IT is an honour that has its roots in the mediaeval French orders of chivalry where a "commandeur'' was one of the highest ranks of knighthood.

This tradition, which has been passed down through the centuries, is still accorded today and two Southampton sea captains have just been appointed "Commodore" - the english equivalent of the position.

There was a time when commodores, especially those commanding liners on the passage between Southampton and New York in the 1920s and '30s, were larger than life characters who made regular made headline news.

The latest to achieve this rank are Captain Bernard Warner, master of Cunard's Queen Mary 2, together with Captain Stephen Burgoine, in command of P&O Cruises' Southampton based ship, Arcadia.

Crowning accolade In Great Britain the appointment of commodore dates to the mid-17th century and was first used in the time of King William III.

The rank was not only adopted by the Royal Navy but also by merchant shipping companies to denote its most senior captain within the lines' fleets.

For Commodore Warner and Commodore Burgoine promotion to this rank, a recognition of an emplary service record, is the crowning accolade of their long and distinguished seagoing careers.

Cdre Warner assumes the title until recently held by Commodore Ronald Warwick who retired from Cunard last year.

Master of QM2 since June, 2005, Commodore Warner has been at sea for 40 years and in command for the past 12 years.

When he was 16 Cdre Warner entered the Warsash School of Navigation at the University of Southampton. The old Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth sailed past the college on their way up Southampton Water into the docks and it was these vessels which gave Cdre Burgoine the inspiration to one day command a Cunard transatlantic liner.

In his new role, 58-year-old Cdre Burgoine, who joined P&O Cruises in 1966 as a deck cadet, will represent the interests of all ships and their captains.

During his career Cdre Burgoine has served on many ships but his first command was in 1996 on board Pacific Princess and he then went on to be captain of Victoria, Island Princess, Orina, Aurora and Oceana.

Some of the earlier commodores became legends in their own time and are still remembered within Cunard including Commodore Sir Arthur Rostron, for example, who had been master of the Carpathia when, in 1912, she sped through an icefield in the dark to rescue all the survivors of Titanic.

Historic Commodore Sir James Charles, who held the rank between 1921 and 1928, was noted for the magnificence of his dinner table while commanding Aquitania and Mauretania.

The menus would often include whole roast oxen and gazelle surrounded by foie gras and decorated with peacock feathers and jeroboams of the best champagne.

Commodore William Turner, who had been in command of Lusitania when she was torpedoed in the First World War, disliked the social side of his job. He would excuse himself from dinner at the slightest hint of fog to escape the passengers.

From 1944 to 1947, Commodore Sir James Bissett commanded the former Queen Mary during the Second World War. She carried 15,000 GIs at a time to Europe, dashing, unescorted, at more than 30 knots to outrun the enemy U-boats.

Recently history was made when Cdre Ronald Warwick succeeded his father, Commodore William Warwick, in the rank in 2003 - the only father and son ever to hold the position.