Naval Etiquette

The rules of politeness to be observed by admiral, officers and seamen alike. The honors are paid to the uniform and not to the personality of the wearer. 

NAVAL ETIQUETTE

The fact that the Germans, while in Manila Bay last summer, were said to have no "sea manners," shows how rigidly the etiquette of the sea is observed by those afloat.

Admiral Horatio Nelson

The English and Americans are the greatest sticklers in these matters. And their regulations are laid down with great minuteness. The rules of politeness to be observed by admiral, officers and seamen alike. The honors are paid to the uniform and not to the personality of the wearer. The seaman salutes the officer, who is compelled to return the salute in like way; the junior is always the first to enter a boat and the last to get out: each person must salute the quarterdeck coming up from below, and so on.

A "Nelson Fork"~ It was developed and used from 1797 on, by Horatio Nelson, after he was attacked fighting in the Napoleonic Wars, resulting in the loss of his right arm.  Nelson was given command of the British naval ship, Agamemnon.  He served in the Mediterranean, helped capture Corsica and saw battle at Calvi. He lost his right arm at the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1797. He subsequently used, what came to be known as, a 'Nelson Fork' in order to assist him in cutting and eating food with the same hand.

Between the ships themselves, like rules are laid down. The junior commanding officer must first call upon the senior. The ilag officer in port must send his aide to offer the usual courtesies to the new arrival before more formal calls are exchanged. Consular officers must receive the honors and salutes due their rank, and a failure in the exact number of guns in a salute demand an apology and a new salute. The seamans being comparatively new to the sea have not yet attained such a degree of familiarity as those nations where the customs on board ship are the outgrowth of a century's experience and many of vile faults they committed were rather through ignorance than design.-From The Los Angeles Herald, 1899

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Etiquette's Importance in WWII

Amy Vanderbilt

"During World War II the Government understood the importance of teaching our military men and women some of the subtleties of proper social behavior in foreign lands. Proper American social behavior was not enough. Our soldiers and sailors learned to remove their shoes before entering a Japanese home, or a Mohammedan mosque, or a Buddhist temple. They squatted or sat cross-legged at table and ate out of communal dishes in Mohammedan lands and in various Oriental countries.

They tried to remember certain shibboleths and taboos and what English words could not be politely used in English drawing rooms "bloody" and "fanny," for example. They noted that in England "napkin" or "nappie" often meant diaper; "flannel" meant a washcloth, and "serviette" meant a napkin as it does on the Continent. 

Our truck became a "lorry" or a "van," and our trolley was a "tram," a closet was a "cupboard," and molasses "treacle." "Tea" could be just that or the equivalent of our Sunday night supper. A shower was a "douche" and a tiny toy, a "dinkie," a boutonniere, a "button-hole." To charge something was "to put it down," and to do an errand was "to run a message." Shortly, under military instruction and because it was more convenient, our men and women learned to do in Rome as the Romans.  

If this works under the stress of war, it will work in peacetime. As much as possible, while still identifying ourselves as Americans, we should behave as those we visit behave, not try to take the freest manners and language of our Main Streets abroad." Amy Vanderbilt

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor  for Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia