Admiralty references: C.E.60039/49, C.E.60040/49, C.E.60053/49, C.E.60054/49, N.L.4729/49, P.M.8591/49, Y.4383/49, C.W.16668/49, M.36/50, N.9020/51

SECTION I. MESSING OF OFFICERS

1401. Table of Flag Officer. The table of the Flag Officer or Commodore First Class shall be considered as the regulated place for the daily entertainment of the Captain of the Fleet, Captain of the ship, Secretary, and such officers composing the staff of the Flag Officer or Commodore as he may think fit to receive, when he is actually resident on board.

2. When the table of the Flag Officer or Commodore is not kept on board, those officers must make the necessary arrangements for messing on their own account.

1402. Table of Captain. With the exception of Flag Captains, Captains in command are to keep a separate table. Commanders in command are also to keep a separate table in ships where a separate mess is provided for the officer in command. Where a separate mess is provided a Lieutenant Commander in command may keep a separate table if desired, but no additional domestic staff can be provided for this purpose.

1403. Wardroom mess. The following officers are to mess in the Wardroom mess except as otherwise provided for in Articles 1401 and 1402.

1. Lieutenants and above of all branches
2. Chaplains
3. Royal Marine officers of or above the rank of Lieutenant
4. Sub-Lieutenants (not Cadet entry) of all branches
5. Branch Officers
6. Members of the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors and Admiralty Electrical Engineers serving at sea.

2. Officers taking passage or temporarily embarked are to be messed as shown in Article 1451.

1404. Gunroom mess. The following officers are to mess in the Gunroom Mess: (a) Sub-Lieutenants (Cadet entry) of all branches (b) Second Lieutenants, Royal Marines (c) Subordinate officers.

2. The Captain has discretion to allow any of the above officers to mess in the Wardroom if age or other circumstances should make this desirable. Officers over 23 years of age should normally be allowed to mess in the Wardroom.

3. Gunroom messes are not to be maintained in ships where no Midshipmen are borne. If an exception to this rule is considered desirable application is to be made to the Admiralty.

1405 MESSING AND ACCOMMODATION

1405. Conduct of officers' messes. The Captain is to take care that the officers' messes are conducted in an orderly manner, and so economically as to be within the means of every member. If he should discover that excess, extravagance, or irregularity has occurred, either in the case of any mess generally or in that of individual officers, he is to give such directions as he may think proper in order to prevent a repetition of it, and, if necessary, report the matter to the Commanderin-Chief.

1406. President of the mess and mess committee. Each mess is to be regulated by a mess committee comprising a minimum of three and a maximum of six members of which, except in shore establishments under the command o a non-Executive officer, the senior Executive officer borne for ship's duties shall be the president. The president of the mess committee shall also be president of the mess. Other members of the committee shall be elected. If the mess should fail to elect a committee, the senior Executive officer borne for ship's duties, and the senior officers of the non-Executive departments shall be the committee, and shall be responsible for the proper management of the mess. In shore establishments under the command of a non-Executive officer, the president of the Wardroom mess shall be the officer next senior in the branch of the Captain, provided that a non-Executive officer is not to become president of the mess if there is an Executive officer senior to him.

2. The internal economy of each mess is to be conducted by the committee, but all irregularities are to be checked by the senior Executive officer present and if necessary are to be reported to the Executive Officer or to the Captain. In messes to which no Executive officers belong and in shore establishments with a non-Executive officer in command, the Captain is to give such directions as may be necessary for the conduct of the mess.

3. For responsibilities of the Catering Officer, when one is appointed, see 4515 (5).

1407. Closing of bars and pantries. The bars and pantries in officers' mess rooms are to be closed at the following times:

No refreshments are to be served after these hours without the express permission of the Executive Officer.

2. The Gunroom Mess is to be closed at the same time as the bar and pantry. Permission to keep the Gunroom open after these hours is to be granted only with the special authority of the Executive Officer.

The Wardroom is to be closed as directed by the Captain.

1408. Advance to messes. Upon the first formation of a Wardroom or Gunroom mess of a seagoing ship, the Supply Officer, with the Captain's approval, is to make an advance from the public money to the mess not exceeding �3 10s. 0d. for each member. For supernumeraries, the advance is not to exceed the proportion due for the time they will probably remain in the ship.

2. These advances are to be considered as loans to assist the messes in laying in their first supplies, and the Supply Officer is to recover them within six months by equal monthly instalments from the messes, but not from individual officers.

1409. Limits to charges. In Wardrooms the messing charge is not to exceed �3 Os. 0d. for each calendar month.

2. In Gunrooms the messing charge is not to exceed 41 17s. 6d. for each complete calendar month and the mess subscription, for general expenses of the mess, is not to exceed 5s.

