Well swipe me. I thought saluting had been banned in the RAF judging by the lack of it that was going on at Uxbridge last week end! Or was it just my dark blue uniform that confused the poor people?
kbf1. Believe it or not the RN did not wear "tricorn" hats as uniform, but "Cocked Hats" or bicorns. Athwart ships for Admirals and Captains, fore and aft for Lieutenants. (At least that was the convention at the time of Trafalgar etc.) Sailors used to "Knuckle their foreheads" and Officers salute by grasping the corner of the hat away from their seniors. Also raising the hat on very formal occaisions.The salute as we know it developed when the people started to have uniform headgear. It was used so a sailor would not have to display a dirty hand to a senior officer. The practice of saluting on the disengaged side went in the early 1900s and the practice of saluting with out a cap was only formaly curtailed by the curent issue of the ceremonial manual. The requirement to raise one's hat to a senior officer when dressed in civvies still exists, though security needs mean that this is most unlikely to happen in a public place. The drill for raising a base ball cap worn astern has therefore not been introduced.