The Story of the Britannia""

utenants' Duties Ill-defined-"Goose" Dinners-Fighting by Authority-The Dapper-The Ariadne-A Tragic Incident-A Plucky Boatswain-The Ariadne Abolished-A Possible Explanation-Mr. Knapp

Britannia in Parliament-The Royal Cadets-Lieutenant Mainwaring-Beagles Started-The Grave of "Jim"-A Phenomenal Admission-Britannia Regulations-The

OFF THE

ties is somewhat bare of incident

ars. The keen interest which this gentleman took in his work has before been referred to; and it is well illustrated by a very elaborate diagram w

in conjunction with an alphabetical list of the names of all the cadets included in the period under consideration, it could be seen at a glance what class a

utenant at the proper time; Lost time; Class obtained when passing for sub-lieutenant; Promotion for passing

ining-ship from 1858 to 1871, is far too cumbrous to be reproduced in this volume; but, in an e

and fleets, to be enabled to form some correct idea as to what extent the cadets sent out from the training ship since her first establishment have maintained the classification assigned them on le

ub-lieutenant by June, 1874; the total number under consideration being 1,606. Not content with a general analysis, he institutes a comparison between the first four in the first class, the fir

tion of his beloved Britannia-for this is what it amounts to-and there is no getting away from his figures. Without reproducing

ice as Cadets

ss 7·8

s 14·3 p

s 27·4 p

Rank of Sub

s 88·1 p

s 82·7 p

s 69·6 p

Examination at the Pro

858 to 1863 6

864 to 1868 7

ed Exa

ained 1st class at College. Pr

s 88·1 per cent. 26·2

s 74·4 per cent. 4·2 p

s 56·4 per cent. 0·0

s 44·7 per cent. 0·0

ass on Passing fo

manship. Gunne

cent. 36·8 per ce

r cent. 10·1 per

r cent. 2·6 per c

of Select

manship. Gunne

our, 1s

9·0 per cent. 8·1 pe

verage

7·6 per cent. 4·8 p

lass 7·0 per cen

verage

Inskip draws the following per

oment his time is served may be considered as evidence of proficiency, it is seen that in this

shows that the original certificates were distributed on

by the general results of the fina

tive opinion of all the captains who have been actively employed during the past eleven or twelve years, and we find that of the midshipmen sent from the training ship with f

re not a few-who held that the Britannia training was u

the final examinations, from which fact we can only infer that unless the original certificates had been awarded with the utmo

summing up Mr

branches of study relating to their profession. * * * It was shown by examinations held in the Flying and Detached Squadrons (some years ago) that the knowledge of the midshipmen was inversely as the time elapsed since leaving the training-ship, the seniors as a body standing at the bottom. (Report of the Rev. J. B. Harbord, M.A., Inspector of Naval Schools.) This state of education at sea may in some measure

efute his arguments would have a very tough task; though he lays himself open to the reply, that a clever or industrious cadet would in all probability turn out a clever and industri

ed in 1875, four years after Mr. Inskip retired; so he must have employed his leisure time in

during the early seventies-Captain A. W. Warry-gives

d the seamanship classes, saw to the boys going and returning from recreation, received any applications and went the rounds, etc. As first lieutenant I had a more special supervision of the seamanship classes and periodical examinations. I also had the superintendence of the games and recreations, and was entitled to draw on the cadet fund for any requirements for them. Everybody who has been in any way connected with the Britannia must have felt the great inconvenience and waste of time in going and returning from recreation; a lumbering old pinnace was used; I trust some quicker mode of transit has since been adopted. The air on the sleeping decks, when the boys were turned in, was, I thought, far from being as pure as was needful; nor did it ap

ess with an officer in charge, so on Sunday afternoons I frequently got a lot to join me in a walk, which they liked. In this way I got into closer conversation, and it is my pleasant recollection of the boys generally that they were a delightful lot of little chaps, with whom it was a pleasure to be broug

n under sail. Dinner was served as we steamed out, but any motion outside caused sea-sickness, which interfered with the interest in the work. More often the Dap

happy, and used to say they liked the Britannia much better tha

ructional purposes, but apparently was not very freely used; and, indeed, a craft of that size and build would be so exceedingly lively in the slightest a