3. In Gunrooms the following maximum sums may also be allowed in mess bills to cover extras, tobacco, laundry expenses and other necessaries, but no member is to incur indebtedness to the mess, or to the messman where one is employed, beyond these limits in any one calendar month:-

I. MESSING OF OFFICERS 1413

1410. Limit to wine bills. The Captain is to limit or stop any wine bills which he may consider excessive or extravagant, having regard to the description of liquor consumed and the amount of hospitality exercised.

2. The wine bills of Gunroom officers of all branches, including the mess share and cost of drinks supplied to their own guests, are never to exceed the following amounts for each complete calendar month:-

An increase of 25 per cent. on these rates may be allowed in messes where duty is payable.

1411. Restrictions on sale of wines, &c. Except with the special sanction of the Captain, no wine, spirits or beer are to be sold to or exchanged with any person not belonging to the mess for which they were obtained, nor are they to be given away to any person except to a guest for consumption on board.

2. Spirits on which duty has not been paid are not to be issued in bottle to any officer or other person. Duty paid spirits are not to be issued in bottle without the permission of the Captain.

3. No subordinate officer under the age of 20 is to be allowed spirits, either for his own consumption or for his guests; in special cases, subject to the prior consent of the Captain or of the Executive Officer, this prohibition may be waived as regards guests.

4. Attention is called to Article 2619 Gangway Wine Book.

1412. Payment of mess bills. All mess bills are to be settled monthly by each member of the mess. Payments must be made in cash, except that in Wardroom messes where a mess banking account is kept, Wardroom officers only may pay by cheque. Apart from such payments by cheque, private bills or cheques are not to be received by, or cashed from, the mess, wine or other funds. See also 1581 (4).

2. For subordinate officers, a list giving the total mess bills is to be sent by the mess treasurer to the Supply Officer each month in time to enable him to abate the bills from each officer's advance in the Officers' Pay Book. These sums are to be paid to the mess treasurer by the Supply Officer.

3. The president of the mess is to report to the Captain if an officer should be in debt to the mess on paying off or on discharge, and the Captain is to order the Supply Officer to pay the amount, or so much of it as does not exceed the balance of pay and allowances due, and charge it on the ledger.

4. If an officer being sent home from abroad on account of misconduct, and borne for victuals only, is unable to pay his mess bill, the Supply Officer may make payments to the mess on his behalf within the Daily Passenger Rate laid down in Article 1452 (4), such payments being charged against the officer on the ledger.

5. The balance of pay of a deserter, other than money which should have been paid on the last regular pay day prior to desertion but for some accidental reason was not paid, cannot be appropriated for payment of mess bills. If it should be considered desirable to recover a mess debt from the proceeds of the sale of the deserter's effects, prior Admiralty sanction must be obtained.

1413. Wine accounts. Day and wine books (Forms S.252 and 5.253) are to be kept and, with the quarterly mess statement (Form S.256), are to be produced whenever called for by a competent authority.

2. INSPECTION OF WINE BOOKS. The Captain is to inspect the wine books of the Wardroom mess before the 10th of each month and is to make a weekly inspection of the wine books of the Gunroom mess; but all officers' wine books are to be examined by him as often as he thinks fit. After each inspection of the books the Captain is to initial them to show that he has examined them. See 1410 on power of Captain to limit or stop wine bills.

3. When a ship is inspected, a statement of the condition of the wine fund is to be produced with the wine, day and gangway books, to enable the inspecting officer to ascertain that the regulations relating to the wine accounts have been complied with.

H*

1414 MESSING AND ACCOMMODATION

4. If a surplus over the amount of balance which is necessary for the efficient working of the wine fund has accumulated, this may be divided amongst the members in proportion to the amount of their individual interests.

1414. Payment of creditors. Where payments are not made in cash, the accounts of mess creditors are to be paid by remittance through the Supply Officer, by postal order, or by cheque if a Wardroom mess banking account is kept. Payments are not to be made by private cheques or bills of exchange unless such a course is specially sanctioned by the Captain.

1415. Balance sheets and audit of accounts. Special attention is called to the instructions given in Articles 1583 and 1584.

1416. Allowances to officers' attendants and domestic staff. Marines employed as Wardroom Attendants, and Marines and Musicians employed as attendants to Gunroom officers, are, if employed by two officers or more, to receive 10s. a month from each officer, or, if employed by one officer only, to receive 15s. a month from him. These amounts are to be charged in the officers' mess bills and are to be paid to the men monthly by the Royal Marine Officer. (See 1432 on hammockmen.)

