Royal Canadian Navy Regulating Branch
And Naval Police

Rate, Trade and Branch Badges


1910 - 1920

NAVAL_POLICE_WHITE
Above image courtesy of Bryan Williamson CD

NAVAL_POLICE_BLUE

From 1910 to about 1920, Naval Police in the RCN wore a badge with the letters "N P" with a crown between the letters. A Chief Petty Officer (Master At Arms) wore the badge in gold wire on the collar of his jacket. Other Ratings had the Naval Police badge worn on cloth and best serge dresses embroidered in gold, those on other serge dresses were embroidered in red worsted, and those on the white uniform in blue cotton. All were worn on the right sleeve.

MASTER_AT_ARMS
A cigarette card circa 1910 showing the Naval Police insignia on the Master At Arms uniform.


1939 - C1950

During the Second World War, Ratings assigned to policing duties or members of the Regulating Branch wore the same rank insignia as other ratings but had rank titles specific to their trade. Branch badges (where applicable) were worn on the right sleeve.

Master At Arms And
Regulating Petty Officer

The Crown and Wreath insignia of Master At Arms was worn on the blue jacket collar or on the cuff of the white uniform. The Regulating Petty Officer badge consisted of the Crown alone, and was worn centered on the right sleeve. Insignia was embroidered in yellow thread or gold wire, or blue and red thread . Members of the Women's Royal Canadian Navy Service (WRCNS) wore medium blue embroidered insignia.
The rank of Regulating Petty Officer did not survive long past the end of the Second World War. The appointment of Master At Arms survived a little longer, but by 1954, these badges were no longer listed in the Navy Catalog of insignia.

MAA
Master At Arms
Gold wire embroidered collar badge.

MAA
Master At Arms
For economy reasons a yellow thread embroidered collar badge was adopted about 1943.

REGULATOR1
WRCNS Master At Arms embroidered collar badge.

RPO
Regulating Petty Officer
embroidered thread sleeve badge


C1950 - C1968

Regulating Branch And Boatswain Trade

Badges of trade or branch were worn by Seamen and Petty Officers on the right sleeve of the jacket, and on the jacket lapels by Chief Petty Officers. Badges were in gold wire for best jackets and dress uniforms, red embroidery for blue jackets and blue or black embroidery for white jackets or jumpers. The Canadian Regulating Branch badge was introduced about 1950 and consisted of a crossed quill and sword surrounded by a laurel wreath, the whole surmounted by a maple leaf. This badge was worn by Regular and Reserve Regulators until the late 1950s, it appears that Reserves wore the badge until Unification. A similar badge was worn by Royal Canadian Sea Cadets.

REGULATOR1
Regulator Badge worn on blue jacket
REGULATOR2
Badge worn on white jacket


COMPARISON
Comparison of the Regulating Branch badge worn on the sleeve (left) and the collar (right).


COMPARISON
Pair of Regulating Branch collar badges as issued.


REGULATOR3
Navy Cadet Regulators pre 1975
REGULATOR2
Navy Cadet Regulators post 1975


Quartermaster (Boatswain) Trade

Introduced about 1950, the insignia of the Quartermaster Trade was a ship's wheel over a boatswain's pipe. By the early 1960s the trade badge had been renamed to Boatswain Trade. Members of the trade assigned to Patrol duties wore the Patrol brassard when on duty.

BOATSWAIN
Cloth sleeve badge for Blue Uniform

BOATSWAIN1
Gold wire collar badge
BOATSWAIN2
Cloth sleeve badge



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