Last modified: 2013-08-03 by rob raeside
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Our foremost authority on British naval flags - Perrin 1922 - is,
unfortunately, remarkably reticent on the subject of
both (the ceremonies of) 'Colours' and 'Sunset'. He does, however, give an
example confirming that the practice was universal in the RN by the end of
the 18th Century, and goes on to state that it "is not older than the
seventeenth".
It is certain that the practice of wearing ensigns was
firmly established (for all ships of the English Royal Navy) by the end of the
16th Century, and jacks by the 1630s. It is also certain that by the 1660s
(and the Second Dutch War) striking such in the presence of an enemy vessel
was considered a sign of surrender. This causes me to wonder if the
ceremonial aspect of the procedure came about in order to demonstrate that
(particularly if the vessel was moored in a foreign port) lowering its
colours was not in anyway dishonourable?
Christopher Southworth, 6
July 2010
In the past it was usual to hoist or "heave out" the colours only at sea when
there was some special reason for doing so. Orders for Drake's fleet in 1589 and
the "Brief Notes" of John Young around 1596 show that there was then a routine
for hoisting the flag in harbour. Anyone absent without leave at the time was
deprived of his aftermeal, (the second meal of the day).
"At sunrise every
ship in the fleet hoists her colours viz. the ensign and jack, unless it blows
hard and the yards and topmasts are struck, in which case the colours are not
hoisted but when some vessel is coming in or passing; at half past 7 o'clock the
drums begin to beat and continue till 8, when the ship on board which the
commander-in-Chief hoists his flag, fires a gun." [William Spavens, 'The
Seaman's Narrative', Chatham, 1796]
Hoisting colours at sunrise was was
probably not introduced before the 17th century. In 1844 the time was fixed at 8
a.m. from 25 March to 20 September and 9 a.m. for the rest of the year. The
ensign was hoisted earlier or later than these hours when the ship was coming to
an anchor, getting under way, passing or meeting another ship, approaching a
fort or town, providing there was sufficient light for it to be seen.
All
the above based upon an item in "Customs and Traditions of the Canadian Navy" by
Lt.(N) Graeme Arbuckle, Nimbus Publishing, Halifax, N.S. 1984.
In KR&AI,
1913, Sunrise for ships abroad was "at 8 or 9 o'clock as the Commander-in-Chief
shall direct ; and they shall be kept flying, if the weather permit, or the
Senior Officer present see no objection thereto, throughout the day until
sunset, when they are to be hauled down, the sentries firing their rifles."
The origin of the latter practice was to ensure that the muskets were in working
order. [1951 Manual of Seamanship]
David Prothero, 7 July 2010
Following the 1797 mutinies in the British fleet at Spithead, Admiral Lord St.
Vincent established the practice in the Royal Navy of raising and lowering the
colors--the ensign and jack--at a formal ceremony with the band and guard of the
day paraded.
Flags were certainly taken up and down at dawn and dusk
before this, for the simple reason that they were all thought of as signals, and
there was no point to fly a signal that no one could see. This is why ensigns,
for example, were not flown out of sight of land unless another ship is nearby.
But the ceremonial aspect--"colours and sunset routine"--was introduced later,
and by all accounts it was Lord St. Vincent who introduced it.
- RN official
website,
http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/training-and-people/rn-life/navy-slang/covey-crump-a-to-aye/cable-curry
(under "Colours")
Joe McMillan, 7 July 2010
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