2. After each periodical audit the mess committee may at their option grant to certain responsible members of the domestic staff or officers' attendants an allowance or a certain percentage of the mess profits.

3. Except as above, private pay is not permitted.

1417. Miscellaneous instructions. Instructions on the following points will be found in the books stated:-

Casual meals in other naval messes - B.R. 93 Victualling Manual.

Arrangements for officers messed in ships and establishments not belonging to the Royal Navy - B.R. 1950 Naval Pay Regulations.

Difference of messing charge payable to Gunroom officers required to mess in the Wardroom - B.R. 1950.

SECTION II. CABINS

1431. Allocation of cabins. The allocation of officers' cabins in Her Majesty's ships is to be governed by the following rules.

2. FLAGSHIPS (see C.B. 01815B):

1. Named cabins are to be appropriated for the following:-

Grade I Flagships:-	Admiral
	Chief of Staff
	Captain of the Fleet
	Admiral's Secretary
	Fleet Signal Communication Officer
	Flag Lieutenant
Grade II, III and IV Flagships:-	Admiral
	Admiral's Secretary
	Flag Lieutenant.

2. Other staff officers are to be allocated numbered cabins in order of seniority together with ship's officers as in Clause 3c.
3. When flagships are employed as private ships, the cabins in (a) may be occupied by other officers by seniority at the Captain's discretion but must be vacated immediately they are required by a Flag Officer and his staff.

11. CABINS 1431

3. ALL SHIPS.

1. (a) Named cabins will be shown on the ship's drawings for officers appointed to perform the following duties:-

Captain
Executive Officer
Engineer Officer

----

"Senior Engineer"}	(Only in ships larger than destroyers.)
Medical Officer}
Supply Officer}
Chaplain}
Instructor/Met. Officer}
Royal Marine Officer}
Shipwright Officer}

----

Electrical Officer	Only in ships larger than destroyers and in destroyers fitted as squadron leaders.)
Navigating Officer

----

Commanding Officers of tenders

Only in depot ships.)

----

Commander (Air)}	Only in aircraft carriers.)
Air Engineer Officer}
Air Electrical Officer}

2. In aircraft carriers an appropriate number of cabins will be shown on the ship's drawings specifically for squadrons. Among these, named cabins will be appropriated for each Squadron Commander. The remainder will be numbered in sequence (i.e. " Squadron Cabin No. 1 " etc.) and are to be allocated in order of seniority except that pilots and observers borne for full operational flying duties are to have precedence in so far as is necessary to provide them with such single cabins as are available. When the squadrons are disembarked, their cabins may be temporarily occupied by other officers, with the Captain's permission, but must be vacated immediately they are required by the squadrons.
3. Cabins numbered in a separate sequence from those in (b) (i.e. " Cabin No. 1 " etc.) will be provided for the remaining officers to whom they are to be allocated in order of seniority subject to the following considerations:

1. Officers appointed to carry out the following duties are to be given the choice of single cabins in so far as they are available:-

Staff officers of the rank of Lieutenant and above except those appointed for duty in Admiral's Office junior to the Assistant Secretary. Captain's Secretary. First Lieutenant. A.B.C.D. Officer. Gunnery Officer. Direction Officer. T.A.S. Officer. Signal Communication Officer. Senior Commissioned Gunner or Commissioned Gunner in charge of armament stores. Boatswain. Electrical Officer (in destroyers not fitted as squadron leaders and below).

----

Lieutenant Commander (Flying)	(Only in aircraft carriers.)
Lieutenant Commander (Ops.)
Lieutenant Commander (AE).
Officer-in-Charge, CBGL Section

Note:-The above list is not in order of precedence.

2. Officers regularly employed on watch-keeping duties both at sea and in harbour are to take precedence over other officers of the same rank in so far as this may be necessary to provide them with single cabins if these are available.
3. Lieutenants and below who are more than 40 years of age are to take precedence over all Lieutenants except those in (i) and (ii), in so far as may be necessary to provide them with single cabins if these are available.

1432 MESSING AND ACCOMMODATION

4. GENERAL.

1. An officer allowed by complement (including staff officers, squadron officers and permanent supernumeraries) is normally to take precedence in cabin accommodation over an officer of whatever rank who is appointed supernumerary, additional, or for passage. The Captain may, however, make an exception in cases where officers are appointed additional to perform some special and important duty.
2. An officer who elects to occupy a cabin to which he is not normally entitled is to do so on the clear understanding that if required to vacate it, he must take such other cabin as may then be vacant in order to cause the minimum of disturbance to other officers.
3. An officer borne in lieu of one of a higher or lower rank is to be considered for cabin accommodation in respect of his actual rank.
4. The Captain is at liberty to retain one cabin for the use of officers without cabins who may be sick.
5. Cabins are not to be appropriated as offices without Admiralty sanction.

