in general design to those worn in the United States Navy with minor differences in the dimensions and cut of the various garments. The Chief Petty Officers wear uniforms of blue or white consisting of a bell-crowned cap with a black mohair band, a black patent leather visor and insignia consisting of two concentric circles surrounding a vertical foul anchor surmounted by a British crown; a double-breasted sack coat with two rows of gilt service buttons; and plain trousers. Other petty officers and seamen wear the sailor cap, wide collared shirt and bell-mouthed trousers common to the American service, the collar having three rows of narrow white braid around the edges with a black neckerchief knotted beneath it. The three rows of braid commemorate Nelson’s three great victories—Copenhagen, the Nile and Trafalgar—and the black neckerchief was first worn as a badge of mourning for this great sea fighter. The cap has a black silk ribbon around the band upon which is the name of the ship in gilt block letters, thus,
H. M. S. DREADNOUGHT