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Ceremonial. The Royal Navy uses a number of unique ceremonies which often have their origins in the days of sail. Colours. This is the formal ceremony of raising or lowering of a ship's ensign and jack when in port or at anchor. All shore establishments only fly the White Ensign.
- Bells and Watches
- Honors and Salutes
- Boat Gongs
- Mourning and Funerals
- Ceremonies in The Life of A Ship
- Change of Command
- Dining-In
- The "Customary Phraseology of The Service"
- Other Ceremonies and Customs
- Ceremonies and Customs of The Marine Corps
(As a matter of curiosity, the Royal Navy uses different names for someof these watches. What the U.S. Navy calls the "evening watch" isthe "first watch" in the Royal Navy, "mid" is "middle," and "second dog"is "last dog.") For at least six centuries, time has been signalled aboard ship by thestriking of bells each half hour, one bell per half hour...
Tending the Side
Well before the visiting dignitary arrives, the boatswain's mate ofthe watch sounds the call "Pass the word"over the shipboard loudspeaker system, known as the 1MC, and passes theword "Lay to the quarterdeck the sideboys." The sideboys line up facingeach other in two rows, with the boatswain's mate positioned behind theoutboard sideboy in the forward row. The boatswain's mate then pipes"Alongside," timing it to end when the boat reaches the foot of the accommodationladder or the car arrives a...
Musical Honors
The modern practice is to play the number of ruffles and flourishesequal to the number of stars of the official's or officer's rank. (Mostsenior civilian officials who are entitled to honors are four-star equivalents.)Ruffles (on the drums) and flourishes (by bugle or band) are played simultaneously.Following the ruffles and flourishes, the march prescribed for the officialbeing saluted is played, as listed in the table of honors. For example,this is the sequence for a rear admiral. If agun s...
Gun Salutes
Salutes in the naval services are fired at five second intervals, exceptin the case of minute guns fired for funerals or memorials. Gun salutesare not fired between sunset and 8:00 a.m., on Sundays, or in ports wherethey are prohibited by local law or regulations. Today, gun salutes are fired by the Navy under the following circumstances: 1. To the flag of the President; the Secretary of State acting as specialforeign representative of the President; the Secretary, Deputy Secretary,Under Secr...
The use of the short form of title makes for some interesting announcements,especially with foreign VIPs; hearing the announcement, "Russian Navy arriving"undoubtedly caused some double takes until those within hearing registeredthat a U.S. ship was being visited by the Russian Navy Commander in Chief. Return to top of page
Half-Masting the Ensign and Other Ceremonies of Mourning
Naval Funerals Ashore The basic elements of a naval funeral ashore consist of the followingelements: 1. The casket is draped with the national ensign, arranged so that the blueunion is positioned over the left shoulder of the deceased. The casketis moved feet first, except in the case of a deceased chaplain, who ismoved head first, the tradition being that a chaplain never turns his backon his congregation, even in death. 2. At the funeral of an official or officer entitled to a personal flag...
Burial at Sea
Procedures for the conduct of naval funerals are found in Navy Regulations,Chapter 12, Section 10; NAVPERS 15555C, Naval Military Funerals;and NAVPERS 15956D, Naval Funerals at Arlington National Cemetery. Return to top of page
Launching and Christening
1. The playing of the national anthem. 2. A welcome by an official of the shipyard. 3. A speech by a suitable dignitary. 4. An invocation by a chaplain. 5. The introduction of the sponsor, invariably a woman, normally one withsome connection to the ship's namesake. For instance, a ship namedafter a person will often have the widow, mother, or daughter of the honoreeas the sponsor; one named after a state may have a female political figureor the wife of a political figure from the state as the...
Commissioning
1. The officers and crew, a guard, and music are assembled on the quarterdeckor some other suitable part of the ship (or, if circumstances require,on the pier alongside). 2. As members of the official party for the commissioning arrive, they arerendered musical honors but not gun salutes, since the ship is not yetauthorized to fire such salutes. 3. When everyone is in place, the prospective commanding officer faces andsalutes the commissioning authority and reports, "Sir (or ma'am), we arerea...
Decommissioning
1. After arrival honors for the senior officers and officials attending theceremony, the national anthem is played to commence the ceremony. 2. The chaplain gives an invocation, then the commanding officer makes welcomingremarks and introduces the guest speaker if there is one. 3. After the guest speaker's comments, the commanding officer calls "Attentionto orders!" and reads the decommissioning order. 4. The commanding officer then says, "XO, make preparations to decommissionUnited States Sh...
The crew is musteredat the ceremonial area where crew members canhave an unobstructed view of the ceremony. This is important, becausethe entire event is about the visible transfer of authority....Guests rise and the crew is called to attention as the official party movesinto placeThe national anthem is played, the official party facing the national ensignand all persons in uniform saluting.The chaplain gives the invocation.Although all the U.S. services have dinings-in, there are several elementsof the institution as practiced in the Navy that make it different fromthe customs in the Army and Air Force and even in the Marines. Inmany cases these stem from the messing arrangements typically found aboardship, where the officers except for the captain dine in the wardro...
Announcements over the shipboard public address system, the "1MC," arereferred to as "passing the word," and for many messages adhere to stricttraditional formulas. 1. At the beginning of the day, the boatswain pipes "All Hands" and passesthe word, "Reveille, reveille! All hands heave out and trice up! The smoking lamp is lighted in all authorized ...
Boat Hails
Long a matter of custom, the specific boat hails used in the U.S. Navywere first codified in Navy Regulations in 1893. Return to top of page
Birthday Cake Cutting
The event opens with a bugler sounding "Attention," upon which the Marinesand their guests, except for those participating directly in the ceremony,move into position in the ballroom. The adjutant orders the buglerto "Sound 'Adjutant's Call!'" whereupon the doors of the ballroom are thrownopen and the drummers and trumpeters march in to the strains of the "ForeignLegion March." When the musicians are in place, the cake escort entersthe ballroom to the playing of "Semper Fidelis," the Corps's...
Marine Corps Funerals
1. The Marine Corps provides a blue dress B uniform for the body if the deceasedMarine did not have one and the family so desires. 2. The Marine Corps provides a floral wreath for the funeral of a Marine whodies on active duty, with a scarlet and gold ribbon reading "United StatesMarine Corps." 3. The bearer party, after folding the casket flag, often slips the deceased'sidentification "dog tag" or a shell casing from the rifle party's volleysinside the folded flag before it is presented to t...
If the captain, a flag officer, or another noteworthy person enters or leaves a ship, the watch standers announce this movement to the rest of the ship and ring the bell as notification. Over time, this tradition has evolved to include important Navy ceremonies and events, both on-ship and off.
Aug 1, 2023 · Each ring from the bell signifies something different, marking major milestones achieved by individual sailors or remembering those who have served before them. The US Navy Bell represents continuity and heritage within naval culture and tradition.
The ship’s bell is a special symbol and highly used in ceremonies, one tradition of baby Christenings. Although much of its purpose is obsolete it still plays a significant ceremonial role in today’s Royal Navy. One of the earliest recorded mentions of the shipboard bell was on the British ship Grace Dieu about 1485.
An old Navy tradition has it that the ship's cook shines the ship's bell and the ship's bugler shines the ship's whistle. This tradition may still be observed in some of the...
May 18, 2011 · After dinner, there is the dipping ceremony...in which the Mids dip their rings in water from the seven seas and place the ring around their date's neck... and dancing. To conclude the dance, they have a spectacular fireworks show. The Ring Dance was established as an Academy tradition in 1925.