1432. Officers without cabins. Hammock-men are to b� provided for officers without cabins. Officers are to pay their hammock-men 5,i- a month, or 2/6 a month each when two are employed, the men providing their own brushes.

SECTION III. MESSING OF SHIP'S COMPANY

1441. Provision for berthing and messing. Form D.326-Return shewing the total number of all classes of officers and men for whom appropriate accommodation is available on board - is to be rendered as follows:

1. Annually on 1st July by the Commanding Officer of every H.M. ship in commission. Seven copies are to be forwarded through the Administrative Authority to the Admiralty (P. Branch I). This includes a copy for insertion in the Captain's Ship's Book.
2. When a new ship is about to be passed into commission from a dockyard or contractors, eight copies of a return on Form D.326, concurred in by the Superintendent of the dockyard or the Captain Superintendent of Contract-built Ships as appropriate, are to be forwarded to the Commander-in-Chief of the port to which the ship will be attached. Seven copies are to be for-warded by the Commander-in-Chief to the Admiralty and one to the Depot, but at this stage each is to be considered as preliminary and is to be so marked. When the ship is commissioned, seven final copies (eight for a contract-built ship) are to be supplied to the Commanding Officer, who is to report, through the Commander-in-Chief of the port at which the ship commissions, his con-currence in, or dissent from, the numbers mentioned in the return. Should the Commanding Officer dissent, the Commander-in-Chief is to order a further inquiry and report the result to the Admiralty. If the form is concurred in, the seven (or eight) copies are to be forwarded to the Admiralty. One of these will be returned to the Commanding Officer for insertion in the Captain's Ship's Book, and for a contract-built ship one will be forwarded to the dockyard concerned. Pro-vision is to be made for supernumaries as the Admiralty may direct.
3. The procedure at (b) is also to be followed for ships completing large repairs, modernisation or conversion.

1442. Messing of ship's company. In this article the expression " enclosed mess space " means a compartment of the ship or a space which is separated from surrounding spaces by dwarf bulkheads with curtains.

2. All chief petty officers, not otherwise provided for, are to mess together in one or more en-closed mess spaces according to the accommodation available. Similar arrangements are to be made for all petty officers not otherwise provided for. (See 1585 on Mess Committees and audit of accounts.)

III. MESSING OF SHIP'S COMPANY 1443

3. Warrant Officers of the Army and Royal Air Force are to mess with the chief pets" officers.

4. In chief petty officers' and petty officers' messes the senior rating entitled to exercise military command (0183) is normally to be President of the Mess.

In messes which are composed entirely of ratings not entitled to exercise military command, or which are in establishments commanded by non-Executive officers, the senior rating, irrespective of branch, is normally to be President of the Mess.

In shore establishments in which continuity is essential for efficient organisation, the Captain, with the approval of the Commander-in-Chief or Administrative Authority, may select as president of a chief petty officers' or petty officers' mess any suitable senior rating without strict regard to seniority. This rating is then to continue as president until relieved of the duties, although ratings senior to him may become members of the mess.

5. Each of the following categories of ratings will mess together in an enclosed mess space:

1. The Master-at-Arms. In ships provided with central dining halls for chief petty officers, the Master-at-Arms will have a separate mess equipped for both sleeping and feeding.
2. All Engine-Room Artificers. If desired, Engine-Room Artificers 5th Class may be formed into a mess with 5th class artificers of other branches.
3. Mechanicians and Chief Petty Officer Stoker Mechanics. Where a large number of Mechanicians is borne the senior Mechanicians should mess with the Chief Petty Officer Stoker Mechanics and any other Mechanicians for whom there is not room in that mess should mess with the junior Engine-Room Artificers in the Engine-Room Artificers' mess.
4. Colour Sergeants and Sergeants, R.M., Bandmasters and Band Sergeants, R.M.B.
5. Regulating Petty Officers. In ships fitted with central dining halls for petty officers, Regulating Petty Officers will have a separate mess equipped for both sleeping and feeding.
6. Petty Officer Stoker Mechanics.
7. All Officers' Stewards, Officers' Cooks and Cooks (O).
8. Leading Patrolmen, when serving in R.N. Patrol Headquarters ashore only.

6. In H.M. ships, whether fitted with broadside messing or central dining halls, the Leading Patrolmen should mess with the Regulating Petty Officers unless provided with their own separate mess. They should not be messed in the petty officers' mess.

