ETS basic training photo April 1943 back row 6th from left20241001 20094654

HMS ''Royal Arthur'' was a

shore establishment 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 French in ...

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 ...

, initially at Ingoldmells near

Skegness Skegness ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey District of Lincolnshire, England. On the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea, the town is east of Lincoln and north-east of Boston. With a population of 21,128 as of 2021 ...

, and later at

Corsham Corsham is a historic market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in west Wiltshire, England. It is at the southwestern edge of the Cotswolds, just off the A4 road (England), A4 national route. It is southwest of Swindon, east of ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

. During the Second World War, the former holiday camp at Ingoldmells was used to mainly train 'Hostilities Only' (for the duration of the war only) communications branch ratings and officers (signalmen, telegraphists, coders and wireless operators).

Skegness

Shortly after the start of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the Admiralty requisitioned the

Butlins Butlin's is a chain of large Seaside resort, seaside resorts in the United Kingdom, incorporated as Butlins Skyline Limited. Butlin's was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families. Between 1936 and 1 ...

holiday camp at Ingoldmells near

to be the first ''Royal Arthur''

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 ...

(land based establishment). It was commissioned as a training establishment on 22 September 1939. Over 4000 naval personnel were based at Royal Arthur at one time. In 1942 a lowflying German bomber wrecked dozens of the chalets and killed four men. It served throughout the Second World War as the central reception depot for new naval recruits after HMS ''Raleigh'' was transferred to the British Army in February 1944. ''Royal Arthur'' continued in service until being paid off in 1946.

Corsham

The establishment was recommissioned on 2 January 1947 in Westwells Road,

as a leadership training establishment, and one of several assessment camps where new recruits were assessed, kitted out and sent to their various depots. The last recruits arrived on 31 October 1949 and on 15 March 1950 it ceased to be used for training

National Service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

inductees and concentrated on leadership training of

Petty Officer A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies. Often they may be superior to a seaman, and subordinate to more senior non-commissioned officers, such as chief petty officers. Petty officers are usually sailors that have ...

s at the instigation of Lord Louis Mountbatten. The name was then transferred to the recently paid off Camp Kingsmoor on 16 March 1950. The camp continued in service until the last trainees left on 11 December 1992 and personnel finally left on 5 March 1993. The site suffered heavy vandalism since its abandonment and in 2014 the site was demolished to build a retirement home complex, complete with a spa and restaurant.

Gallery

File:Royal Arthur Memorial.jpg, HMS Royal Arthur commemorative stone in

File:Butlins Skegness Memorial 1 (Nigel Coates).jpg, Butlins Skegness Memorial File:HMS Royal Arthur Corsham Road View.jpg, HMS Royal Arthur Corsham site in 2011

References

Footnotes

External links