Navy Signals – By Admiral Ravindra C Wijegunaratne Source:island.lk Messages transmitted among ships or from ships to shore are known as signals in naval jargon. Some of these signals are secret messages. Others are routine signals, such as ship’s victualling requirements and personnel transfers. Signal men, or present-day ‘communicators’, are a group of proud people who work closely with Commanding Officers and other officers. As the old Navy mostly communicated in English, and in Morse Code, in English, their English knowledge was always impeccable. Furthermore, communicators dressed very smartly. The famous writer, the late Kalakeerthi Karl Muller, in his novel, ‘Spit and Polish, vividly describes the job of communicators in the Navy. Long before radio technology and telecommunications were invented, sailing ships communicated with one another with the help of flags. Those ships required to get close to harbours to communicate with shore. There are numerical and alphabetical flags of ...

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