Hence, there was no formal seagoing ‘officer class’ as understood today, until mathematically-based navigation methods from the mid-16th century required masters to have greater literacy skills, as likewise did their subordinates regarding their own functions and roles.ĭuring the medieval period, fighting at sea entailed grappling and boarding, followed by hand-to-hand combat. Apart from the cook-whose job, in fact, did not require any culinary expertise-like the master, the professional development for these specialists were all based on long apprenticeships. In the King’s ships, these specialists were later joined by the gunner, purser and, eventually, the surgeon. This required increasingly specialised crewmembers such as the boatswain, carpenter and cook.
8Īs ships became larger, they were able to keep the sea longer, and to voyage further. 7 Furthermore, the Laws of Oléron, and the common social background of masters and their crews, meant that their leadership style had to be one of ‘first among equals’ for example, masters were required to seek agreement from their crews as to when their ship was ready to sail. Masters began their seagoing life as apprentices, when the absence of manuals or charts meant that their navigation and seamanship skills were totally dependent on memory. The same ‘master’ likewise held shipboard ‘command’ in both peace and war. Consequently, English mariners were employed interchangeably between private merchants and their monarch until the 1850s. The same ships were therefore used for both warlike and peacetime purposes.ĭuring this time, mariners performed their duties in accordance with the Laws (also Rules or Rolls) of Oléron 4 and the Black Book of the Admiralty, 5 which applied to all English ships irrespective of who owned them. During this time, the monarch hired his ships out to the merchants for trade, and could ‘arrest’ their ships and crews for his own purposes when required.
BackgroundĪ previous article described how English maritime power during the five centuries after the 1066 Norman conquest was mostly limited to the North Sea and English Channel. The second will focus on RN and RAN medical, dental, medical administration and nursing officer uniforms. This part describes the overall development of male and female RN, Australian colonial and RAN uniforms and ranks since the 11th century. The purpose of this two-part article is to describe the development of Australian Navy health officer uniforms. Previous articles have described the history of Navy sailor uniforms or ‘rigs’ since 1509, 1 the development of male and female health sailor uniforms since 1879, 2 and the evolution of their rank and rate badges since 1827. More than a century after its establishment, many Royal Australian Navy (RAN) uniforms and ranks still reflect those used by the (British) Royal Navy (RN).
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