ISASTER, MARCH

e, Madeira, the Azores, etc., so that the youngsters saw "blue water" in abundance, and even made old Neptune's acquaintance in crossing the line. Those who served in her maintain that she fulfilled her purpose admirably; an

nd the second cutter, a ten-oared boat, was immediately manned, as is customary under such circumstances, at the davits, and, in spite of the heavy sea, was safely lowered and pulled for the man, who had got hold of the lifebuoy. Sub-Lieutenants Jukes and Talbot both sprang into the boat when she was being manned, vying with

aught on the broadside by two heavy seas, the first of which filled her with water, while the second

tended this attempt at a rescue, as the boat, when being lowered, was lifted by a sea, and one tackle came unhooked, leavi

ble to hold on; two were clinging to the bottom of the boat and two or three to the floating gear. The ship stopped close to windward and gradually dropped down; the two men on the boat managed to get safely on board; one man who had secured himself to two oars floated close to the stern of the ship, and Mr. Ellis, boatswain, made a gallant attempt to save him, going overboard with a rope round him. He

nts and eight men from the second cutter and one

urage when the ill-fated Captain went down, he being one of the few who go

n 1862-having been commissioned in August, 1870, by Captain Thomas B. Lethbridge for this purpose. She did not, however, make such long voyages as the Ariadne, and her headquarters

regulations with regard to naval cadets-among others, increasing the maximum age on entry from 13 to 13? years-and a brief clause cancelling the orders concerning a sea-going training-ship. The Ariadne completed her cruise and was paid off in the summer. It i

the opinion, on these somewhat slender premisses, that the ship was "no good," and that he was mainly instrumental in bringing about the change. This may be a fabrication, but,

he post very long, ill-health compelling him to resign in 1875, and the appointment of his successor,

and guidance he had nevertheless to look in the discharge of his duties. Whatever motive the authorities had for this unusual step, it might very well have caused incalculable mischief; they must, however, be accorded credit for considerable insight in their selection, for Mr. A. C. Johnson, one of those over whose heads he was placed-

C. P.

le & Son,

iry which was held in 1874. It is not quite clear on whose representation the Admiralty took this step,

iral E.

Hon. W. C.

A. Mor

n Wm.

orne Gor

Esq., F.R.S

ghan, Es

essed to each member of the com

ritannia are favourable to their health and physical development. Their lordships are desirous that this

confinement on boar

entil

ping arr

Di

regards the subjects, the num

e examinations, incl

g, since the number of entries had fallen from 131 in 1869 to an average of 62 in the five following years, and there should certai

t the brains of the cadets are overtaxed more by the number of subjects than by the length of hours, and recommend the abolition of the following subjects of examination: Grammar, literature, history, Scripture history, physical geography, physics, and the introduction of Latin. A very drastic measure, and, with the exception of the introduct

HNSON, NAVAL

le & Son,

tions, for they held that the competitive examination on entry was "hurtful to the boys and

he introduction of competition in 1869, no one could seriously maintain that the most suitable boys would be thereby o

ss, the Greenwich Hospital School, and Eton College, and they found the physique

her that of a faddist who is determined that nothing can be right about the ship or the place. Certain figures on which he had partial

manly sports, and more than hold their own in

d most of the witnesses are in favour of it, while a few, rather of the "old se

e cadets spend three years in the college, bro

age of fifteen be able to read C?sar, Horace, and Virgil without effort, and that this would be a source of pleasure to him in after years; but this appears to be a pu

tion of a board by whom all candidates should be approved before being permitted to undergo the examination;

E HON. F.

