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During the following 66 years, a succession of Marine Regiments came and went depending on the requirements of the time, often with disband- ment and reforming as line infantry regiments. During this period, in 1704, Marine Regiments, together with Dutch Marines, were involved in the Capture and Defence of Gibraltar, a signifi- cant battle honour commemorated to this day on the Corps’ crest. Invalid Companies of Marines, comprised of men from former Marine Regi- ments no longer fit for active service, often kept the name alive doing garrison duty. Throughout this period, from 1664 to 1755, Marine officers purchased their commissions and subsequent promotions in line with the prevailing custom in the British Army, the rate for purchase being below that for a line infantry officer.
On 5 April 1755, His Majesty’s Marine Forces, fifty Companies in three Divisions, headquar- tered at Chatham, Portsmouth, and Plymouth, were formed by Order of Council under direct Admiralty control. From that time, commission purchase by officers was prohibited, in line with Navy practice. Initially marine field officer ranks were honorary sinecure positions awarded to senior Royal Navy officers. This meant that the furthest a Marine Officer could advance was to Lieutenant-colonel. It was not until 1771 that the first Marine was promoted to colonel. This
attitude persisted well into the 1800s. During the rest of the 18th century, Marines served in numerous landings all over the world.
In 1802, largely at the instigation of Admiral the Earl St Vincent, they were titled the Royal Marines by King George III. During the Napoleonic Wars, the Royal Marines participated in every notable naval battle on board the Royal Navy’s ships and also took part in multiple amphibious actions. Marines routinely had a dual function aboard ships of the Royal Navy in this period. They ensured the security of the ship’s officers and supported their maintenance of discipline in the ship’s crew, and in battle they engaged the ene- my’s crews, whether firing from positions on their own ship, or fighting in boarding actions.
Through much of the 18th and 19th centuries, Marine officers had a lower standing status than their counterparts in the Royal Navy. A short- lived effort (for the Corps) was made in 1907, through the ‘Selborne Scheme’, to reduce the professional differences between RN executive and engineer officers, and between RM officers, through a system of common entry that pro- vided for an initial period of shared training. By the early twentieth century, however the Royal Marines had deservedly achieved a high pro- fessional status in their own right. Royal Marine Artillery (RMA) and Royal Marine Light Infantry (RMLI) units were established, subsequently amalgamated and eventually disbanded. The Corps underwent a notable change after 1945; however, when the Royal Marines took on the main responsibility for the role and training of the British Commandos, including commando training for those Army Commando units (such as 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery and 24 Commando Royal Engineers) which sup- ports them in operations. The present role of the Royal Marines is as an elite amphibious brigade- strength commando force of the Royal Navy, held at very high readiness for worldwide rapid response and threat neutralisation. The current strength of the Corps is approximately 6,500.
Early Royal Marine Officer Training
There is little information concerning the train- ing of Marine officers in the 18th century, except that it could be patchy. After complaints dur- ing the latter half of that century that newly commissioned Second Lieutenants were often embarked upon ships ignorant of their duties and care and command of their men, the Admiralty Board instructed that they should be
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