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Britannia Royal Naval College - Wikipedia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Initial officer training establishment of the British Royal Navy

Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth,[1] also known as Dartmouth, is the naval academy of the United Kingdom and the initial officer training establishment of the 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.

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.[2] In 1864, after an influx of new recruits, Britannia was supplemented by HMS Hindostan.[3] 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.[4]

The foundation stone for a new building at the college was laid by King Edward VII in March 1902.[5] Sir Aston Webb designed the shore-based college at Dartmouth, which was built by Higgs and Hill[6] and practically completed in 1905.[7]

From September 1903, officer cadets first entered the Royal Naval College, Osborne, then after two years transferred to Dartmouth, and the first such intake was in September 1905.[7]

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.

The college was originally known as the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth (RNC). 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 renamed 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, a Sandown class minehunter formerly known as HMS Cromer, continues to bear the name Hindostan.[8] As of 2025, eight 15-metre Sea-class workboats (Cormorant, Guillemot, Razorbill, Kittiwake, Fulmar, Skua, Gannet and Tern) are assigned to the College for the purpose of training officer cadets.[9][10][11]

Cadets originally joined the Royal Naval College, Osborne, at Osborne House, at the age of 13 for two years' study and work before joining Dartmouth. The Royal Naval College, Osborne closed in 1921.[12]

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.[13][14]

Britannia Royal Naval College became the sole naval college in the United Kingdom following the closures of the Royal Naval Engineering College, Manadon, in 1994 and of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, in 1998.[15]

In 2020, a group of Junior Rates were trained at BRNC to help alleviate added pressure on HMS Raleigh, after a surge in recruitment. On 13 August 2020, a troop of 34 Ratings and 130 officers passed out simultaneously for the first time in the history of the Royal Navy.[16] They were followed by a second class of Junior Rates who passed out on 17 December 2020.[17]

Prospective cadets entrants must meet a minimum academic requirement. They 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. Officer cadets, as they are known until passing out from the college, can join between the ages of 18 and 39.[18] While most cadets join BRNC after finishing university, some join directly from secondary school.[19] The commissioning course is 30 weeks, with Warfare Officers and Aircrew spending a further 19 weeks studying academics at the college.[20][21] A large contingent of international and Commonwealth students are part of the student body. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary sends its officer cadets to BRNC for a 10-week initial officer training course, before they start at a maritime college.[22]

An Ofsted report on BRNC in 2023 described the college as being filled with "rot and mould". Inspectors also cited unsafe structures, ill-fitting equipment, staff shortages and medical inspection delays. Inspectors noted how windows in some dormitories were boarded over due to rot while "mould is growing on window frames and ceilings".[23]

Dartmouth was rated by Ofsted as inadequate. Amanda Spielman, Ofsted's Chief Inspector, said Dartmouth received the rating due to the poor state of the college's infrastructure which was due to "a lack of investment over many decades".[24]

King George V and King George VI were naval cadets at Dartmouth. The first "significant encounter" between Prince Philip of Greece and the then Princess Elizabeth took place at Dartmouth in July 1939, where Philip was a naval cadet.[25][26] Charles III and the Duke of York also attended Dartmouth. The Prince of Wales spent a brief period at the College after leaving Sandhurst as part of his training with all three of Britain's Armed Forces.[27]

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.[28][29] Sheikh Isa bin Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the eldest son of the Crown Prince of Bahrain, also underwent training at BRNC (including time at sea in RN warships) from 2014 to 2015, prior to commencing active service in the Royal Bahrain Naval Force.[30]

Commanders of the college[edit]

List below based on listing compiled by historian Colin Mackie;[31] additional references are given in the list.

Prospect of the Britannia Royal Naval College
  1. ^ "Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth". Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  2. ^ Walker 1938, p. 39
  3. ^ Walker 1938, p. 40
  4. ^ Lambert 1984, pp. 122, 127–128
  5. ^ "The King and Queen in Devon". The Times. No. 36710. London. 8 March 1902. p. 12.
  6. ^ "General introduction". Lambeth: Southern area. Survey of London. Vol. 26. British History Online. 1956. pp. 1–17. Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  7. ^ a b c Lord Tweedmouth (26 February 1906). "First Lord's Statement explanatory of Navy Estimates, 1906-7". The Naval Annual: 370.
  8. ^ "Former HMS Cromer M103 now called 'Hindostan' at Sandquay, Britannia Royal Naval College". Classic Traction. 21 June 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  9. ^ @NavyLookout (11 March 2025). "@NavyLookout As part of commemorations to mark the 120th anniversary of the college's opening, the 8 Vahana Officer Training Boats used by @DartmouthBRNC" (Tweet). Retrieved 11 March 2025 – via Twitter.
  10. ^ "Up close with the Royal Navy's new officer training boats". Navy Lookout. 27 September 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  11. ^ "Influx of new birds on the Dart spurs on naval leaders of tomorrow". Royal Navy. 30 March 2025.
  12. ^ Dickinson, Harry (2016). Wisdom and War: the Royal Naval College Greenwich 1873–1998. p. 129.
  13. ^ Harrold, Jane; Porter, Richard (2005). Dartmouth. Richard Webb. ISBN 978-0-9536361-3-6.
  14. ^ Article by Jane Harrold and Richard Porter in The Britannia Magazine 2004, Crest Publications, pp. 6–7.
  15. ^ Ian F. W. Beckett, Discovering British Regimental Traditions (Osprey Publishing, 2007), p. 58[permanent dead link]
  16. ^ "Navy officers and ratings make history at unique parade". www.royalnavy.mod.uk. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  17. ^ "Princess Royal salutes a new generation of Naval leaders".
  18. ^ "Air Engineer Officer | Royal Navy Jobs in the Fleet Air Arm". www.royalnavy.mod.uk. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  19. ^ "Royal Navy Sponsorship". Royal Navy. Archived from the original on 15 October 2008. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  20. ^ "Warfare Officer | Royal Navy Jobs in the Surface Fleet". www.royalnavy.mod.uk. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  21. ^ "Pilot | Royal Navy Jobs in the Fleet Air Arm". www.royalnavy.mod.uk. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  22. ^ "RFA Training". Royal Navy. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  23. ^ "Dartmouth naval college: Inspectors find 'rot and mould'". BBC News. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  24. ^ Adams, Harry (23 August 2023). "Navy Dartmouth military college has 'worst case of rot' Ofsted has ever seen and rated 'inadequate'". Forces Net.
  25. ^ Pimlott, Ben (2012). The Queen: Elizabeth II and the Monarchy. Harper Collins. p. 86.
  26. ^ "History, Prince Philip". BBC. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
  27. ^ "William's Navy posting revealed". BBC News. 31 May 2008. Retrieved 31 May 2008.
  28. ^ "Honorary Doctorates September 2010". University of Plymouth. Archived from the original on 29 December 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  29. ^ "Sheikh awarded honorary doctorate". This is Plymouth. 25 September 2010. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013.
  30. ^ "CP Attends Shaikh Isa's Graduation Ceremony". Bahrain Daily Tribune. 18 December 2015.
  31. ^ Mackie, Colin (June 2018). "Royal Navy - Senior Appointments" (PDF). www.gulabin.com. Colin Mackie. p. 252. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  32. ^ "Admiral Ruck Keene", Obituary in The Times dated 31 January 1935, Issue 46976, p. 16
  33. ^ "Captain BRNC Twitter Post". Captain BRNC. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  34. ^ "New face at the helm of the home of the Royal Navy officer corps".
  35. ^ "Royal Navy Sailors Share Their Knowledge with Saudi Colleagues". Naval Today. March 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
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