Buff (colour) Buff (colour) Buff is the pale orange-brown colour of the undyed leather of several animals. As an RYB quaternary colour, it is the colour produced by an equal mix of the tertiary colours citron and russet. The first recorded use of the word "buff" to describe a colour was in "The London Gazette" of 1686, describing a uniform to be "...a Red Coat with a Buff-colour'd lining". It referred to the colour of undyed buffalo leather, such as soldiers wore as some protection: an eyewitness to the death in the Battle of Edgehill (1642) of Sir Edmund Verney noted "he
Colour sergeant as "Colour Sergeant" or "Colours" in the Royal Marines, and never by the more junior rank of "Sergeant". Unusually, NCOs with the rank of colour sergeant who hold the appointment of company quartermaster sergeant are still addressed and referred to by their rank, not their appointment. In Foot Guards regiments, colour sergeants are addressed as "Sir" and afforded the respect and privileges normally accorded to warrant officers. During ceremonial events it is from the colour sergeant that the ensign collects the colour of the battalion or regiment. In the Royal Marines Band Service, the bandmasters of the seven Royal Navy