7. Electrical and Ordnance Artificers are to mess together in an enclosed mess space if space permits. If not, they should join the chief petty officers' or petty officers' messes according to ratings held, those of the 5th Class joining the petty officers' mess or messing with 5th Class artificers of other branches.

8. Leading ratings and below of the Writer, Stores and Cook (S) branches should together form one or more broadside messes, but where practicable Leading Cooks (S) and Cooks (S) should be formed into a separate broadside mess. Where a separate Sick Berth mess is not provided, leading ratings and below of the Sick Berth branch should join the same mess as Writer and Stores ratings.

9. Shipwright Artificers, 5th Class, should be formed into a separate broadside mess if numbers are sufficient. Alternatively, where numbers are small, they may either join the petty officers' mess or mess with 5th class artificers of other branches.

10. While boys need not be messed together in a separate part of the ship, they should as far as possible be messed in separate messes so as to be eligible for the special rations and allowance applicable to them.

11. Royal Marines and Band ranks, below the rank of Sergeant, are to mess together. When a band is borne Boy Buglers are to mess with the band.

12. In ships and shore establishments where the strict application of the above regulations is not found to be practicable the rules contained in this article should be applied so far as the accommodation provided admits. Captains of trooping ships should use their discretion in re-arranging and grouping messes according to the numbers of each class requiring passage.

1443. Messman. A sufficient number of suitable junior ratings, who should be stoker ratings in the case of Engine-Room Department messes, are to be attached as messmen to all chief and petty officers' messes and to the messes referred to in Article 1442, Clauses 8 and 9.

1444 MESSING AND ACCOMMODATION

1444. Hammock-men. While it is to be clearly understood that all chief petty officers are responsible for their own hammocks, they may have the option of employing hammock-men, paying them the remuneration laid down in Article 1432.

1445. Victualling. Instructions on the different systems of victualling the ship's company are given in Chapter 49 and in B.R. 93 Victualling Manual.

1446. Meal hours. Adequate time must be set aside for meals to be taken, the actual time allowed for each meal being arranged by the Commanding Officer according to circumstances. In no case, except in emergency, should less than 22 hours be allowed for meals between the time men go to breakfast and 1800. In addition, half an hour should be allowed for supper. The period of 21 hours may include time spent in cleaning into the rig of the day and shifting into night clothing.

2. The Captain is to arrange that a commissioned officer goes round the mess decks periodically when the dinners are served to see whether there are any complaints.

1447. Watch-keepers. Arrangements are to be included in the routine of each ship to enable the watch-keepers to obtain adequate meal hours of the same length as those of the ship's company, and for hot meals to be served to them.

2. Subject to the internal organisation of the ship, the middle watch at sea and first and middle watch-keepers in harbour may be permitted to lie in until such time as will ensure hammocks being lashed up and stowed before the normal breakfast hour of the ship's company begins. This time need not be adhered to in ships where entirely separate messing accommodation is possible and the internal organisation permits.

SECTION IV. ENTERTAINMENT OF VISITORS AND PASSENGERS

The word " passengers " in the following instructions includes all persons not in receipt of Royal Naval rates of pay and allowances who are entertained or accommodated or messed in H.M. ships and naval establishments, whether they are visitors or are borne for passage, training or duty.

1451. Officers taking passage. Officers taking passage or embarked for duty are to mess as follows:

1. At the Captain's Table (1453):

Members of the Board of Admiralty and officers in the Admiralty party (1459, Class 8).

Other Flag Officers (1459, Class 9).

Captains.

Non-Executive officers of the relative rank of Rear-Admiral and above; Colonels, Group Captains and above.

2. (b) At the table of a Commander-in-command:

Commanders; non-Executive officers of the rank of Captain.

3. In the Wardroom:

Commanders, non-Executive officers of the rank of Captain, where (b) is not applicable.

Wardroom Officers (1403).

Commissioned Officers of the Army and Royal Air Force other than those under (a) and (d).

4. In the Gunroom:

Gunroom Officers (1404).

Officers of the Army and Royal Air Force for whom there is no room in the Wardroom, Aft as decided by the Captain. Officers over 21 years of age should mess in the Ward- room whenever possible.

Note:-Warrant Officers of the Army and Royal Air Force are to mess with the chief petty officers.

1452. System of messing. As described below, persons taking passage in Her Majesty's ships or visiting ships or naval establishments are grouped into various categories according to whether

IV. ENTERTAINMENT OF VISITORS AND PASSENGERS 1458

they are or are not entered for victuals on the ship's books and whether the cost of their entertainment is or is not recoverable from them by the ship. These categories, with the allowances payable, are listed in tabular form in Article 1459.

