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Naval Reserve Forces (See below for M.M.R., R.N.V.R.,
R.N.V.S.R., R.N.S.R., R.F.R., R.F.A.S. and the Coastguard Service) |
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ROYAL
NAVAL RESERVE
Although there had been precursors, such as the River & Sea Fencibles during the French Revolutionary Wars; and some provision for naval
reserves made (but dropped through the fall of the Whig government to the Tories)
in 1852; it was not until 1859 that the R.N.R. as such came into being
(provisionally named the Royal Naval Volunteers). In the teeth of vociferous
opposition from much of the R.N. establishment, in 1861 there was the separate
formation of an officers’ reserve.
It was not until much later that ratings
received proper naval uniforms (but then these had only been first introduced
for ratings in the R.N. in 1857). However, even although officers’ wore uniforms
from the start, not only were their cap badges and buttons different, the rings
for were of a very ornate ‘intertwined’ pattern from the R.N.’s plain bands of
gold, instantly identifying R.N.R. officers as different.
With a commonplace lack of strategic thought to be found in
governmental and military organisations, this reserve basically found itself to
be something of an equally badly-trained replacement for the Royal Naval Coast
Volunteers. While the organisation periodically changed, it was not until the
1880s that there were any real improvements in the R.N.R. Official incompetence during the
Russian war scare of 1885 led to the first provision of proper armed-merchant
cruisers, which in turn meant the potential of meaningful sea time for the reservists.
(There had been only very limited
experiments at taking reservists to sea in men-o-war by this time.) Further,
but grudging opportunities availed themselves through the Naval Defence Act
(1889) and subsequent building campaigns, as the professional navy became
overstretched from the 1890s onwards. Through these decades, in spite of
continuing opposition from much of naval establishment the R.N.R. had grown
significantly, not only in size, but also in complexity, with the addition of
more branches of service. Nevertheless, it was still seen primarily in terms of
a gunnery reserve and incompetently at that, since the training remained out of
date and poor.
During the Edwardian period, the R.N.R. survived Admiral Sir John Fisher’s attempt to disband it in 1905
and ironically through this, was put on a far more useful footing. With massive
building programmes and the retention of older, larger
warships as reserve fleets, the manning problems of the R.N. were by then
severe. It was in the role of keeping the pre-Dreadnought men-o-war at sea that
the mainstream R.N.R. came to be used. (This becomes very
apparent when looking at the casualties in the disastrous sinkings of Hogue, Aboukir, Cressy, Monmouth,
and Good Hope in 1914.)
Also, a relatively small scheme for keeping naval
ports
free of mines had been developed by using civilian fishing craft. As of 1910
the Royal Naval Reserve (Trawler Section) was formed.
As the First World War progressed, more and more roles were
found for reservists. Almost immediately German mining operations meant a
massive expansion of the R.N.R. (T) along with other craft of the ‘Auxiliary
Patrol’. Day to day blockade duties fell to Cruiser Force B/10th
Cruiser Squadron, which by 1915 were made up of Armed Merchant Cruisers. Other
A.M.C.s, such as the famous Carmania, formed
integral parts of the patrolling cruiser squadrons throughout the world. The
transportation of troops and matériel required officers with mercantile
experience, which were duly used. And, later masters and mates of vessels taken
up for government service (non-commissioned Mercantile Fleet Auxiliaries) were
also temporarily commissioned into the R.N.R. Yet more officers found
themselves on other duties, such as in the salvage of semi-sunken merchantmen.
There were also R.N.R. men in 1914, who along with all sorts of
other reserves, ended up in Winston Churchill’s Royal Naval Divisions. If they
survived long enough, in Belgium, Gallipoli and Flanders, they became soldiers
not just in appearance, but in reality by being transferred to the army in 1916
(although the Admiralty retained some control over them at least
administratively).
Unsurprisingly, during the inter-war period the R.N.R. did not
figure highly in defence spending - such that this was anyway. However, once
again during the Second World War these professional mariner reservists showed
their mettle. In the post-war era there was yet more re-organisation and while
retaining the title Royal Naval Reserve lost its professional basis, by being
amalgamated with the R.N.V.R.
