Now that I have looked into the composition of Paymaster's uniforms more thoroughly I have a
comment on the above quote
Yes, an eventual Paymaster did sign up at the Assistant Clerk level via a competitive examination
held half yearly at Greenwich. The successful candidate was then appointed as an Assistant Clerk
at a shore based establishment (e.g. Victory, the Portsmouth Accounting base) or a sea going ship
where he learned his craft "on the job". After 1 year's service he was considered eligible to take
the exam for the rating of Clerk and after 3 year's service was eligible for examination for the rating
of assistant paymaster. Assistant Clerk and Clerk were the equivalent of Naval Cadet and Midshipman.
Hello, I wrote the email referred to in post #94, after John915 asked if I would take a look.
The uniforms of Royal Navy Clerks and Assistant Clerks are well documented. As subordinate officers, like midshipmen and cadets, they wore the same crown, anchor and laurel wreath cap badge as commissioned and warrant officers, though of slightly reduced size. The 1891 officer's uniform regulations, which were in effect with little change through WW1, can be seen here:
https://archive.org/details/royal_navy_uniform_regulation_1891All officers of the paymaster branch wore white distinction cloth around the cuff beginning in Dec. 1863:
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015025957526;view=1up;seq=404Clerks and Assistant Clerks, who did not have gold rank stripes, wore a quarter-inch line of white around the cuff:
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015025957526;view=1up;seq=749Illustrated in the uniform regulations of 1879:
https://books.google.com/books?id=fV0BAAAAQAAJ&pg=PT49#v=onepage&q&f=falseAnd 1891:
https://archive.org/stream/royal_navy_uniform_regulation_1891#page/n63/mode/2upThough Clerks and Assistant Clerks were re-titled Paymaster Midshipmen and Paymaster Cadets in 1918, and Midshipmen (S) and Cadets (S) in 1944, their narrow white cuff stripe remained until 1955.
Of the many photos I have looked at depicting Paymaster uniforms not one had collar tabs.
Assistant Clerks and Clerks had no rings until they achieved Assistant Paymaster (under 4 years)
when they wore 1 stripe, the equivalent of Sub-Lieutenant. So looking at our photo we would not
expect to see either of those things. The jacket is correct, 'fore & aft' dress with 8 gilt buttons
in 2's the buttons having a raised centre with a smooth rim.
I don't think this would apply to the period of the photo, but eight buttons "in twos" refers to the vertical spacing on the single-breasted full dress or undress tailcoat, or on the double-breasted frock coat, before 1891. So the buttons of the paymaster branch would be grouped so:
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
OSurgeons were in three groups of three and engineers in two groups of four.
It is possible that the uniform in the photo depicts a Navel Cadet on the bottom rung of the ladder
of promotion to Paymaster. I am open minded as to the possibilities. With the intricate nature
of RN regulations and the many changes to those regulations who can say with any conviction what RN uniforms were worn in the Victorian era.
There is plenty of photographic evidence that shows that uniforms were largely worn in accordance with regulations. The crown in the uniform photo appears to be the Edwardian "Tudor" type, with rounded top, rather than the Victorian crown which generally had a flatter top, depressed in the center.
As for RN officers wearing just a crown as a cap badge, that was the case in an earlier period, 1846 to 1856. The plain crown was worn in conjunction with gold lace around the cap band. In 1856 the gold band was deleted and the badge was changed to the crown, anchor and laurel still worn, in evolved design, to this day. To compare (under Memoranda):
1846:
"[...]officers may wear in undress, in lieu of the round hat, a blue cloth cap, with a gold lace band of the width of the lace on their dress coats, and a gold crown, according to pattern, and of the same size in all ranks, in front above the band; Officers who have no lace on their coats, to
have a band of gold lace, one inch wide, round their caps."
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015025976476;view=1up;seq=311http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/72781.html1856: "The Military Branch to be distinguished by the embroidery on the peak, which is to be of oak leaves, and a device placed in front of the cap, consisting of a crown embroidered in gold
and silver and a silver anchor, surrounded by gold laurel wreaths.
"The Civil Branches by plain embroidery and the same device embroidered in gold."
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015025957526;view=1up;seq=749Justin
