HISTORY
1863 - a picture of the original hMs Britannia
lots of outbreaks of measles, mumps, flu and other illnesses, but the Dartmouth boys were well fed and in many cases were better built and stronger in comparison to other boys their age.” Overcrowding onboard soon became an issue and in 1864 another ship, HMS Hindostan, arrived to supplement the accommodation. HMS Hindostan was an old two-deck ship of seventy four guns. She was one of a number of ships built for the Royal Navy in India from locally supplied teak. The ships were given names associated with the country. Hindostan was built in Bombay and was launched in 1841. The original Britannia quickly became too old and leaky
and was replaced by HMS Prince of Wales in 1869, which was immediately renamed. The new Britannia had not seen active service. The practice for the wooden Navy was to build hulks and then hold them in reserve, fitting them out as and when required. As the iron clad warships came into commission these hulks became redundant and alternative uses needed to be found for them. Health concerns and a requirement for even more accommodation were the reasons for moving ashore and the College building of today was opened in 1905. The idea of using hulks also became somewhat outdated. Dr Harrold said: “Set against the rise of Germany and the need to create a modern fighting force, it was decided that training future
The cadets taking part in drill training onboard ship
royal navy officers on old wooden hulks didn’t create the right image of Britain’s continuing Naval power.” HMS Hindostan left Dartmouth almost immediately and
was broken up in 1920. HMS Britannia remained and was used for seamanship training and as a floating classroom, be- fore eventually being towed away in 1916. College Curator Dr Richard Porter said: “Dynamite was required to blow her apart, the ship was that well built. Her copper bottom was used for the First World War effort.” Today around 400 cadets a year pass through the College; while the majority are from the royal navy, budding officers from 20 different nations, including Yemen, Singapore, Kuwait and Nigeria, undertook training at BRNC during 2012. Events are planned to mark the anniversary including an
‘All Stars’ band concert at BRNC on Saturday 30 March, when former members of the band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines Dartmouth will reunite to perform. Tickets for the event are available from the Britannia Association by calling 01803 677565 or email
admin@britanniaassociation.org.uk More information of what life was like onboard HMS Bri-
tannia and HMS Hindostan and the history of Naval training at Dartmouth are available in the book Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth: An Illustrated History, written by Dr Jane Harrold and Dr Richard Porter, ISBN 978-0-9568464-3-3. Copies available in White Sails Gallery, St George’s Square Dartmouth (01803 832272) and the Dartmouth Community bookshop, Higher Street (01803 839571).•
The second hMs Britannia (left) and hMs hindostan
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