The most useful flags

In the time before radio communication and mobile phones, issuing urgent orders within the navy was very difficult. It was fine to shout loud enough for the seamen on your own ship to hear, but communicating with other ships while under attack was almost impossible.

In 1800, Sir Home Riggs Popham, a rear admiral, came up with a clever way of signalling to other ships. he devised a code which involved hoisting flags, each with a differently coloured design. the code was known as Telegraphic Signals of Marine Vocabulary.