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| Britannia Royal Naval College sits proudly on a hill overlooking the River Dart |
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| Looking down on the town and river from the Naval College. |
On a bright, sunny day in Dartmouth, England, close by the
River Dart and surrounded by green rolling hills, a small, white bus met us at
the Tourist Information Center. With a
retired Royal Naval Officer (and BRNC graduate) as our guide, we took the winding
road up Chestnut Hill and toured Britannia
Royal Naval College. We were
lucky. Normally tours are Mondays and
Wednesdays, but this was Tuesday and with the midshipmen on maneuvers, and my
wife showing her radiant smile, the college flung wide its doors. Lucky for us
because this is a very special tour indeed!
History, art, tradition, valor, all come together in a magnificent
setting.
The regal red brick and sandstone building, which houses Britannia
Royal Naval College, was completed in 1905, and stands proudly on the hillside,
with a commanding view of the River Dart.
A grand dame. The first of her
kind and perhaps the last. Always true
to her motto:
To deliver courageous leaders with the spirit to fight and win.
It’s a
promise that has stood England in good stead in conflicts around the globe. But, the story of the Naval College, often
called simply Dartmouth, goes back to more humble beginnings, when the
wooden-sided HMS Britannia, no longer seaworthy, ended her days moored in the River
Dart, just below where the college now stands.
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| HMS Britannia enters Portsmouth harbor |
In 1864, another hulk, the HMS Hindostan, was moored beside her. Until
the building of the permanent quarters, the two ships provided home and
classroom to young men, aged 12 to 14 who aspired to be Midshipmen in the Royal
Navy.
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| The now plaster-covered figurehead from the original HMS Britannia. |
Hard to
believe mere boys were deemed fit to serve.
Different days and a different Navy.
The days of Empire. At present, most entrants range from 18 and 27, with
the average age falling somewhere between.
Most have degrees. Since 1990,
fifteen percent have been women. But,
Dartmouth has never been an all-English boys club. Students arrive from around the world. As our guide told us, “Graduation photos show
nearly as many turbans as hats, and always have.”
Prince
William and his father before him attended the college, along with other
royalty, including several British Kings. In 1939, on a front lawn of the
college, a Naval student, Philip, met a young thirteen year old named
Elizabeth. In 1947 they married and in
1952, Elizabeth became Queen. Terribly
hard for women to resist a uniform!
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| The famous garden |
But, as
with so many western militaries, wearing the uniform sublimates social position
and birth status. Mixed in with the nobility are (and have always been) men and
women for whom joining the ranks of the college are a huge step forward and
step up. In uniform, egalitarianism
reins supreme.
Don’t buy
that? Take a look at Admiral Horatio
Nelson, by all accounts England’s penultimate naval hero. Born to a clergyman in Norfolk, he joined the
Royal Navy as an ordinary seaman when he was 13!
His place in naval history is reflected at the college, both
in stone and with a powerful painting of his greatest victory, The Battle of
Trafalgar by William Lionel Wyllie.
Should you want to read more about Nelson and the famous battle, I
suggest a book that reads like a thriller: Seize the
Fire: Heroism, Duty, and Nelson's Battle of Trafalgar (P.S.) by Adam Nicolson.
As we strode
through through the wondrous building designed by Sir George Aston Webb, whose previous
commissions included Admiralty Arch and the East Front of Buckingham Palace, we
embraced both a wealth of Naval history and the future. The future you say? Yes I do.
Polite young men and women, lean, but smartly dressed, and looking tired
from a couple of nights in the pouring rain, passed us in the hallways.
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| Two views of the dining hall, where manners begin! |
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| Ever wonder where the term 'square meal' came from? In the old days, plates on English ships were square. |
What takes place at
Dartmouth? Is it like our Naval Academy
at Annapolis? Yes and no. Yes, Dartmouth produces Naval Officers, but
instead of four years, it does the job in three ten week sessions, with only
the first two being at Dartmouth: Militarisation, Marinisation, and Initial Fleet Time. I think you can guess the details.
Of those who apply,
only 36% pass the initial qualification tests.
There are physical and mental tests, of course, but also a great
emphasis on what I would term psychological suitability. Do you work well with others in the spirit of
teamwork and mission accomplishment? Can
you combat the rigors of extreme stress?
In short, aside from having an education and being physically fit, do
you have ‘what it takes’ to serve as
an officer in the Royal Navy? The halls
are lined with portraits and monuments to those who came before and had the right stuff.
But, strolling the
building and looking at statues and painting were not the main points of the
tour. Dartmouth is not a museum in the
usual sense. It’s a working
establishment that molds young men and women into something more than they were
when they entered. Not only history, but
also a sense of responsibility, determination, and purpose permeates the walls,
all anchored in tradition and the spirit of service to the nation.
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| Dartmouth captures the spirit, not only of the Royal Navy, but of Britain's long seagoing history |
Britannia Royal Naval College is a cornerstone of what it
means to be British. If you get to the
city of Dartmouth, this tour is essential.
The things you see, the stories you hear, the footsteps of the future
passing you in the corridor, will all leave lasting impressions of the Royal
Navy, as it was and is. Britannia Royal
Naval College…Don’t miss it!
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| The naval term 'starboard,' meaning right, comes from 'steer board,' which in the old days was used to steer rudderless ships and was always on the right side. 'Port,' meaning left, was the side of the ship facing the port, when docking. |
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| The Entrance. |
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| The archway leading to Britannia Royal Naval College |
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