le & Son,

n a very thorough fashion, and not before it was needed. By clearing out the ballast in some places, and by a rearrangemen

o are examined are practical

f grinding for the competitive examination, and

ed or seedy on bo

red a hammo

e the idea of a

, and liked the ship much bet

them wa

be put into a house o

at

would feel li

es

ke an officer in her

es

aintance with a captain would place him, to them, in the light of a schoolmaster; but this is surely a fantastic idea, and one which no one who has been thro

n regard to the examination papers were characteristic. He did not see anything in them to frighten anybody, especially as many

college course in 1837, a very large percentage of young officers came to no good, either voluntarily or involuntarily leaving the Service; and he quotes some of Mr. Inskip's figures in support of the view that a very great improvement has ensued in this respect after the institut

ducational establishment, or s

r of it, and two against

e on shore

ey had any decided view; twenty-four were in favour of a co

lance in 1863; and it is quite probable that the Duke of Somerset counted o

begin at the beginning, both in seamanship and other subjects; and this,

ed; and the captains and naval instructors who had this experience must s

or all concerned. Dr. Woolley, while as reticent as the committee would permit him to be, distinctly gave the impression that the examinations failed in some degree as a true test, in consequence of the examiners knowing too much about the capabilities of indivi

remarkable regularity; and it is all to the credit of the instructors on board the Britannia that, although called upon to conduct an important examination of their own pupils, they should have arrived at a result so ob

factory, and that a considerable number of cadets had misbehaved, or wilfully do

d in February of the following year a new circular appeared,

ion is wiped out, and a qualify

rk

h legibly from

intelligently, p

on, and vulgar and d

g, and parsing, and to ren

, and parsing; or, as an alt

re hist

al

to be obtained in each subjec

mportance of the two languages to a naval officer, who may not unfrequently find himself deputed to deliver complimentary messages to the captain of a French ship. He may get safely through the little sentence he has prep

(DUKE OF CLARENCE) COXSWAIN, PRINCE

le & Son,

impress the young aspirant, hard at work with his crammer, with the idea that he must

o it is that engineers some of these curious circulars, which, while usually inaugurating some beneficial innovations, almost

e was appointed in 1876, composed of the following gentlemen: Admiral George G. Wellesley, Captain Charles T. Curme, Captain W. E. Gor

the Isle of Wight, Dartmouth, Southampton Water, and Poole. At the last-named place a choice of three sites was very generously offered by S

essit. Probably a very fine site might have been found there, and it is a more bracing situation than Dar

s a Parliamentary Paper called for in 1877, which gives a correspondence between Mr. Penry Ll

ef naval instructor reported that his son, Cadet J. E. Lloyd, was idle and troublesome, had very little ability,

he first demanded an inquiry into sundry charges preferred by the latter against certain cadets, who, it was alleged

ther kicked and knocked him down without provocation; and on more than one occasion he was compelled to give up his pocket money unde

is officers will investigate the mat

ith the result that Mr. Lloyd was informed that there was not sufficient ground for these charges. He applied for the minutes of the inquiry, an

arge schools, the Britannia has suffered from occasional outbreaks of this kind, probably instigated as a rule by one o

se of Commons on the regulations of 1875, when, as has been described

CADETS AT

D. Downey, E

an unmixed evil; that a far better class of boys was obtained under the latter system: a

rm the Britannia, which he thought was in a bad state; and Mr. Childers further states that, although competition was abolished on the recommendation o

ALBERT

le & Son,

eason for doing away with competition, other than on the score of injurious brain work; but probably Admiral Sir A. Cooper Key's remark when before the Commission sums up the matter pr

ion, but only by 41 in a house of 301; showing thereb

ther respects they were "in the same boat" with the remainder of the cadets, to whom they were a source of much interest. The "divinity that doth hedge a king," or its equivalent in the case o

?" "What do you do when you're at home

r the Navy, was left to do pretty much as he pleased in the matter of study, etc. He was sent to

