Royal Navy officer rank insignia Officers . Uniforms for naval officers were not authorized until 1748 . At first the cut and style of the uniform differed considerably between ranks and specific rank insignia only sporadically used . By the 1790s , the Royal Navy ' s first established uniform regulations had been published . Ranks could be indicated by embroidery on the cuffs , by arrangement of buttons or , after 1795 , on epaulette s . However there was no consistent system and insignia might differ between uniforms , and were altered several times . Sometimes there was no specific indication of rank at all . Midshipmen received a white patch on the collar in 1758 , the oldest badge still in use today . The modern system of gold rings on the cuffs originated on 11 April 1856 . For the first time these were consistently applied to all blue uniforms . On 16 April 1861 mates were commissioned as sub - lieutenant s and lieutenants were divided into those of over 8 years seniority and those under . In consequence on 5 September 1861 the lower ranks ' rings were changed : and on 25 March 1863 to : On 30 October 1877 a lieutenant of 8 years seniority got an additional half - ring of in , increased to in in 1891 , and in 1914 became the new rank of lieutenant commander . In 1919 the admiral ' s narrow stripe was reduced to in , but as King George V had not approved the change , the Royal Family continued to wear the wider ring . In 1931 all the in rings were all increased to in . The curl was introduced in 1856 , but initially only the military ( or executive ) and navigating ( masters ) branches wore it . Other ( civil ) branches had plain rings , from 1863 with coloured distinction cloth between or below them . Until 1891 officers of the ' civil ' branches had single - breasted coats with different arrangements of buttons . Engineer officers received the curl in 1915 and all other officers in 1918 . At the same time they also received other things such as oak leaves on the peaked cap that had formerly been the prerogative of the military branch . In 1955 it was announced that the distinction cloth worn between the stripes of officers of the non - executive branches of the Royal Navy was to be abolished , except for those who must be clearly recognisable as non - combatant under the Geneva Convention . The residual use of distinction cloth for non - combatants is therefore : From 1955 to 1993 there was a rank of acting sub - lieutenant , with the same rank insignia as a sub - lieutenant . Naval pilots in the Fleet Air Arm ( and earlier the Royal Naval Air Service ) have wings above the curl . Other Fleet Air Arm officers had a letter ' A ' inside the curl . From 1795 rank badges could also be shown on epaulettes . The system changed several times , but after 1864 was as follows : Sub - lieutenants and commissioned warrant officers wore scales ( epaulettes without fringes , officially termed " shoulder straps " ) and the same device as a lieutenant . Epaulettes of the military branch were gold throughout with silver devices , while those of the civil branches had a silver edging and gold devices . Instead of the baton and sword or foul anchor , civil branch epaulettes substituted a star . Navigating branch epaulettes were the same as the military branch , but with crossed plain anchors in place of the foul anchor . The epaulette stars had eight points , quite unlike the Order of the Bath stars worn by army officers . In 1891 the admiral of the fleet changed to a crown above two crossed batons within a wreath , similar to the badge of a field marshal . Also in 1891 shoulder - straps were introduced for use on white uniforms and on the greatcoat , and more recently in " shirt sleeve order " . For these commodores first class and above used the same badge as on their epaulettes , and commodores second class and below used their rank rings . From 1926 only commodores had 2 stars , other captains one . Epaulettes were not worn after 1939 . In 2001 , the shoulder boards on dress uniforms were changed and are currently : Warrant officers . Warrant officer s first received their uniforms in 1787 . The navigators , surgeons and pursers were commissioned in 1843 and their insignia are described above . In 1865 chief ( later commissioned ) gunners , boatswain s , and carpenters were given a single in ring , with the curl , though the carpenters lost the curl in 1879 . In 1891 ordinary warrant officers of 10 years ' standing were given a half - ring of in , with or without curl as above . In 1918 this ring , with the curl , was extended to all non - commissioned warrant officers . In 1949 WOs and CWOs became " commissioned branch officers " and " senior commissioned branch officers " and were admitted to the wardroom , but their insignia remained the same . In 1956 they were integrated into the line officers as sub - lieutenants and lieutenants , and class distinctions finally disappeared from the uniform . Reserves . From 1863 officers were commissioned in the Royal Naval Reserve this was for serving merchant navy officers only . They had rings each formed from two in wavy lines intersecting each other . The curl was formed into a 6 - pointed star . The lieutenant commander ' s half - ring was straight , but only in wide . The commodore had a broad straight ring , but the same star for a curl . Midshipmen had a blue collar patch . Officers of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve ( formed 1903 ) for civilians , had single wavy rings in wide , with the curl a squarish shape . The lieutenant commander ' s narrow ring was originally straight , but after 1942 was waved also . Midshipmen had a maroon collar patch . In 1951 both reserves lost their distinctive insignia and got normal straight stripes like the regulars , but with a letter ' R ' inside the curl . The 2 organisations were merged in 1958 . In 2007 Officers of the Royal Naval Reserve removed the ' R ' distinction from badges of rank . Wrens . Officers in the Women ' s Royal Naval Service had straight rings in light blue , with a diamond shape instead of the curl . The Women ' s Royal Naval Service was abolished in 1994 and female officers now have the same gold rings as male officers . Royal Marines . Part of the RN as the Senior Service , the Royal Marines uses the same rank structure and insignia that the British Army has save for the field marshal rank , and the RM initials for second lieutenants to lieutenant colonels to distinguish them from the Army itself . The major general rank since 1996 is the highest rank of the officer corps , but in the past , generals and lieutenant generals headed the Corps , and from 1857 to 1957 the Corps also had the ranks of colonel second commandant and colonel commandant . Rank insignia are on brown or dark blue shoulder boards in all dresses save for the combat and barracks duty dress uniforms . From 1911 to 1957 the officer corps even included warrant officers and commissioned warrant officer in the same way as the RN .