2. When important persons are entertained at the table of a Flag Officer or Captain the standard of entertainment is that of the persons entertained and not necessarily that of their host; the rates allowed give some guidance as to the standard of entertainment to be provided by the host in each case. The allowances for such persons are normally " inclusive," which means that no other payment is expected from or on behalf of the persons.

3. When passengers are accommodated in a Wardroom or Gunroom mess it is understood that they will accept the normal standard of the officers, which is regulated by the current rate of victualling allowance and by the restrictions on messing charges. Except in certain special cases the allowance for such passengers is " non-inclusive," which means that it covers only those charges which are obligatory on members of the mess; it is known as the " Daily Passenger Rate " (D.P.R.), and is an averaged rate representing victualling allowance, messing charge, mess subscriptions and payment for officers' attendants.

4. The Daily Passenger Rate is the current rate of victualling allowance plus 3/6d. per day in the Wardroom and 2/6d. per day in the Gunroom.

5. Charges in respect of optional items of expenditure, such as wines, spirits, tobacco and other extras, are known as " Personal Expenses " (P.E.), and should be recovered in detail from the passengers by the mess.

1453. Captain's table. The Captain's table includes the table of a Flag Officer or Commodore, should there be one on board, and also the table of a Commander in command of a ship. The Wardroom is to be understood as including the table of a Lieutenant-Commander or Lieutenant in command, but when a person entitled to mess at a Captain's table is entertained by a LieutenantCommander or Lieutenant in command, such person is to be paid for as if entertained at a Captain's table (see also 1402).

1454. Mess in which to be entertained. Subject to any specific provision in these regulations, the mess in which any passenger is entertained is at the discretion of the Flag Officer or Captain.

2. If a passenger prefers, or is invited, to join a mess other than that in which he is entitled to be entertained, he shall be permitted to do so, but the allowance paid shall be that appropriate to the inferior mess.

1455. Advance towards cost of entertainment. Where an officer ordered to make preparation. for any passenger desires an advance, the Admiralty at home, or the Senior Officer abroad, may authorise the Supply Officer to advance half the estimated cost of entertainment at the appropriate rate. Where the cost of entertainment is not recoverable from the passenger, particulars of any such advances are to be shown in the claim for final settlement.

1456. Passengers not embarked. If a passenger for whom provision has been made under competent authority should not embark or, having embarked, should be disembarked or transferred to another ship, the officer or mess concerned will be entitled to reasonable reimbursement not exceeding one-half the cost of entertainment to cover the expenses incurred in making the necessary preparations. For persons from whom the cost of entertainment is recoverable, recovery of this amount should be made as provided in Article 1462. No deduction is to be made from the allowances for the time passengers may spend on shore at intermediate places for their own pleasure.

1457. Passengers disembarking on duty. When a Governor or other public officer disembarks for the purpose of performing public service, without being able to give sufficient notice of his intended absence to prevent expense being incurred, one-half of the authorised rates will be payable during such absence. In the case of those mentioned in Article 1459, Group B, this amount should be recovered as provided in Article 1462. For the purpose of computing the seven days referred to in Article 1459, Groups B and C, each day in respect of which a charge for entertainment is made at half rates is to be counted as a full day.

1458. Accounts. All expenditure from public funds under this Section is to be brought to account in the financial year in which it occurs.

2. When passengers embark in a country where currency regulations restrict the amount of sterling that may be taken by the passenger, the cost of messing, assessed for the estimated time of passage, should whenever possible be recovered before sailing.

1459 MESSING AND ACCOMMODATION

SCALE FOR CASUAL MEALS IN OFFICERS' MESSES

For those making visits or taking short passages not entailing three meals in the day, the following rates are applicable for casual meals, and allowance at these rates will be made if the amount is not re-coverable from the passenger. No allowance can be made for teas.

Notes:

1. As regards inclusive rates in Wardroom and Gunroom, see 1468 (3).
2. Every three meals taken on board during one continuous period, even if on separate days, will be reckoned as a day and dealt with in accordance with the scales laid down in Table I. If one or two meals remain to be accounted for, the rates in Table II will be applicable.

SCALE FOR CASUAL MEALS IN RATINGS' MESSES

Passengers from whom the cost of messing is recoverable

per cent of the current rate of victualling allowance.

The actual amount to be charged in home waters will be promulgated in Admiralty Fleet Orders from time to time. See also B.R. 93 Victualling Manual for scale for Sea Cadets, etc.

