Naval ranks and positions of the 18th and 19th-century Royal Navy were an intermixed assortment of formal rank titles, positional titles, as well as informal titles used onboard oceangoing ships. Uniforms played a major role in shipboard hierarchy since those positions allocated a formal uniform by navy regulations were generally considered of higher standing, even if not by rank.
Shipboard hierarchy of the
Napoleonic Wars wearing
straw hat,
reefer jacket and
neckerchief uniform comprising
bell bottoms and
sailor cap. Uniforms of this pattern were regulation from 1840 until the late 20th century. In the 18th century Royal Navy, rank and position on board ship was defined by a mix of two hierarchies, an official hierarchy of ranks and a conventionally recognized social divide between
gentlemen and non-gentlemen. Royal Navy ships were led by commissioned officers of the
wardroom, which consisted of the captain, his lieutenants, as well as embarked
Royal Marine officers, all of whom were officers and gentlemen. The higher ranked
warrant officers on board, the Sailing Master, Purser, Surgeon and Chaplain held a warrant from the Navy Board but not an actual commission from the
Crown. Warrant officers had rights to mess and berth in the wardroom and were normally considered gentlemen; however, the Sailing Master was often a former sailor who had "come through the ranks" therefore might have been viewed as a social unequal. All commissioned and warrant officers wore a type of uniform, although official Navy regulations clarified an officer uniform in 1787 while it was not until 1807 that masters, along with
pursers, received their own regulated uniform. Next came the ship's three "standing officers", the Carpenter, Gunner and Boatswain (Bo'sun), who along with the master were permanently assigned to a vessel for maintenance, repair, and upkeep. Standing officers were considered the most highly skilled seaman on board, and messed and berthed with the crew. As such, they held a status separate from the other officers and were not granted the privileges of a commissioned or warrant officer if they were captured. Boys aspiring for a commission were often called
young gentlemen instead of their
substantive rating to distinguish their higher social standing from the ordinary sailors. Occasionally, a midshipman would be posted aboard a ship in a lower rating such as
able seaman but would eat and sleep with his social equals in the
cockpit (all Midshipman would be 'rated able' at some point in their service – it was a requirement for them to have been so before they could stand as a Mate, another requirement for promotion to Lieutenant). The remainder of the ship's company, who lived and berthed in the common crew quarters, were the
petty officers and
seamen. Petty officers were seamen who had been "rated" to fill a particular specialist trade on board ship. This rating set the petty officers apart from the common seaman by virtue of technical skill and slightly higher education. No special uniform was allocated for petty officers, although some Royal Navy ships allowed such persons to don a simple blue
frock coat to denote their status. Seamen were further divided into two grades, these being ordinary seaman and able seaman. Seamen were normally assigned to a
watch, which maintained its hierarchy consisting of a watch captain in charge of a particular area of the ship. Grouped among the watches were also the landsmen, considered the absolute lowest rank in the Royal Navy and assigned to personnel, usually from
press gangs, who held little to no naval experience. Enlisted seamen and marines discharged due to disability or advanced age could be admitted to the
Royal Hospital, Greenwich. From 1805 until 1869,
Greenwich pensioners were issued with a distinctive uniform comprising a blue
frock coat with brass buttons, white
waistcoat and
pantaloons, black shoes, and a
tricorn hat similar to those issued to their
army counterparts at Chelsea.
Minors in the Royal Navy Henry William Baynton wearing the single breasted blue
coatee with white collar tabs Until the child labour laws of the late 19th century, poor children started work as soon as they were able. Child labour was considered both necessary and desirable; being good for the child's development and providing additional income to struggling families. From the ages of five or six, farmers' children would assist with the sowing and gathering crops while a chimney sweep's climbing boy might be as young as three or four. The view that child labour was both morally and legally acceptable was prevalent not just in Britain but throughout the world's most advanced nations. The Royal Navy was not exceptional in its employment of young boys, who were rated in three classes: A Boy Third Class was under 15 and was usually employed as an officer's servant, a Boy Second class was between 16 and 18 and undertook normal seaman's duties. Boy First Class was a rating reserved for those training to become officers; usually young gentlemen from well-to-do families. This was a popular and recognised route, offering an opportunity to accumulate knowledge and sea time, prior to becoming a midshipman. Service as a ship's boy was recorded as sea-service; officers' servants could obtain credit towards the mandatory six years of sea time needed before attempting the lieutenant's exam. It was not uncommon for these boys to be signed on in name only while they remained on land at school, high-ranking officers supplying fictitious seatime in exchange for some reward or favour. The number of second and third class boys allowed on each ship was dictated by the Admiralty and could be as many as 13 and 19 respectively for first rate ships while a large frigate might have 10 third class and six second class. The youngest were not supposed be less than 13, or 11 if they were the son of an officer, but this rule was often broken. The
Marine Society, founded in 1756 by
Jonas Hanway, was a charity that encouraged poor and destitute young boys to seek a better life in the navy. The society provided food, clothing and bedding, and an education which included basic seaman skills. At its peak, in the 1790s, it was providing 500 to 600 boys a year for the Royal Navy. Once a boy, further advancement could be obtained through various specialties. A
cabin boy assisted with the ship's kitchen, as well as other duties, while a
powder monkey helped in the ship's armoury. After the
Age of Sail ended, the position of ship's boy became an actual Royal Navy rank known as "
boy seaman". == Promotion and advancement ==