With the exception of the royal marines, who adopted light infantry rank insignia from their earliest days, the Royal Navy was slow to introduce distinguishing rate badges for those serving on the 'lower deck'. Even when they were introduced, in 1853, the corresponding introduction of a uniform was still four years away. As for officers, the design and arrangement of buttons also played a part in distinguishing one rating from another. In a unique compilation, the insignia worn since the mid-19th century by Royal Naval ratings, Royal Marines, queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service, the Women's Royal Naval Service, the Merchant Navy, Auxiliaries, Volunteers, youth, and other maritime organizations, are brought together in a single volume.

For over a century and a half, since the Uniform Regulations of 1856 were introduced, identification of rank among officers in the Royal Navy, its branches and its reserves has not been restricted to a single, or even small number, of insignia. Rank may be seen on jacket cuffs, on shoulder badges, on shoulder boards and on epaulettes. It may be seen on swords and buttons, and in the manner in which buttons are worn. Cap peaks indicate rank, as do collars, cocked hat ornaments and cuff slashes. Rank insignia varies just as much between officers of similar rank. Cap badges and variants of gold lace stripes divide Executive from Civil branches, and from the Royal Navy and its reserves. Civil branches were further divided, and some remain so to this day, by the addition of color between the gold lace stripes. For the first time the complete range of Royal Navy Officers' insignia may be seen and studied in a single, comprehensive guide. The badges, buttons, stripes, wings and stars are catalogued separately in order of rank and date of introduction. Where possible, actual examples are used, and where not, an accurate as possible reproduction is offered. In addition, original photographs show the insignia being worn over the past 150 years.

Ernest Coleman has led or participated in four expeditions to find out the fate of the Franklin expedition. 129 men were lost from the two ships the Erebus and the Terror, looking for the North-West Passage. Many theories have been put forward - and some of them, in the author's opinion, have been shaped by political bias. 'The whole subject has been taken over by academics and politicians, both for questions of Canadian sovereignty and academic advancement - all at the cost of Franklin's (and the Royal Navy's) reputation.' In this work, Coleman is determined to set the record straight: 'I have provided answers to all their machinations (including the "lead poisoning" tripe, and the "cannibalism" nonsense), cracked the code in the writings of Petty Officer Peglar (bones found and wallet recovered), and given new answers to all the many smaller mysteries that continue to be reproduced by others. I have also revealed the possible site of Franklin's grave, the biggest mystery of all.' No Earthly Pole is an adventure set within an adventure. Ernest Coleman's lifetime quest for the truth at the ends of the earth is an extraordinary tale of determination in itself. The story of Franklin's expedition remains one of the greatest and most tragic events of the age of exploration.

Ernest Coleman has led or participated in four expeditions to find out the fate of the Franklin expedition. 129 men were lost from the two ships the Erebus and the Terror, looking for the North-West Passage. Many theories have been put forward - and some of them, in the author's opinion, have been shaped by political bias. 'The whole subject has been taken over by academics and politicians, both for questions of Canadian sovereignty and academic advancement - all at the cost of Franklin's (and the Royal Navy's) reputation.' In this work, Coleman is determined to set the record straight: ' I have provided answers to all their machinations (including the "lead poisoning" tripe, and the "cannibalism" nonsense), cracked the code in the writings of Petty Officer Peglar (bones found and wallet recovered), and given new answers to all the many smaller mysteries that continue to be reproduced by others. I have also revealed the possible site of Franklin's grave, the biggest mystery of all.' No Earthly Pole is an adventure set within an adventure. Ernest Coleman's lifetime quest for the truth at the ends of the earth is an extraordinary tale of determination in itself. The story of Franklin's expedition remains one of the greatest and most tragic events of the age of exploration.

Many thousands of Royal Naval seamen and Royal Marines fought in the trenches of the Great War alongside soldiers from across the Empire. Their graves may be found around Antwerp, on the Gallipoli peninsula, and all along the Western Front. The seamen and marines, supported by Army battalions, fought at Anzac Cove, on the Somme, and at Passchendale. They suffered giant siege mortars whilst delaying the enemy in Belgium, flies and the stench of widespread carnage on Turkish shores, and gas attacks whilst sheltering in flooded shell-holes on the Western Front. At the armistice, the Royal Naval Division had suffered 46,794 casualties, of whom 10,797 lost their lives. At the same time, the Division earned many decorations for gallantry, including eight Victoria Crosses. The Germans regarded the Royal Naval Division as 'one of the four most famous fighting Divisions of the British Army. From the rout on the Western Front in 1914 to Gallipoli and the Zeebrugge raid, E.C. Coleman tells the history of the RND.

It is no surprise that interest in the Poor Fellow Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon - the Templars - has never waned. This secretive organisation, the wealthiest and most powerful of the Christian military orders, existed for two centuries. Renowned warriors, builders of fortifications across Europe and the Holy Land and at the same time pioneers of modern banking systems, the Templars were destroyed over a few short years by the King of France and the Pope. Claims that the Order lives on through freemasonry today are persistently made. Ernest Coleman has researched in archives and explored the Holy Land over several years to answer many intriguing questions about the Order. He begins with the `lost' mount of Heredom (which still features in the higher orders of Freemasonry). It is not, as some claim, in Ayrshire. What is the evidence for the Templar treasure? Was it found under the Temple Mount and concealed from King Philip IV on the dissolution of the Order in 1307-12? The author has a new theory based upon his research. In fact, the wealth of the Templars is the mainspring of most of the myths and legends. The author has consulted with theologians and clergy to explore the possibility that Bernard of Clairvaux (the Templars' ecclesiastical champion) used his access to the lost Gospel to blackmail the Pope. Why was the Order given so many privileges, to the fury of most of the Roman clergy? Is there a genuine unbroken link from the Templars to 19th-century freemasonry? Did the brotherhood's `Reception' or initiation ceremony include spitting on the cross and if so, why?