Quiz Of The Week

[petal54]

have tried looking up which sovereign decreed the naval salute be palm downwards,found the reason but not the who,anny suggestions please

[Pentire]

As far as I'm aware, the practice started in the days when tar and pitch where in common use, and officers wore gloves to keep their hands clean(er). It was considered bad form to show the dirt when saluting; therefore, the palm down. But only out of custom, not by order. However, there is an "urban legend" that Queen Victoria, when saluted by a junior officer whose gloves were dirty, decreed that naval salutes should, henceforth, be palm down.

[petal54]

cheers,pentire,I found that but the question in D/E is,which sovereign is traditionally said to have decreed that tha naval salute be given with the palm downwards?thanks

[mallyh]

victoria

[frugalfred]

The Naval salute differs in that the palm of the hand faces down towards the shoulder. This dates back to the days of sailing ships, when tar and pitch were used to seal the timber from seawater. To protect their hands, officer wore white gloves and it was considered most undignified to present a dirty palm in the salute so the hand was turned through 90 degrees. A common story is that Queen Victoria having been saluted by a naval individual with a dirty palm, decreed the sailors of the fleet would salute palm down, palm rotated 90 degrees of a typical salute with the palm now pointing towards the member's shoulder. (Wikipedia)

[mallyh]

for the quiz it has to end in an a

[petal54]

many thanks for all the assistance folks