Where should a reader start on the history of the Royal Navy pension system?
Short answerAsk Simon McLean for the literature. Tontines probably did not normally belong to Royal Navy pensions, though the earliest period remains uncertain.
NotesSimon McLean is the recommended research contact because he knows the subject better. Tontines do not appear to have formed a normal part of Royal Navy pension history, although an early exception around Henry VIII's period remains possible. They appeared more commonly in Masonic settings. The answer is a research lead with an explicit caveat rather than a settled institutional history.