HMS ''Raleigh'' is a

stone frigate A stone frigate is a naval establishment on land. 'Stone frigate' is an informal term which has its origin in Britain's Royal Navy (RN), after its use of Diamond Rock, an island off Martinique, as a 'sloop of war' to harass the First French ...

(shore establishment), serving as the

basic training Military recruit training, commonly known as basic training or boot camp, refers to the initial instruction of new military personnel. It is a physically and psychologically intensive process, which resocializes its subjects for the unique dema ...

facility of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

Torpoint Torpoint () is a town and civil parish on the Rame Peninsula in southeast Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated opposite the city of Plymouth across the Hamoaze which is the tidal estuary of the River Tamar. Torpoint had a populatio ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, United Kingdom. It is spread over several square miles, and has damage control simulators and

fire-fighting Firefighting is a profession aimed at controlling and extinguishing fire. A person who engages in firefighting is known as a firefighter or fireman. Firefighters typically undergo a high degree of technical training. This involves structural fir ...

training facilities, as well as a permanently moored training ship, the former HMS ''Brecon''. Its principal function is the delivery of both New Entry Training and Basic Training.

History

HMS ''Raleigh'' was commissioned on 9 January 1940 as a training establishment for Ordinary Seamen following the Military Training Act which required that all males aged 20 and 21 years old be called up for six months full-time military training, and then transferred to the reserve. During the Second World War, 44 sailors and 21 Royal Engineers were killed when a German bomb hit the air-raid shelter they were in at ''Raleigh'' on 28 April 1941. In 1944, the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

took over the base to use as an embarkation centre prior to the

Invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 ( D-Day) with the ...

. ''Raleigh'' was transferred back to the Royal Navy in July 1944 to continue training seamen. Early in 1950, the base became the new entry and engineering training establishment for stoker mechanics. The cruiser was used for "onboard training, boiler room, auxiliary machinery, ships boats etc". The base was modernised in the 1970s, and in the early 1980s, Raleigh took on the Part I training for the

Women's Royal Naval Service The Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS; popularly and officially known as the Wrens) was the women's branch of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. First formed in 1917 for the World War I, First World War, it was disbanded in 1919, then revived in ...

, and Artificer Apprentices as well as adding the Royal Naval Supply School. These had previously taken place at , and HMS ''Pembroke'' respectively. Briefly between 1980 and 1981 it was home to Rowallan Division providing training before entry to BRNC Dartmouth. In 1990, the training of male and female recruits was merged, and over the following ten years the base absorbed the Cookery School (from the Army Catering Corps headquarters) and the Submarine School from . In 2007, phase one training for all new Royal Navy recruits was increased from eight to nine weeks and subsequently ten. Each Recruit was allocated to one of the following Divisions: Cornwell (named after Jack Cornwell VC), Cunningham (named after

Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), Admiral of the Fleet Andrew Browne Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope, (7 January 1883 – 12 June 1963) was a British officer of the Royal Navy during the Second World War. He was List of milit ...

), Fisher (named after

John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), Admiral of the Fleet John Arbuthnot Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher, (25 January 1841 – 10 July 1920), commonly known as Jacky or Jackie Fisher, was a British Admiral of the Fleet. His efforts to reform the Royal ...

), Gould (named after Thomas William Gould VC), Hanson (named after Shaun Hanson, an Acting Steward who was onboard HMS ''Ardent'' during the

Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...

), Nelson (named after

Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...

) and Neptune (named after the cruiser HMS ''Neptune''), and Corporate (named after Operation Corporate). HMS ''Raleigh'' was the home of Defence Maritime Logistics School (DMLS) prior to moving to

Worthy Down Camp MOD Worthy Down is a tri-service establishment in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It forms part of the wider Winchester Garrison and houses the headquarters of the Defence School of Logistics and Administration (DSLA), as well as the headquarter ...

in 2020.

Role

The base provides courses in

military training Military education and training is a process which intends to establish and improve the capabilities of military personnel in their respective roles. Military training may be voluntary or compulsory duty. It begins with recruit training, proceed ...

seamanship Seamanship is the skill, art, competence (human resources), competence, and knowledge of operating a ship, boat or other craft on water. The'' Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford Dictionary'' states that seamanship is "The skill, techniques, o ...

and

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

operations. It also delivers training for crews preparing for operational deployments. The base is also home to part of MWS (Maritime Warfare School) Triumph, the Seaman Specialist School, the Submarine School and HM Royal Marines Band

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

Captain, New Entry Training Establishment (HMS ''Raleigh'')

Post holders included: * Rear-Admiral Charles Otway Alexander: October 1939 – March 1944 * Captain Harold Hickling: September 1944 – January 1945 * Captain Alexander H. Maxwell-Hyslop: January 1945 – June 1946 * Captain George F. Stevens-Guille: June 1946 – February 1948 * Captain Philip C. Taylor: February 1948 – May 1949 * Captain Iain G. Maclean: May 1949 – December 1950 * Captain William E.C. Davy: December 1950 – September 1953 * Captain Ivan O. Backhouse: September 1953 – June 1955 * Captain William G. Pulvertaft: June 1955 – July 1957 * Captain Archibald G. Forman: July 1957 – May 1959 * Captain John A. Osborne: May 1959 – June 1961 * Captain George C. Crowley: June 1961 – May 1963 * Captain Denis Jermain: May 1963 – February 1965 * Captain Peter White: February 1965 – March 1967 * Captain Peter G.R. Mitchell: March 1967 – February 1969 * Captain James F.R. Weir: February 1969 – April 1971 * Captain Malcolm C. Denman: April 1971 – July 1973 * Captain Henry E. Howard: July 1973 – February 1976 * Captain Robert W.F. Gerken: February 1976 – February 1978 * Captain Richard E. Lambert: February 1978 – October 1979 * Captain John Jacobsen: October 1979 – March 1982 * Captain Brian R. Outhwaite: March 1982 – February 1984 * Captain Brian T. Brown: February 1984–1985 * Captain Robert C.F. Hill: 1986–1987 * Captain Peter J. Grindal: October 1987–1989 * Captain John C.L. Wright: 1989–1991 * Captain Richard O. Irwin: April 1990 – October 1992 * Captain Peter A. Dunt: October 1992–1994 * Captain Richard A.Y. Bridges: 1994 – September 1995 * Commodore Hugh W. Rickard: September 1995–1998 * Commodore Roger G. Lockwood: 1998–2000 * Commodore Laurence P. Brokenshire: 2000 – July 2003 * Commodore David W. Pond: July 2003 – January 2006 * Commodore W. John Keegan: January 2006 – January 2008 * Commodore S. Jonathan Woodcock: January 2008 – December 2009 * Captain Stephen Murdoch: December 2009 – September 2012 * Captain Robert Fancy: September 2012 – September 2014 * Captain Robert J.A. Bellfield: September 2014 – September 2016 * Captain Eleanor L. Ablett: September 2016 – September 2018 * Captain Richard Harris: September 2018 – September 2020 * Captain Suzi Nielsen: September 2020 – September 2022 * Captain Jane Roe: September 2022 – present

References

{{Royal Navy shore establishments Royal Navy bases in England Military of the United Kingdom in Cornwall World War II sites in England Royal Navy shore establishments Training establishments of the Royal Navy

History

Role

Captain, New Entry Training Establishment (HMS ''Raleigh'')

See also

References