Nelson & His World

I hope this doesn't seem a ridiculous question to the experts here.

I am reading W.H. Fitchett's 'Nelson and his Captains' - published in 1911, so he uses expressions like 'our brave tars', and has four exclamation marks per paragraph, but it's full of interest, nonetheless.

In his chapter on Troubridge, he describes an occasion when Troubridge, a prisoner aboard a French ship, sees 'the breakfast pennant flying from the topmast of the Queen Charlotte, Howe's flagship. That wary old admiral was giving his crews a good meal before he closed on his enemy'.

Was it customary to fly a pennant signifying that the crew was having a meal? Would the enemy have recognised its significance?

I know very little about signals, but I imagine this indicated that there was time to serve a meal to crews before further orders would follow. I doubt that it said much about the quality of the breakfast! The enemy would not understand the signal unless thay had managed to capture a current signal book.

Tycho,

I imagine it wouldn't have been be this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Walt-Disney-World-E ... 8010r14816

Seriously though I have not heard of a specific flag for this, like the Church pendant and the (unofficial) gin pennant, though there may very well have been one.

Kester

Kester, I'm surprised that you are not familiar with Pendant signal number 5 in the 1796 signal book (flown at the ensign staff) - "That the Ships Companies will have Time to dine or breakfast"

Tony,

Good thing then I wasn't the duty signal midshipman - the ship's company would probably have gone hungry, and I certainly would have, not to mention anything else that might happen...

Kester