Royal Navy Uniforms

These prints were published in 1965 by © Hugh Evelyn and drawn by John Mollo. They are approximately 38 cm x 25½ cm (15″ x 10″) but actual size may vary according to the guillotine cut made by printers over 50 years ago. The paper is high white matt medium cardstock weighing 150 g/sm². These are all double images that can be cut by you or your framer to make two separate images for framing. Shown here are scans of the prints.
These prints are STANDARD size. See shipping charges for up to 10 prints at Shipping & Returns

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I. Admiral, Full Dress II. Rear-Admiral Frock Uniform, 1787-1795
£15.00
Admiral, Full Dress: drawn from a portrait of Lord Rodney by L.J. Mosnier.

Rear-Admiral, Frock Uniform: drawn from two portraits of Earl Howe, the first by Henry Singleton, the second by Mather Brown of Howe on the deck of the Queen Charlotte at the “Glorious First of June“; also of Lemuel Abbot’s painting of Lord Hood.

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I. Captain, three years post, Full Dress II. Captain, three years post, Frock Dress, 1787-1795
£15.00
I. Captain three years post Full Dress: Drawn from an actual coat at the Royal Museums, Greenwich, a portrait of Captain Augustus Montgomery by Sir William Beechey and the figure of Sir Andrew Douglas captain of the Queen Charlotte, in Mather Brown’s painting of the “Glorious First of June”

II. Captain, three years post Frock Uniform: Drawn from the Order of November 17th, 1787 and from the ‘Leghorn‘ miniature of Nelson, Captain of the Agamemnon, painted by an unknown artist whilst refitting at Livorno, Italy in 1795

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I. Master and Commander, Full Dress II. Lieutenant, Full Dress, 1787-1812
£15.00
I. Master and Commander, Full Dress (drawn from the Regulations posted November 17, 1787)

II. Lieutenant, Full Dress (from Mather Brown’s painting “The Glorious First of June” at the Royal Maritime Museum, Greenwich)

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I. Warrant Officer 1787-1807 II. Midshipman, 1787-1795
£15.00
I. Warrant Officer, 1787-1807: drawn in part from the Regulations issued on November 17, 1787 and from the pattern book of the naval tailors, Welch and Stalker

II. Midshipman, 1787-1795: drawn from prints of midshipmen by Dominic Serres and Thomas Rowlandson dated 1777 and 1799 and from Henry Eldridge’s drawing of Midshipman (later Admiral) Charles Adam 1795

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I. Admiral, Full Dress II. Vice Admiral, Undress Uniform (1795-1812)
£15.00
I. Admiral Full Dress: drawn from pattern books of J. Buckmaster, military tailors and Welch and Stalker, naval tailors.

II. Vice-Admiral, Undress Uniform: Nelson in the uniform he wore at the Battle of Trafalgar from coats held by the Royal Museums at Greenwich

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I. Captain, Full Dress II. Captain, Undress Uniform, 1795-1812
£15.00
I. Captain, Full Dress, 1795-1812: drawn from a drawing of Sir Thomas Foley by Henry Edridge (1807), a coat at the Royal Museums, Greenwich and the pattern books of naval tailors, Welch and Stalker

II. Captain, Undress Uniform, 1795-1812: drawn from a painting of Sir Sidney Smith by J. Eckstein and a water colour of a senior captain by Antonad at the Royal Museums, Greenwich.

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I. Commander, Full Dress II. Lieutenant, Undress Uniform, 1787-1812
£15.00
I. Commander, Full Dress, 1795-1812: drawn from a sketch at Welch and Stalker, naval tailors, of a coat for Captain Nesham in 1798 and other drawings of the tailor

II. Lieutenant, Undress Uniform, 1787-1812: drawn from the orders and tailors’ notes of Welch and Stalker, naval tailors, a drawing of Lieutenant Francis Loch by Henry Edridge ARA in 1806 and an engraving in the Naval Magazine of March 1800.

