Customs, sayings & origins
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Commonly used to encourage people to get up in the morning or to hurry along, it originated in the...
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'Starboard' derives from the Anglo-Saxon 'steorboard', the side-hung rudder which was on the boat's...
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The phrase may originate from a quotation in an 1806 novel 'The Post Captain'...
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The popular explanation is that 18th-century warships stored their shot on brass racks called...
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There are references to the instrument the hornpipe used to accompany the dance in Chaucer's...
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There are references to Richard the Lionheart setting out from England in 1190 with his ships...
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What is the significance of the three white tapes on the collar of the Royal Naval sailors’ uniform?The three tapes were said to commemorate Nelson’s three great battles but this is not the case...
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In the past, ceremonies included human sacrifice and the garlanding of ships with flowers...
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It evolved from the highly decorative gold embroidery or lace which adorned naval officers' uniform...
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The naval crown (made up of alternate sterns and topsails) can be traced back to the Romans...
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When were cap ribbons introduced on sailors’ hats?
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Watch stripes were lengths of material worn by sailors to show to which watch a man belonged...