As most service and associated records up to the interwar period
are now online, no explanations need now be made here...
The bulk of the background for this section is to be found in
Frank C. Bowen: History
of the Royal Naval Reserve
(London:
The Corporation of Lloyd’s, 1926). However, a number of details came from other
sources.
MERCANTILE
MARINE RESERVE
Although
there had been general pay rates for merchant mariners in peacetime, especially
through trade union pressure, these were not standard. War, of course, brought
great instability and by 1916 there was a significant variance, depending on
what had been negotiated by unions and even individuals signing on. This was
even the case on commissioned M.F.A.s. Admiralty Weekly Order, number 1856,
issued on 8th August 1916 announced that it had been ‘decided to
standardise the rates of pay of Mercantile Marine Ratings employed in
Commissioned Fleet Auxiliaries’. Separately, merchant officers on these vessels
were also to be treated similarly.
However,
this order went much further. It was also stated that arrangements had ‘been made
for the maintenance of a Reserve at the R.N. Barracks, Portsmouth, of the
principal Ratings required to fill vacancies in Commissioned Fleet Auxiliaries.
Such men will be engaged from time to time as necessary by the Superintendents
of Mercantile Marine and will be signed on the Agreement Form T.124X for the
S.S. “Sunhill,” which will be regarded as the parent
ship for Mercantile Ratings at Portsmouth...’. Although officers were not
specifically mentioned in this edict, from my own research it would appear that
some were appointed at least nominally to Sunhill later in the war.
At least
some ships’ articles for commissioned M.F.A.s (early in the war anyway) are to
be found within the normal mercantile ‘crew lists’. But, apart from those there
are precious few records relating to the M.M.R. surviving. There is a small
number Admiralty Transport Department files dealing with administrative
subjects (until this department was subsumed into the newly formed Ministry of
Shipping). But, the only documents of real potential interest to genealogists
will be the two medal rolls for the First World War era. Incidentally, these
show men serving as early as 1914 and this would appear to have been an
administrative short cut.
Incidentally,
as of October 1918 Protection and Identity Certificates were issued to members
of this reserve (as well, apparently, as the R.N.R.).
ROYAL
NAVAL VOLUNTEER RESERVE and ROYAL NAVAL VOLUNTEER SUPPLEMENTARY RESERVE
If in the early years the R.N.R.
was seen more in terms of coastal artillery through lack of any proper assigned
role, then the R.N.V.R could most definitely claim to be successors to the
Royal Naval Coastal Volunteers. Even though the R.N.C.V. was disbanded in 1873
(with it’s members supposedly encouraged to join the R.N.R.’s newly formed
2nd Class Reserve), largely through the efforts of Thomas Brassey M.P., a purely amateur band of coastal artillerymen
known as the Royal Naval Artillery Volunteers sprung up in the same year.
A
delightfully interesting and highly colourful organisation, their larger and
more affluent divisions were often reported within the social columns of the
best newspapers. However, coverage was not always beneficial and much public
bickering did not endear them to the R.N. Apart from some old cannonry, a
gunboat or two and some instructors, which were supplied by the state, they had
to pay for everything else. This included their uniforms, the officers having
wavy bands of silver. Keen as mustard, with their ancient cannons and
cutlasses, the R.N. had little interest in them and in 1891 tried to offload
them onto the army. The volunteers chose to disband themselves, rather than
suffer this indignity!
Nevertheless,
many of the same men reformed themselves into ‘naval cruising clubs’ and
lobbied in high places for some place in the country’s defence. In time this
bore fruit and in 1903 the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve was formed.
Unfortunately, prior to the First World War, the R.N.V.R. retained all the
worst aspects of the old R.N.A.V. In an era of massive technological and
organisational change, unsurprisingly the R.N. treated them as a joke. At this
time the term ‘wavy navy’ after the pattern of gold rings their officers wore
and the adornment on ratings’ blue-jean collars was coined, though later it
became something of a term of endearment.
