Leading rating (or leading rate) is the most senior of the junior rates in the
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 F ...
. It is equal in status to corporal, as the Royal Navy is the "Senior Service" and oldest service. Leading rates are permitted entry to and full use of corporals' messes when visiting the other services' bases and are, while in uniform, permitted to use their hands if denied entry. The rate was introduced under the authority of Admiralty Circular No. 121 of 14 June 1853.
Leading ratings are normally addressed as "Leading Hand" or using their branch title e.g. ''Leading Seaman'', ''Leading Regulator'' etc.
The insignia worn by leading rates is a single
fouled anchor
Foul is a nautical term meaning to entangle or entwine, and more generally that something is wrong or difficult. The term dates back to usage with wind-driven sailing ships.
Foul anchor
It is usually applied to the state of an anchor, which has b ...
on the left arm, when in dress uniform, No.2s or "Tropics". The left arm also, of the sailor's white front (before the introduction of short sleeved shirts for all rating) or overalls. Until 2017, a "hook" was worn on each shoulder epaulette, when in working rig, woolly pully or burberry. This was before the introduction of the new uniforms with the single insignia in the chest centre. This led to the slang term ''killick'' or ''hooky'' used in reference to this rate.
Footnotes
See also
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Petty officer
A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotation OR-5 or OR-6. In many nations, they are typically equal to a sergeant in comparison to other military branches. Often they may be super ...
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Leading seaman
Leading seaman is a junior non-commissioned rank or rate in navies, particularly those of the Commonwealth. When it is used by NATO nations, leading seaman has the rank code of OR-4. It is often equivalent to the army and air force rank of c ...
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Able seaman (rank)
Able seaman is a military rank used in naval forces.
Royal Navy
In 1653 the Royal Navy introduced a new pay scale as part of reforms following defeat in the Battle of Dungeness the previous year. Included in these reforms were, for the firs ...
{{UK enlisted ranks
Military ranks of the Royal Navy
Marine occupations