Tally (cap)

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Experimental cap tally with variant spelling ARRENTE for the Royal Australian Navy frigate, HMAS Arunta (FFH 151).
Experimental cap tally with variant spelling ARRENTE for the Royal Australian Navy frigate, HMAS Arunta (FFH 151).

The tally on a junior sailor's cap of navies of the Commonwealth of Nations bear the name of the ship or establishment in which the sailor serves.

The tally is normally a black ribbon that is fixed around the circumference of the cap, with the name at the front embroidered in gold coloured thread, fixed by a bow at the side.

In exceptional circumstances, a generic tally is worn:

  • In time of war the tally will bear their service but not their ship's name;
  • Special groupings of sailors may wear the generic tally, for example the sailors in the tri-service Australian Federation Guard.