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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 |
