HMS Terror Camp Badge

This HMS Terror badge is believed to have been placed at the entrance of the HMS Terror camp, the Royal Navy’s (RN) barracks on the northernmost tip of the Sembawang Naval Base (SNB). The camp was named after HMS Terror (I03), the RN’s World War I Erebus-class monitor that was stationed at the SNB as a floating battery until 1940.

The badge’s diamond-shape body is outlined with a dark gold roped frame and topped with an imperial British crown with two sails, which is reminiscent of premodern British ships and recalls earlier iterations of HMS Terror. These elements follow the standardised design regulations established by the RN in 1918 to ensure the easy identification of a ship. Additionally, the badge’s shape is an indicator of the ship’s type. The diamond is used for shore establishments, which usually house a variety of naval support facilities.

Perhaps one of the most interesting features of this badge is the large, unblinking face in the centre. Simply carved and minimally coloured, its rotund head and wide downturned mouth give it an unnatural appearance as it stares straight at its viewer. Curiously, the face is reminiscent of ancient Greek theatre masks, which were typically designed with exaggerated or grotesque features and used to express a wide range of emotions. These masks embody two significant characteristics comparable to that of ship badges. First, the distinct features of each mask were crafted to make an actor’s character recognisable from a distance. Similarly, ship badges are designed to be distinctive and specific to the vessel they represent. Second, these masks allowed the men who donned them to transform into the various characters they embodied.

This idea of transformation is deeply entrenched in the origins of Greek theatre and its masks. According to ancient history, Greek theatre was intertwined with the worship of the Olympian god Dionysos, and the transformation of identity, nature, and the metaphysical were central to his mythological powers. While badges do not necessarily transform the identity of a ship, they inadvertently transform the identity of its sailors once they step onto the deck of their ship. The men serving on a particular vessel are unified as a single crew, regardless of their backgrounds. Their roles on board a ship are assimilated into their identities, creating a sense of belonging to their ship and crew.