Our impression this month pulls together some elements that we have looked at individually over the last couple of months and shows a South African Navy Warrant Officer from the 1980s in his fore and aft rig. This uniform would be worn for more formal occasions and ashore rather than aboard ship where more practical working uniforms would have been worn at most times. A warrant officer was the most senior of the non-commissioned officer ranks in the South African Navy and as such would have been a very experienced sailor and as such, apart from insignia, was dressed in a uniform that was almost identical to that worn by commissioned officers:

The uniform consists of a double breasted jacket, secured up the front with two rows of four brass buttons. His rank is indicated by the national coat of arms worn on each cuff. This jacket is worn over a white shirt and black tie  together with matching trousers and a pair of polished shoes. He wears a white topped cap with the warrant officer’s embroidered cap badge worn on the front:

1. Warrant Officer’s jacket
2. White shirt
3. Trousers
4. Warrant Officer’s cap
5. Tie
6. Parade Shoes