Though, initially, employment of Logistics Officers in the Royal Navy remained broadly the same, it has begun to reflect exposure to the 'tri-service' environment, including a significantly greater number of operational logistics posts, as well as the more traditional Cash, Pay and Records, and 'outer-office' or Aide de Camp duties.
In the early days, the purser was a privileged shop-keeper on board ship and, as such, the profession was guilty of many malpractices.
The oldest man in the British fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805, was the Purser of Nelson's flagship, HMS Victory, Limerick-born Purser Walter Burke, then 69; he survived a further ten years, dying in September 1815 and his gravestone is in Wouldham churchyard, Kent.
In 1864, these officers were authorised to wear a white strip of distinction cloth between the gold rings on their arms.
Paymaster rear-admiral was established as a rank in its own right by Order in Council of 20 December 1919 applied retroactively to 6 March 1918.
However, pursers in the British Merchant Navy and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary continue to wear a white distinction cloth.
The General List (GL) of 1956 standardized the promotion opportunities of its officers, regardless of branch, although there remained some minor differences.
Captains retired on reaching nine-year's seniority in the rank, or at age 55, whichever was the earlier, unless selected for promotion to rear-admiral.
However, in 1875, Senior Lieutenants of eight years' standing began to be distinguishable to the naked eye from his more junior brother; he was, in that year, allowed to add to his full dress uniform the now well-known "half-stripe" of quarter-inch gold lace between the two distinctive rings of half-inch braid which the ordinary lieutenant wore, and by 1877 he could wear it in undress uniform too.
The Upper Yardman scheme (entering Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC), Dartmouth, Devon, as a cadet or midshipman, under terms similar to those direct from civilian life) was open to those supply branch ratings under the age of about 25.
Of the old "standing officers" (the master, boatswain, gunner and carpenter) from the days of sail, the cook was the first to lose his status as a full-blown warrant officer and head of his own department; indeed, an order of 1704 helped him in his downward career as, in future, in the appointment of cooks, the Navy Board was "to give the preference to such cripples and maimed persons as are pensioners of the chest at Chatham".
Even then, SL(S) was exclusively for a maximum of three supply branch ratings each year on the Upper Yardman scheme; there was no direct recruitment from civilians as a Supplementary List pusser, though this appears to have been introduced in the 1990s.
Supplementary List officers were offered 10-year short-service commissions, with the opportunity to extend to 16 years and beyond, should the exigencies of the Service require; promotion to lieutenant-commander (SL)(S) was by selection and only one officer from this scheme was promoted to commander (SL)(S) – commander J R (Russ) Cameron on 1 October 1993.
The careers page[5] on the Royal Navy's website in 2006 described the duties: "As a Logistics Officer you will play an essential role in the overall logistics support for the Royal Navy, whether at war, reacting to an international crisis, protecting offshore resources or taking part in search and rescue missions.
You will manage your department's delivery of equipment, accommodation, food and other vital services in providing the necessary logistic support, which is critical to the effective operation of the Navy's ships, submarines and shore establishments.
A Logistics Officer's wider responsibilities will also include the provision of professional advice on policy, personnel, legal or accountancy matters, which are also key elements in the smooth running of a modern fleet ... A major aspect of your job involves managing people and those in your department would include Chefs, Caterers, Stores Accountants, Stewards and Writers.
In the classic film In Which We Serve (1942), Captain D's secretary, a lieutenant-commander, appears in the opening frames; in the credits actor John Varley is listed as "Secco".
Captain (D)'s secretary, paymaster lieutenant Geoffrey H. Stanning survived and he awoke from the fearful blast to find his spine and legs badly injured by shrapnel, the ship out of control and heading for the shore at thirty knots.
Luckily for all those left alive on board, whilst he was deciding which one to have a go at, one of the boilers was hit and the engines ground to a halt.
One hundred and forty men plunged into the icy water, and in between the shell bursts from the German destroyers, managed to clamber to safety on the shore.
There was a similar, but short-lived, scheme in the late 1960s when at least three supply officers were trained as helicopter aircrew; at least one "pusser pilot" served in a number of flying appointments.
From 2004–2007, lieutenant-commander (commander from 2006) Heber Ackland served as equerry to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
[11] A few supply officers are trained as barristers and one captain (S) serves as Chief Naval Judge Advocate (CNJA).
Although much of their time can be spent in criminal cases at courts martial, military lawyers are also required in all major operational theatres as legal advisers to the commanding admiral or general.
[12] The Navy legal service also covers employment law, liability of public authorities and the drafting of Acts of Parliament.
Retiring as chief of fleet support in 1977, Admiral Sir Peter White GBE (born 1919) was promoted on 28 June 1976, becoming the first of the branch to be appointed to the Admiralty Board.
Rear-admiral David Steel, a barrister, was promoted to two-star rank on 20 April 2010 and became naval secretary and chief naval logistics officer (CNLO); he was promoted to vice-admiral in October 2012 on becoming Second Sea Lord, only the second officer from the branch to hold that post.
Functionally however, the school exists as a 'franchise' of the Defence College of Logistics and Personnel Administration, whose headquarters reside in Deepcut, Surrey.
(Thorp Arch became a borstal when the Navy left in 1958 and it is now known as HM Young Offenders' Institution, Wetherby, LS22 5ED).
The Gedge Medal and Prize was instituted in about 1928 and is awarded annually to the student who has obtained the highest aggregate of marks in their academic examinations in the current year.