Just like
the R.N.R. during the First World War the men of the R.N.V.R. came to fill lots
of roles, regarded by the R.N. as secondary, but nevertheless essential. Again
they were called on in the Second World War. And, as already mentioned they
disappeared into the R.N.R., although in essence they took it over.
Additionally, within the records of the R.N.V.R. at Kew are
those of the Mine Clearance Service. As can be determined from its title, this
was a post First World War organisation recruited to clear the hundreds of
thousands of mines sown during the war. It was drawn from all arms of the R.N.
and its reserves, but also included past merchant mariners and those that had
never been at sea before. It is stated in T.N.A. guides that the M.C.S. was administered
by the R.N.V.R., but there would seem to be no documentary evidence to back
this claim.
Another organisation that may cause severe confusion is that of
the Royal Naval Volunteer (Supplementary) Reserve. This was formed in 1936 and
recruited overwhelmingly from yachtsmen thought to be potentially useful in
time of war. No routine peacetime contact with the R.N.V.R. was maintained,
being trained separately. Also members held no rank until they had been
‘granted temporary commissions as Probationary Sub-Lieutenants, R.N.V.R. or
temporary appointments as Probationary Midshipmen, R.N.V.R., on or after
Mobilisation’. After being commissioned, there was no apparent differentiation
from other officers of the R.N.V.R.
As most service and associated records up to the interwar period
(where surviving) are now online, no explanations need now be made here...
Most of the historical information for this section came from J.
Lennox and Wilfred Granville: The R.N.V.R.: A Record of Achievement (London:
George Harrap, 1957). However, similarly some detail
came from other sources.
Unlike
the R.N.V.S.R. (see R.N.V.R. above) this reserve was for ratings. This was
short-lived however and affected comparatively few men. The Military Training
Act of May 1939 required the registration of all men aged 20 to 21. The
Admiralty therefore formed this reserve in order to recruit from this pool of
labour that was liable for service in the army. Volunteers for the R.N.S.R.
would therefore become subject to calling out by the R.N. rather than the army.
Events overtook this, with war in September 1939 and the passing of the
National Services (Forces) Act. As far as I understand there are virtually no
records pertaining to this reserve.
ROYAL
FLEET RESERVE
This was a reserve commitment
begun in 1901, whereby Royal Naval ratings of good character who had completed their time, for receiving an annual retainer
could be liable to be returned to service in times of emergency (that is, war).
While ex ‘blue-jackets’ could equally have sought employment ashore, some
became merchant mariners.
Along
with other reserves, the R.F.R. was called out in August 1914. This was
similarly the case in 1939. With a loss of the bulk of traditional ‘long
service’ ratings through the Second World War the rules were changed. So, some
ratings that had been H.O. (Hostilities Only) were recruited into this reserve,
with some being called up for the Korean War (1950-53). I believe, the R.F.R. may again have been called out during the Suez Crisis of 1956. Two
years later this was reorganised into the normal reserve commitment of its day.
Some ‘Fleet reservists’ are definitely known to have been
returned to service in 1982 for the Falklands War.
There are
no operational or administrative documents intrinsically dealing with the
R.F.R. However, there are occasional references to men under this liability
rejoining the R.N. This is apparent from crew-lists and agreements of the
latter half of 1914. Perhaps because of considerations such as geography, or
even a similarity in working conditions, there seem to have been higher
percentages of men in the North Atlantic passenger liner companies working out
of Southampton in the R.F.R., than elsewhere in mercantile service. A good example
of this can be found in the crew-lists and articles for the White Star Line’s Oceanic for 1914.
Study of
the original legislation formed the basis of this section. I do not know of any
published work dealing with this subject. Nevertheless, my attention has been
drawn to information on a website by the descendent of an R.F.R. man that had
been very active post First World War in bettering the lot of Royal Fleet
Reservists. This makes most interesting reading and can be found at
http://www.doverlife.co.uk/ and going to ‘history articles’.
