The Admiralty Yard Craft Service was the civilian service which operated

auxiliary vessel An auxiliary ship is a naval ship designed to support combatant ships and other naval operations. Auxiliary ships are not primary combatant vessels, though they may have some limited combat capacity, usually for purposes of self-defense. Auxili ...

s for the British Admiralty, mainly in

HM Dockyard Royal Navy Dockyards (more usually termed Royal Dockyards) were state-owned harbour facilities where ships of the Royal Navy were built, based, repaired and refitted. Until the mid-19th century the Royal Dockyards were the largest industrial c ...

s or the vicinity. It was renamed the Port Auxiliary Service (PAS) on 1 October 1958 and the

Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service The Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service (RMAS) was a British Government agency which ran a variety of auxiliary vessels for His Majesty's Naval Service (incl. Royal Navy, Royal Marines) and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. The service from 2009 has be ...

in 1976 The service operated tugs, harbour

ferries A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water tax ...

, launches, and lighters. Although some of its tugs were classified as ocean-going, it did not operate ocean-going supply vessels, which were the responsibility of the

Royal Fleet Auxiliary The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is a naval auxiliary fleet owned by the UK's Ministry of Defence. It provides logistical and operational support to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. The RFA ensures the Royal Navy is supplied and supported by ...

. The Yard Craft Service crews answered to the Captain's Department in each dockyard. The Fleet Coaling Service and the Admiralty Dredging Service were separate, but closely related, services. Ratings and engineers often transferred freely between vessels of the three services, although masters and mates had to be rated individually on each of the three types of vessel. The Fleet Coaling Service, renamed the Fleet Fuelling Service sometime between 1914 and 1926, operated harbour and coastal vessels carrying

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

and fuel oil to

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

vessels. Its masters did not have to be so highly qualified as the masters of the other two services and were paid considerably lower salaries. The Dredging Service was originally part of the Admiralty Works Department, but later transferred to the Civil Engineer-in-Chief's Department (between 1914 and 1926). By 1947, the other two services had fully amalgamated into the Yard Craft Service. Vessels of the Service flew the

Blue Ensign The Blue Ensign is a flag, one of several British ensigns, used by certain organisations or territories associated or formerly associated with the United Kingdom. It is used either plain or defaced with a badge or other emblem. The ev ...

defaced by the yellow Admiralty

anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ἄ� ...

badge.

Ranks/Ratings

Rated in ascending order of pay scales.

1914

*Boy *Ordinary Seaman *Dredger Deckhand *Harbourman *Able Seaman/Dredger Fireman/Dredger Stoker/Dredger Ladderman *Writer/Messenger *Stoker/Skilled Harbourman *Coaling Master 2nd Class/Leading Stoker/Dredger Engine Driver *Chief Stoker/Leading Harbourman *Mate *Coaling Master 1st Class *Engineer 3rd ClassHad to have served as a stoker or a shore engineering mechanic for at least three years. *Master 2nd Class/Dredger MasterHad to have served as a Dredger Mate for at least two years./Suction Dredger Navigator/Engineer 2nd Class *Master 1st Class *Engineer 1st Class *Suction Dredger Master and Chief Engineer

1926

*Boy *Stoker 2nd Class *Ordinary Seaman *Harbourman/Dredger Deckhand *Writer Messenger *Able Seaman *Dredger Stoker/Dredger Fireman/Dredger Ladderman *Stoker 1st Class/Skilled Harbourman *Wireless Telegraph Operator *Leading Stoker *Dredger Engine Driver *Coaling Master 2nd ClassIn 1925 were authorised to wear uniforms. "Yard Craft Officers", ''The Times'', 12 June 1925. *Leading Harbourman *Mate *Chief Stoker *Tug Mate *Coaling Master 1st Class *Engineer 3rd Class *Master 2nd Class/Dredger Master/Suction Dredger Navigator/Engineer 2nd Class *Coaling Master C1 *Master 1st ClassIn 1923 authorised to wear an RN

Chief Petty Officer A chief petty officer (CPO) is a senior non-commissioned officer in many navies and coast guards. Canada "Chief petty officer" refers to two ranks in the Royal Canadian Navy. A chief petty officer 2nd class (CPO2) (''premier maître de deuxi ...

style cap with a cap badge of a pilot

jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

on a black velvet ground for masters who were qualified

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

s and an Admiralty Blue Ensign on a red velvet ground for others. "Yard Craftmen's Uniform", ''The Times'', 24 February 1923.In 1925 received the courtesy status of subordinate officers. "Yard Craft Officers", ''The Times'', 12 June 1925. *Engineer 1st Class *Suction Dredger Master and Chief Engineer In 1925, all Masters (except Coaling Masters), Mates, and Engineers 1st and 2nd Class were authorised to wear uniforms.

1947

In 1947, there was a reorganisation. *The grades of Harbourmen and Writer Messengers were abolished, with Harbourmen being transferred to corresponding Seaman or Stoker grades. *Coaling Masters were renamed Coaling Supervisors. *Engineers 3rd Class were renamed Mechanicians. *Boatswains were introduced as third-in-command of larger tugs, second-in-command of vessels with no Mates, or in charge of certain smaller vessels. *All Masters, Mates, Engineers and Coaling Supervisors C1 became salaried and were officially classed as officers. From 1947, the non-salaried grades were as follows: *Boy *Ordinary Seaman/Stoker 2nd Class *Able Seaman/Stoker 1st Class/Dredger Deckhand/Dredger Fireman *Dredger Deckhand (Winch Driver) *Dredger Ladderman *Leading Stoker/Coaling Supervisor Class 2/Wireless Telegraph Operator *Leading Seaman *Dredger Crane Driver/Dredger Grab Driver *Boatswain/Chief Stoker/Qualified Wireless Telegraph Operator *Mechanician/Coaling Supervisor Class 1 These grades were still extant in 1962.

1970

By 1970 the grades were: *Seaman Apprentice *Ordinary Seaman/Mechanic 2nd Class *Able Seaman/Mechanic 1st ClassRenamed from Stoker 1st Class in 1970. *Able Seaman Special *Leading Seaman/Leading Stoker/Fuelling Supervisor 2nd Class *Chief Stoker/Fuelling Supervisor 1st Class *Boatswain/Mechanician

Footnotes

{{reflist

References

*''Statement of the Decisions of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty on the Petitions received from the Civilian Employees in HM Dockyards and Naval Establishments at Home in 1914'' *Admiralty, ''Conditions of Service, Rates of Pay, Allowances etc. of the Ratings Serving in the Yard Craft at HM Dockyards, Victualling Yards etc. at Home'', December 1926 *Admiralty Fleet Order (AFO) 2/62, 5 January 1962 Royal Navy