Payment in General Mess ships and establishments should be made by the passenger to the Supply Officer, in other ships and establishments direct to the mess.

Similar payments are to be made to V.A. messes by the Supply Officer for casual meals supplied to passengers from whom the cost of messing is not recoverable.

1460. Exceptional expenditure or special cases. In any special case not covered by the regulations in this Section or where exceptional expenditure is unavoidable, and time does not admit of prior Admiralty approval being obtained, a statement of the actual expenses incurred is to be forwarded for consideration.

1461. Royal personages, etc. When foreigners included in Article 1459, Group " A " Class 1 (a), are embarked for passage in Her Majesty's ships, Commanders-in-Chief may at their discretion authorise entertainment expenses within the limits of the scale laid down in Article 1459, Group " B," for British officials and officers of corresponding rank.

2. When special circumstances render it desirable, the Commander-in-Chief may issue instructions for the entertainment allowance to be limited to the scale laid down in Article 1459, Group " B," for persons of lower status; the actual class of entertainment to be provided should always be stated in the order for passage. For Royal personages the maximum rate of allowance should normally be authorised.

3. Whenever entertainment allowance is authorised in accordance with this article, Commanding Officers are to forward through the Administrative Authority a certificate that the amounts shown have been expended.

ENTERTAINMENT OF VISITORS AND PASSENGERS 1466

1462. Governors, etc. Any person mentioned in Article 1459, Group " B," who is to be embarked for passage, should, if this is considered desirable and time permits, be consulted beforehand as to the standard of entertainment which he desires (up to the scale laid down in Article 1459), and the Commander-in-Chief may authorise the Commanding Officer of the ship to arrange matters in accordance with the wishes expressed. When there has been no prior consultation, preparations should, where possible, be made with a view to providing the high standard of entertainment appropriate to the full allowance payable. This may then be claimed either in full, or according to the actual costs incurred if it proves necessary to provide a lower standard of entertainment owing to limitations of supplies, etc.

2. When any of the persons mentioned in Article 1459, Group " B," is embarked for passage, the Captain is to direct the Supply Officer to inform such passenger of the rate laid down for his entertainment and the Supply Officer is to arrange for the recovery of the amount before the passenger leaves the ship. For persons in Her Majesty's Foreign or Colonial Services or serving under the Commonwealth Relations Office the amount may alternatively be recovered, upon the certificate of the passenger, from the appropriate Foreign Service or Colonial authority or United Kingdom High Commissioner's office on the spot. The Supply Officer will then pay the prescribed amount to the Flag Officer or Captain.

3. If the passenger should not be satisfied with the statement of the Supply Officer as to the scale under which the passage is to be paid for, the matter is at once to be referred to the officer ordering the passage or to the Admiralty. It should be noted that officers of Her Majesty's Foreign and Colonial Services and officers serving under the Commonwealth Relations Office are granted allowances, at the rates laid down in the table, while they are embarked for passage, under the regulations of their departments. Subject to prior Admiralty approval or direction, the scales may be increased in any special case in which they are deemed to be insufficient.

1463. Persons from whom cost of entertainment is not recoverable on board. The allowances shewn in Article 1459, Groups " A " and " C " and Classes 14 (a), 15 (a) and 16 (b), are intended to be grants from naval funds; they are to be paid to the mess by the Supply Officer and brought to account in the cash account unless special authority is received from the Admiralty to recover from any individual.

1464. Army and R.A.F. Officers paying a visit of less than 24 hours duration will be in receipt of subsistence from their own authorities and should not be victualled; they should settle their own mess bills, meals being charged for at the non-inclusive rates given in Article 1459, Table II.

2. When senior Army or Royal Air Force officers are embarked for tours of inspection or other special duty entailing an exceptional amount of entertaining by the Flag Officer or Captain at whose table they are accommodated, thus rendering the rates laid down in Article 1459 inadequate, a special report should be forwarded to the Admiralty giving details of the additional expenditure incurred.

3. Troops or airmen victualled by the Royal Navy are to be victualled in all respects as naval ratings, except that neither the spirit ration nor grog money is to be allowed to troops or to airmen unless serving with the Royal Navy for duty. Troops or airmen, when serving with the Royal Navy for duty and borne for victualling, are eligible for the spirit ration or grog money in lieu under the same conditions as naval ratings (4922). Troops or airmen accommodated and victualled in H.M. ships or naval establishments while training for, and when taking part in, combined operations, may also receive the spirit ration or payment of grog money in lieu, under the same conditions as naval ratings.

