Britannia Royal Naval College

Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth
Active 1863 (HMS Britannia) – present
Country  United Kingdom
Branch  Royal Navy
Type Training
Role Initial Officer training
Size 300 (approx)
Part of Flag Officer Sea Training
Ship's name HMS Dartmouth
Nickname(s) BRNC
Motto(s) To deliver courageous leaders with the spirit to fight and win
Anniversaries 1905 – opening of the current College
Commanders
Current
commander		 Captain Jolyon Woodard, Royal Navy
Lord High Admiral Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Flag Officer Sea Training Rear Admiral C. Snow

Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC), commonly known as Dartmouth, is the initial officer training establishment of the British Royal Navy. It is located on a hill overlooking the port of Dartmouth, Devon, England. Royal Naval officer training has taken place in Dartmouth since 1863. The buildings of the current campus were completed in 1905. Earlier students lived in two wooden hulks moored in the River Dart. Since 1998, BRNC has been the sole centre for Royal Naval officer training.

History

The training of naval officers at Dartmouth dates from 1863, when the wooden hulk HMS Britannia was moved from Portland and moored in the River Dart to serve as a base.[1] In 1864, after an influx of new recruits, Britannia was supplemented by HMS Hindostan.[2] Prior to this, a Royal Naval Academy (later Royal Naval College) had operated for more than a century from 1733 to 1837 at Portsmouth, a major naval installation. The original Britannia was replaced by the Prince of Wales in 1869, which was renamed Britannia.[3]

The foundation stone for a new building at the college was laid by King Edward VII in March 1902.[4] Sir Aston Webb designed the shore-based college at Dartmouth, which was built by Higgs and Hill[5] and practically completed in 1905.[6]

The first term of cadets entered at the R.N. College Osborne were transferred to Dartmouth in September 1905.[6]

“ The Britannia training establishment was closed at the same time. The cadets under instruction were embarked on two cruisers to complete their programme under the old system. The headquarters of the cruisers was established at Bermuda, where suitable arrangements had been made to house the cadets. The cadets entered in September under the old system, and those entered in January 1906 (the last to be so entered), were received at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, where they were instructed, as far as possible, side by side with the cadets transferred from Osborne. ”
— Lord Tweedmouth, First Lord of the Admiralty, 26 February 1906[6]

The college was originally known as the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth (BRNC). As a Royal Naval shore establishment, it was later known also by the ship name HMS Britannia (a battleship called Britannia operated from 1904 to 1918). The college was named (ship name: HMS Dartmouth) in 1953, when the name Britannia was given to the newly launched royal yacht HMY Britannia. The training ship moored in the River Dart at Sandquay, currently the former Sandown class minehunter HMS Cromer, continues to bear the name Hindostan.

Cadets originally joined the Royal Naval College, Osborne, at the age of 13 for two years' study and work before joining Dartmouth. They studied there for four years there before starting sea training at age 17. RNC Osborne closed in 1923. The entry age for the Naval College was changed to 16 in 1948, and to 17 and 6 months in 1955. Until 1941, Dartmouth was in effect a specialised boarding school, with parents paying fees for tuition and board.

During the Second World War, after six Focke-Wulf aircraft bombed the College in September 1942, students and staff moved activities to Eaton Hall in Cheshire until the autumn of 1946. Two bombs had penetrated the College's main block, causing damage to the quarterdeck and surrounding rooms.[7][8]

The College today

In the early 21st century, officer cadets, as they are known until passing out from the college, can join between the ages of 18 and 32. While most cadets join BRNC after finishing university, some join directly from secondary school.[9] All spend between 30 and 49 weeks at the college, depending on specialisation. A large contingent of foreign and Commonwealth students are part of the student body. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary sends its officer cadets to BRNC for an 8-week initial officer training course,[10] before they start at a maritime college.

Following the closures of the Royal Naval Engineering College, Manadon, in 1994 and the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, in 1998, BRNC is the sole naval college in the United Kingdom.

Slightly removed from the main buildings is Sandquay, which is below the college on the River Dart. It is primarily used for seamanship and boat handling training. Cadets are required to know that there are 187 steps from the college to Sandquay.[11]

Entry

To enter as an officer cadet, British entrants must have 180 or more UCAS points. Prospective cadets then proceed to the Admiralty Interview Board, where they are tested mentally and physically. Several mental aptitude tests are administered, along with a basic physical fitness test and a medical examination.

Royal cadets

King George V and King George VI were naval cadets at Dartmouth, as were the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of York. It is said that the Duke of Edinburgh met the then Princess Elizabeth at Dartmouth.[12] Prince William spent a brief period at the College after leaving Sandhurst as part of his training with all three of Britain's Armed Forces.

Sheikh Mubarak Ali Yousuf Suoud Al-Sabah, a member of the Royal Family of Kuwait, attended the Royal Navy Young Officer Course at Britannia Royal Naval College in 2002.[13][14]

Commanders of the College

Source for list below: Listing compiled by historian Colin Mackie;[15] additional references are given in the list.

Images

See also

References

  1. ↑ Walker, Charles. Young Gentlemen. p. 39.
  2. ↑ Walker, Charles. Young Gentlemen. p. 40.
  3. ↑ Lambert, Andrew. Battleships in Transition, the Creation of the Steam Battlefleet 1815–1860, pp. 122, 127–128.
  4. ↑ "The King and Queen in Devon". The Times (36710). London. 8 March 1902. p. 12.
  5. ↑ 'General introduction', Survey of London: volume 26: Lambeth: Southern area (1956), pp. 1–17. Date accessed: 27 March 2010.
  6. 1 2 3 Lord Tweedmouth, First Lord's Statement explanatory of Navy Estimates, 1906-7, 26 February 1906, reproduced in The Naval Annual 1906, p. 370.
  7. ↑ Jane Harrold and Richard Porter, Dartmouth, Richard Webb, 2005, ISBN 978-0-9536361-3-6.
  8. ↑ Article by Jane Harrold and Richard Porter in The Britannia Magazine 2004, Crest Publications, pp. 6–7.
  9. ↑ "Royal Navy Sponsorship". Royal Navy. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  10. ↑ "Training". Royal Navy. Archived from the original on 18 January 2013.
  11. ↑ "PPRuNe Archive". Retrieved 2013-10-21.
  12. ↑ "History, Prince Philip". BBC. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
  13. ↑ University of Plymouth, Honorary Doctorates September 2010
  14. ↑ This is Plymouth, Sheikh awarded honorary doctorate 25 September 25 2010
  15. ↑ Listing compiled by historian Colin Mackie Archived March 15, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
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Coordinates: 50°21′26″N 03°34′58″W / 50.35722°N 3.58278°W / 50.35722; -3.58278

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