Awarded
official status in 1911, elements of this mercantile support service to the
R.N. had been in existence for some years before, under the control of the
Admiralty Transport Department at first. It is not entirely clear how this came
into being, but from the vessels acquired previously it is apparent that at
least one original important aim was experimentation into fuelling (both coal
and oil-fuel). Through the Great War 1914-19 there was growth in this service, but
in total terms of the tonnage of the ‘Merchant Service’ this was negligible. It
should be explained that although government owned, the crews of these vessels
were not subject to the Naval Discipline Act. Instead, they were governed by
the Merchant Shipping Acts, like the majority of civilian mariners.
There are
no personnel documents per se, as far as I understand, within the Admiralty Transport
Department files dealing with officers and men of the R.F.A.S. The records of
this department were operational and administrative documents and there are
hundreds of fascinating files dealing with running commercial vessels on
Admiralty account, some of which deal with R.F.A.s. (With the massive
administrative shake ups in the Admiralty, imposed by the politicians later in
the war, this department was disbanded and the work was taken over by the newly
formed Ministry of Shipping.) Just occasionally individuals are mentioned in
these documents, dealing with everything from extra pay to mutiny. However,
this is not a body of work that is generally profitable for genealogical
research.
This is
not an organisation which has been widely written about. Nevertheless, an useful work is Captain E.E. Sigwart:
Royal Fleet Auxiliary: its ancestry and affiliations 1600-1968 (London: Adlard Coles, 1969).
THE
COASTGUARD SERVICE
Although
in some respects closer, historically, to the Royal Naval Reserve this section
has been placed at the foot in order to allow readers not necessarily au fait with the
nature of the various reserves given the title ‘Royal’ to differentiate between
these easier. In support of the Revenue’s cruizers
offshore and customs officials ashore, the first formal peacetime ‘coastguard’
(of Riding Officers) was formed in 1698: all aimed at impeding smuggling. In
1809 another element was added. Operating inshore this was the Preventative Water
Guard. Seven years later there was a major reorganisation. Most of the Revenue cruizers were to be operated by the Admiralty; the
Preventative Water Guard was put under the control of the Treasury; and the
Riding Officers were the perks of the Board of Customs. Additionally, the
Admiralty also formed the Coast Blockade in 1816. This was another shore-bound
anti-smuggling unit.
Perhaps not surprisingly, this bureaucratic mess did not survive
un-investigated. After committee activity in 1821 a year later the Coastguard
came into being. This united all the above, apart from the Coast Blockade - at
least initially. Nine years later the Coast Blockade disappeared into the
Coastguard. Under the Board of Customs, its officers were to be nominated by
the Admiralty.
During the Anglo-Russian War (1854-56) the Coastguard had
already been used in effect as a naval reserve, with men serving onboard
warships on operations in both the Black and Baltic Seas. Through the Coastguard
Service Act of 1856 the Coastguard was transferred to Admiralty control and
became properly a reserve for the R.N. in time of war. Internal reorganisation
followed and three groups were formed - the Permanent Cruiser Force, the Guard
Ships and Shore Force. The first continued the work of the Revenue cruisers,
along with fishery protection duties and other miscellaneous tasks; the second
comprised R.N. warships used as floating headquarters in major ports (with
annual sea-training); and the third obviously worked ashore.
Post First World War (in 1919) the Permanent Cruiser Force was
done away with (probably a ‘victim of the Gedes
Axe’). In this year the Shore Force became manned completely by naval
pensioners and in 1923 was transferred to the Board of Trade. In the Second
World War the Shore Force was put under operational (but not administrative)
control of the Admiralty once again. Along with the Auxiliary Coast Guard,
comprising of part-time volunteers, they carried out various miscellaneous duties,
including coast watching.
Post 1923 the Coastguard Service has been administered the Board
of Trade 1923-39; the Ministry of Shipping 1939-40; the Ministry of War
Transport and its successor Ministry of Transport 1940-64; and the Department
of Trade and its successors from then.
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Indian ‘Coastal Defence’ Forces from Indian Marine to R.I.N. c.1613-1947 page