1465. Press representatives. When representatives of the press, etc., are entertained during visits specifically arranged for publicity purposes, providing the visit does not include sleeping on board, the inclusive rates set out in Article 1459, Table II, may be paid by the Supply Officer to the mess. In such cases, a special report of the circumstances should be forwarded to the Admiralty.

1466. Workmen. Dockyard workmen detained on board all night are to be victualled under the general messing system, or, if this system is not in force, to receive victualling allowance to enable them to purchase any food they may require from the canteen, or from the stock of provisions on board, or from messes. Similar arrangements are to be made when workmen belonging to private firms are victualled on board.

1467 MESSING AND ACCOMMODATION

2. Workmen victualled in H.M. seagoing ships are eligible to receive the spirit ration if over 20 years of age. The spirit ration is not to be issued to civilian workmen victualled in shore establishments or non-seagoing ships.

3. Lists of dockyard workmen victualled, stating the dates of victualling and whether the persons were issued with the spirit ration or not, are to be forwarded by the Captain to the Heads of the establishments to which they belong, in order that, whenever authorised, the proper deductions may be made from their wages; and that subsistence allowance may not be paid in addition.

4. Separate nominal list of other workmen victualled and particulars of the period of victualling, in duplicate for each firm, are to be forwarded to the Director of Victualling on completion of the work. All claims will be made at the Admiralty.

5. Dockyard workmen not detained on board all night should not normally be victualled, and should themselves pay for, or provide, their own food. These workmen are entitled to subsistence allowance under the conditions laid down in B.R. 669 Instructions for the Conduct of Cash Duties in H.M. Dockyards.

1467. Admiralty civilian officers accommodated in officers' messes ashore. Admiralty civilian officers accommodated in officers' messes ashore who are not eligible for subsistence or lodging allowance will be liable for a charge of 5/- a day for accommodation after the first 28 days.

2. Naval Supply Officers should accordingly report to the civilian paying authority the names of any civil officers accommodated in a naval mess beyond 28 days, in order that the entitlement to subsistence or lodging allowance may be checked, and the appropriate charge, if any, collected.

3. Consideration may be given to reducing the charge below 5/- a day where conditions justify such course, e.g. where the officer is required for Service reasons to sleep in the mess and payment of the full charge would cause hardship. Such cases should be submitted to the Admiralty (C.E. Branch III) for consideration on their merits, giving the following details:

1. The circumstances in which accommodation is provided.
2. Whether the officer is maintaining an establishment elsewhere.
3. The extent of his liability at (b).
4. His rate of salary.

4. In all cases the officer will not be victualled and should pay the full cost of his messing.

1468. Commonwealth and foreign officers. When officers or officials of Commonwealth or foreign services pay visits to H.M. ships and establishments such visits may be:

1. Those in circumstances in which it is desirable that the visitors should be treated as guests, or
2. In the course of duty when it is not necessary for the visitors to be treated as guests.

2. The decision whether (a) or (b) applies will be taken and communicated by the Admiralty or other authority arranging the visit, failing which it will be for the Senior Officer present to decide or, if time does not permit, the Commanding Officer.

Owing to the variety of circumstances in which entertainment is given it is not possible to lay down even general rules on this point. It should, however, be accepted that foreign Naval Attaches are invariably to be regarded as guests, while on the other hand officers of Commonwealth or foreign navies under training, and those whose duties are such that they are regular and frequent visitors or that they may have to be accommodated for a long period, should not be so regarded.

3. WIZEN GUESTS.-Inclusive allowances in accordance with Article 1459, Table I, Class 14 (a) and Table II, are to be paid to the messes concerned by the Supply Officer. These rates include reasonable wines, tobacco, etc., normally offered to a guest, i.e. in association with meals. In Wardrooms and Gunrooms there is no objection, if the guests so desire, to such guests being made honorary members of the mess during their visit and permitted to defray the cost of any additional supplies which they may draw from mess stocks for personal consumption.

For Commonwealth and foreign officials who come within Article 1459, Group " B," the rate for the appropriate class in that Group should be paid instead of that in Class 14 (a).

4. WHEN ON DUTY OR UNDER TRAINING.-Commonwealth and foreign officers or officials not in receipt of R.N. rates of pay and allowances should be dealt with as in Article 1459, Class 14 (b). In Wardrooms and Gunrooms, casual meals should be charged in accordance with Article 1459, Table II at the appropriate non-inclusive rates.

IV. ENTERTAINMENT OF VISITORS AND PASSENGERS 1471

1469. Commonwealth and foreign ratings. Commonwealth and foreign ratings victualled by the Royal Navy are to be victualled in all respects as naval ratings except that the issue of the spirit ration, or payment of the allowance in lieu, is to be made in accordance with the following table: