came into being (see – page 302>). As with their paymaster predecessors, supply officers were employed, ashore and afloat, as a ship's supply officer, with responsibility for ratings from the writer branch (see ), the stores and victualling branches, cooks and officers' stewards and, if borne, the NAAFI canteen manager. They were also employed, ashore and afloat, as admiral's secretary, commodore's secretary and captain's secretary. It was not uncommon for a secretary to follow the same senior officer from one post to the next and, sometimes, a secretary in the substantive rank of lieutenant-commander would be promoted acting commander and then temporary captain – thus, such a lieutenant-commander would be listed as temporary acting captain. Lists, promotion and entry With the formation of the Royal Navy's General List (GL) in 1956, supply officers no longer wore the white distinction cloth between the gold lace on their uniform and became indistinguishable from officers of the executive branch or the engineering branches. However, pursers in the British Merchant Navy and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary continue to wear a white distinction cloth. The General List (GL) of 1956 standardized the promotion opportunities of its officers, regardless of branch, although there remained some minor differences. Thus, a lieutenant of eight-year's seniority was automatically promoted to lieutenant-commander, with retirement generally at age 50 unless promoted to a higher rank; and for supply officers, commanders were selected from lieutenant-commanders of at least three-and-a-half-year's seniority, and retired at age 53; captains were promoted from among commanders with at least six years in the rank. captains retired on reaching nine-year's seniority in the rank, or at age 55, whichever was the earlier, unless selected for promotion to rear-admiral. Commodore was, until 1996, reserved for a few senior appointments but is now a formal rank achieved by selection from captain. GL supply officers were thus able to serve in a much wider range of appointments, such as shore command, naval attaché, intelligence; indeed none of the posts held by the six serving supply officer admirals in 1991 would have been open to a pusser before 1956. The substantive rank of lieutenant-commander had been formally introduced in March 1914. However, in 1875, Senior Lieutenants of eight years' standing began to be distinguishable to the naked eye from his more junior brother; he was, in that year, allowed to add to his full dress uniform the now well-known "half-stripe" of quarter-inch