, though very backward on joining, turned to with a will, and passed out very creditably. He used to tell the seam

CE G

le & Son,

d Princess of Wales visited the Bri

nia owed a good deal to Lieutenant (now Captain, retired

erm, to be framed and kept on board as a record. This practice has been continued ever since, and an interesting series of groups has now accumulated, some of which are reproduced in t

PIONEER

le & Son,

a good deal of energy and of sporting instinct, Lieutenant Mainwaring was the first to make any effort i

f athletic paymasters and surgeons, all vying with each other for the front rank, and all returning in the afternoon, caked with mud and exceedingly cheerful, especially those happy ones who had succeeded in

INWARING AND

le & Son,

obtaining as a start two and a half couples of fourteen-inch hounds, from the kennels of the late Mr. Thomas Cartlich, of Woore, Staffordshire; these were supplemented by the ship's

was a hound bought from the Home for Lost Dogs, at Battersea, and consequently named "Homeless"; and in three years, with incidental additions and breeding, the p

were subsequently transferred, on a much more ambitious scale, to their present site on the lower edge of the cricket ground; and there, as you pass

duty, for a sailor, is performed, that when he was expecting a guest to dinner one summer evening the commander did not arrive on board until the

ull of years and honours, and was accorded a to

t stands un

ness i

shed. The landowners have been very generous in affording every facility for sport, and at the hunt breakfast they always declare that the privilege has never been abused, which

ard the Britannia was printed in 1873, but is

teresting points may be touched upon here, while the cadets' routine, and other matters

ng over nearly twenty years, cover every conceivable point of dis

ue performance of all routine duties and the maintenance of discipline, except in the studies, which are

te complaints, attend while the cadets are bathing, from the shore, see that they do not land if the weather is bad, and that they change their clothes if they come on board wet. He has, furthermore, the responsibility of seeing that only third and fo

o do their duty, especially if it entails reporting another cadet. One or two were asked, when giving evidence before the committee in 1874, whether they had ever reported a cadet, and the reply

were unanimous as to their dislike of the corporals, though it must be acknowledged that they had no very definite reasons to adduce. At this time a "cadet sergeant-major" had taken the place of

cket-money-the captains and chief captains two shillings and half-a-crown respectively-and were not allowed to have in their possession at one time a larger

our plate to my table at tea," and as there were frequently a good many hampers, with a circle of chums to each owner, there was a great deal of running about the messroom at tea-time, also some jealousy and searchings of heart. Some lads who were general favourites might be seen visiting three or four tables, re

SEAMANSHIP IN

le & Son,

one of the most serious offences that can be com

conduct. Cadets under this penalty wore a white stripe on e

summer, and half an hour later fall in

m other cadets

fternoon; leave stopped, except one ho

e deck one hour af

her days to take their meals at cockpit mess t

ecks when not in the cell,

and could, of course, only be prescribed

e left arm; no cell or bread-and-water diet was involved, and a second-class table in the messroom took the place of cockp

note in this book to

non-effective with troublesome cadets, caning over

ond or third class, the fact was re

ss, but no stripes were worn. One day in cell on bread and water; dry bread fo

-except the penitential hour's march with a corporal-turn out one hour earlier, s

which, though not an actual punishment, was duly recorded, and th

our sooner, extra drill, standing on middle deck one hour after prayers, messing at d

hip was first instituted there has not been a single instance of anything like concerte

measures against the introduction of contagious diseases from

ly drastic nature is prescr

the cadets themselves are also marched by terms into the bathroom of the Britannia, which for a

ons, so it was presumably deemed to be ill-advised; and no wonder. Imagine forty

the Britannia during the

19th, 1867. (He held the appointment for

A. C. Foley, appoint

raham, appointed

rfax, appointed A

ed during this decade was 731, w

ve L

ommanders, 162;

red

ommanders, 38;

ent., to be reckoned as dead