Why Does Gibraltar Appear on the Royal Marines' Badge?

September 1, 2026

Look closely at a Royal Marines cap badge and there's a lot going on for such a small piece of metal — a globe, a laurel wreath, and on the full crest, the word "Gibraltar" sitting where you might expect a regimental motto. None of it is decorative filler. Every element was earned.

The Great Globe

The globe was awarded to the Corps by King George IV in 1827, recognising the sheer geographical spread of where Royal Marines had already served and fought by that point — essentially a "we've been everywhere" badge, awarded because it was true. It sits at the centre of the badge, surrounded by the laurel wreath, and is generally regarded as the single most recognisable element of Royal Marines insignia.

Genuine Royal Marines lion and crown cap badge decoration

Genuine Royal Marines lion and crown badge decoration, worn above the main laurel cap badge.

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The laurel wreath

The laurel surrounding the globe commemorates the Battle of Belle Île in 1761, a genuine gallantry honour rather than a generic decorative border — laurel has meant "earned in battle" since Roman times, and the Marines' use of it is a direct continuation of that.

Gibraltar

Gibraltar marks the successful capture of Gibraltar in 1704 by Royal and Dutch Marines, followed by a genuinely gruelling nine-month siege holding it against much larger Spanish and French forces. It's kept as the Corps' first major battle honour and stands in as a symbol for the many honours that followed — there simply isn't room to list them all on a badge this size. One detail worth knowing: Gibraltar and the motto appear on the full heraldic crest and Colours, not on the simplified everyday cap badge itself.

The motto: Per Mare Per Terram

The words that sit alongside Gibraltar on the full crest are Per Mare Per Terram — Latin for "By Sea By Land" — the Royal Marines' official motto, and about as accurate a two-word job description as any military unit has ever been given. It reflects the Corps' amphibious role directly: trained and equipped to fight effectively whether the mission starts on a ship or ends inland.

The fouled anchor and the crown

Below the globe sits a fouled anchor — an anchor with rope wound around its shaft — the standard heraldic symbol of a naval or maritime role, distinguishing the Royal Marines' insignia from a purely land-based regiment's badge at a glance. Above the whole design sits the Sovereign's crown, and this is one part of the badge that has genuinely changed with each monarch — see our guide on how crowns change on British badges — so a Royal Marines badge carrying an older Queen's Crown belongs to an earlier design than one with the King's Crown used today.

Why this matters if you're collecting

Because these elements were awarded at specific points in history, badge design has genuinely changed over time — so if you're after a particular era's Royal Marines insignia, the details (crown type, exact globe rendering, whether it's a staybrite or bi-metal finish, cap badge or the smaller beret badge) are worth checking rather than assuming any "RM badge" is interchangeable with any other.

Trying to date or identify a specific Royal Marines badge? Email us at sales@jungleuk.com and we'll help.

Why Gibraltar, of all places

The usual explanation, and the one the Corps itself tells, is that the Marines had earned so many battle honours that displaying them all was impossible — so rather than choose between them, a single honour was carried to stand for the lot. Gibraltar, from the capture and defence of the Rock in the early eighteenth century, is that one.

It is a neat solution to a heraldic problem, and it is why the badge looks oddly sparse for a corps with such a long record. The emptiness is the statement.

Dating a Royal Marines badge

The badge has been made in a lot of materials over a long period, and the material narrows the date more reliably than the design does:

Brass, with a dark patina — older, and the finish should be uneven in the recesses where polish never reached.
Anodised aluminium — the bright "staybrite" finish, from the 1950s onwards.
Bronzed or blackened — officers' service dress patterns.
Embroidered — usually a beret or field version rather than a metal-badge substitute.

And as with every British badge, check the crown. A Queen's crown places the badge before 2022; a King's crown after it.