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I. Physician, Full Dress, 1805-1825 II. Midshipman, Undress Uniform, 1795-1825
£15.00
I. Physician, Full Dress, 1805-1825: drawn from Sick and Hurt Office reforms of January 23, 1805 and a portrait of Sir William Beatty in the Royal Museums at Greenwich

II. Midshipman, Undress Uniform, 1795-1825: based on a drawing by Henry Edridge ARA of the Hon. G.P. Campbell in 1806

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I. Admiral, Full Dress II. Captain 3 years post, Full Dress, 1812-1825
£15.00

I. Admiral, Full Dress, 1812-1825: drawn from the RN regulations of 23 March 1812 and portraits of Sir George Cockburn by Sir William Beechey RA and John James Halls

II. Captain, 3 years post, Full Dress, 1812-1825: drawn from the RN regulations of 23 March 1812 and a portrait of Sir Philip Vere Broke by S. Lane and a portrait of Sir William Parry by Sir William Beechey RA

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I. An Officer of Marines, c. 1796 II. An Officer of the Royal Marines, Full Dress, c. 1805
£15.00
I. An Officer of Marines: drawn from Colonel C. Field’s Britain’s Sea-soldiers and H.G. Parkyn’s Shoulder-belt Plates and Buttons

II. An Officer of the Royal Marines: Full Dress: drawn from (i) 1803 sketch of a coat by Welch & Stalker (Naval tailors) (ii) 2 portraits in possession of the Royal Marines of Henry Rea and Anthony Kinsman

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John Mollo

These prints were drawn by John Mollo [1931-2017] who was responsible for our prints of The Light Cavalry Brigade in 1864 (The Charge of the Light Brigade) and our heraldic images of some of the leading Knights of the Middle Ages. Mollo had been a military historian and was an adviser to the Tony Richardson, the Director, when making the film The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968). He subsequently won 2 Oscars as costume designer for Star Wars Episode IV (directed by George Lucas) in 1977 and another for Gandhi, Directed by Richard Attenborough in 1983. He also won 5 BAFTAs and 3 Primetime Emmys.

The Napoleonic Wars and the RN

The 22 years between 1793, when the French National Convention declared war on Britain, and the final overthrow of Napoleon in 1815 following the Battle of Waterloo, are the most eventful in the long history of the Royal Navy:
The Siege of Toulon, (1793), The Glorious First of June (1794), the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (1797), the Battle of Camperdown (1797), the Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1797), The Battle of the Nile (1798), the Battle of The Chesapeake (1781), the Battle of Copenhagen (1801) and the Battle of Trafalgar (1805).
Despite early successes at sea, the war started badly. It was not long before Britain’s survival was in the balance. By 1805, however, the fleets of France, Spain, Holland and Denmark had been swept from the seas in a series of victories, and the crisis was over. Thereafter the Navy’s task was to maintain a relentless blockade along almost the whole coast of Europe, and to organise the transportation, protection and supply of the various military expeditions to the continent which, thanks to the Navy, were now possible. These enterprises were not always successful and which finally led to Trafalgar. During this time the Navy suffered some reverses particularly at the hands of the U.S. Navy during the war of 1812. But the tradition and the training instilled into the Royal Navy by Nelson and his contemporaries had a profound effect on the course of the war, and it was only right that, when the end came, Napoleon decided to surrender himself to the captain of a British ship of the line.
This period has always caught the imagination. Relics of the Napoleonic Wars, and prints and paintings of the ships and men that took part in them are extremely rare. Illustrations of naval uniform are few and far between, but sets of engravings like that by Dominic Serres, published in 1777, or that by Rowlandson which appeared in 1799, are unobtainable. The uniforms here are some of those worn during the war years when, in 1787, the uniforms in use at the outbreak of hostilities were authorised. Until 1748 no one wore uniform. Until 1857 only officers did, seamen wore clothing sold by the Purser or made of materials issued from his stores; custom, and the fact that the ingredients were purchased in bulk, led to a degree of uniformity. The traditional ‘Jack Tar’ with his tarpaulin hat, black or coloured neckerchief, blue jacket with shiny buttons, white trousers and buckled shoes, began to make his appearance at about the end of the eighteenth century.
The first uniform for naval officers was introduced, at their own request, in 1748. Before that red was the most popular colour. But now blue with white facings and gold lace took its place, and became the livery of the Royal Navy until the present day. There is an apocryphal story that these colours were chosen by George II after seeing the Duchess of Bedford wearing a riding habit of the same. The 1748 uniforms lasted, with small alterations until 1767, when full dress was abolished. In 1774 it was restored to captains and commanders, and in 1783 for flag officers. In 1787 new uniforms were authorised which were still in use when the war started in 1793.

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