The Boatswains Pipe. The Boatswains Pipe; used in the Navy both in the issuing of orders and for carrying out a salute; is of very ancient origin. It was introduced to the English Navy probably during the fifteenth century; when it was the badge of office of the Lord High Admiral. By about the middle of the seventeenth; it is recorded that the Captain; Master; Boatswain and "Cockson" only were "entitled to use and wear silver whistles." A custom observed in the Navy is that of "Piping the Side;" when the quartermaster pipes the captain aboard; Royalty; foreign naval officers and commanding officers of the British Navy are honoured in the same manner. The boatswains call is divided into four parts: the buoy; the gun; the keel and the shackle. Illustration for one of a set of 50 cigarette cards on the subject of Interesting Customs and Traditions of the Navy; Army and Airforce issued by Lambert & Butler in 1939.