Page 124 - The Wish Stream Year of 2022

Dartmouth during the Second World War
With their training ship (then HMS Frobisher) being refitted for active service, Special Entry cadets came to Dartmouth in May 1939 for the first time for their training. In September 1942, Dartmouth was bombed and was deemed unfit to continue as an education and training estab- lishment. The College therefore relocated to Eaton Hall in Cheshire, the country home of the Duke of Westminster which had been leased to the government (albeit with the Duke still in resi- dence!). Although not as effective as using the River Dart, some boat training could be carried out on the River Dee. The Navy officially com- missioned Eaton Hall as ‘HMS Britannia (Royal Naval College, Eaton)’ for its time in residence there. Once the Navy returned to Dartmouth in 1946, Eaton Hall continued as a service training establishment until 1958 as the Army’s National Service Officer Cadet College.
During the College’s time away from Dartmouth, it was renamed HMS Effingham and the undam- aged parts used, firstly by Combined Operations training Royal Marines in amphibious warfare, and then by the Americans training for D-Day.
Dartmouth today
The Women’s Royal Naval Service (WRNS) Offic- ers’ Training Course, Talbot arrived at Dartmouth in 1976. In 1990, women became fully inte- grated into the Royal Navy (except initially with the exception of the submarine service to which women were not admitted until 2011) after which all officer cadets, both male and female, would receive the same training at Dartmouth and fol- low the same career structure.
Delivering learning that is inspiring, challenging and relevant to meet Fleet operational capabil- ity, Dartmouth continues to be at the forefront of the education and development of world-class naval officers. Prospective cadet 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. Whilst most cadets join BRNC after finishing univer- sity, some join directly from secondary school. The Commissioning Course is 30 weeks, with Warfare Officers and Aircrew spending a further 19 weeks studying academics at the college. A large contingent of international and Common- wealth 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.
The Captain of the BRNC holds the rank of Cap- tain RN.
Corps of Royal Marines
Commando Training Centre Royal Marines Lympstone
Brief History of the
Corps of Royal Marines
The Corps of Royal Marines is the amphibi- ous light infantry arm of the Royal Navy and the United Kingdom’s Commando Force. The modern Corps provides a unique capability and is held in high readiness for worldwide rapid response and is capable of meeting a wide vari- ety of threats and security challenges.
The Marines can trace their origins back to the formation in the City of London of the Brit- ish Army’s Duke of York and Albany’s Maritime Regiment of Foot (which soon became known as the Admiral’s Regiment) on 28 October 1664. This was a regiment specially raised and trained for service with the Navy and paid by the Admi- ralty. The Duke of York referred to in the title of the Regiment was Charles II’s Catholic brother James who was at the time Lord High Admi- ral and fitting out a fleet at the outbreak in that year of the Second Dutch War. After the death in 1685 of Charles II, James came to the throne as James II until he fled to France in 1689 as a result of the Glorious Revolution which brought Protestants William and Mary (eldest daughter of James II) to the throne as joint sovereigns (Wil- liam III and Mary II). The Regiment, being consid- ered too favourable to the previous regime, was disbanded with its men being incorporated into the Coldstream Guards.
122 HISTORICAL