1937 Royal Navy Signal Card – Original Admiralty Issue Pre WW2 Naval Signalling Flags Morse Semaphore Malby & Sons

Original 1937 Royal Navy Signal Card issued by the British Admiralty for use in naval communication and signalling. This authentic pre–Second World War reference card was printed by Malby & Sons, Lithographers, and carries the official Admiralty S.O. Code No. 20-90-0-37.

This card was an official working tool used by Royal Navy personnel responsible for visual signalling at sea, including signalmen, yeomen of signals, and junior officers. It provided a quick reference to naval flag hoists, pendants, semaphore positions, Morse code, and procedure signs used in ship-to-ship and fleet communication.

The 1937 edition represents the transitional period between the interwar International Code of Signals and the wartime Allied Naval Signal Book system adopted in the 1940s. It includes detailed colour plates showing alphabetical and numeral flags, special flags, numbered and special pendants, substitutes, and semaphore positions.

These cards were not mass-produced civilian items but official Admiralty issues printed in small numbers for distribution to active ships and training establishments within specific Royal Navy fleets. Most were heavily used at sea and rarely survived due to exposure and replacement by updated wartime versions.

The example offered here remains in complete and legible condition with vivid colour plates and minimal wear consistent with age and service use. It is a genuine and scarce piece of pre-WW2 Royal Navy communication history.

Collectors and historians will appreciate its authenticity and significance as an operational naval artefact from the years immediately preceding World War Two. It would make an excellent addition to a maritime, military, or communications collection, or a display alongside naval instruments or uniforms of the 1930s.

Approximate size: pocket format.

Printed by Malby & Sons, Lithographers.

Official Admiralty S.O. Code No. 20-90-0-37.

Dated 1937.

• Authentic 1937 Royal Navy Admiralty issue signal card
• Pre-World War Two edition used by Royal Navy signal personnel
• Includes coloured flag and pendant illustrations (Plates I–VI)
• Covers flag hoists, substitutes, semaphore, Morse code, and procedure signs
• Printed by Malby & Sons, Lithographers
• Admiralty S.O. Code No. 20-90-0-37
• Scarce surviving example in good, complete condition
• Excellent reference or display item for collectors of naval or military history

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