The Royal Naval Chaplaincy Service provides

chaplains A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a ho ...

to 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 ...

. The chaplains are commissioned by the Sovereign but do not hold military rank other than that of "Chaplain Royal Navy". The senior chaplain in the Royal Navy is the Chaplain of the Fleet, the current post holder being Andrew Hillier, an Anglican priest, who is also the Archdeacon for the Royal Navy. Chaplains do not hold a standard military rank, and are usually addressed as Padre, Reverend, or, more informally, Bish. The majority of Chaplains are recruited from a number of

Christian denominations A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

, however to better reflect the changing demographics of the United Kingdom and HM forces, as already established in the NHS, HM Prisons and UK Universities, the Ministry of Defence announced in November 2023 it would begin recruiting Non-Religious Pastoral Support Officers in 202

Training

Chaplains join the Royal Navy as experienced clergy of their denomination. They undergo naval training at

Britannia Royal Naval College Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth, also known as Dartmouth, is the naval academy of the United Kingdom and the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy. It is located on a hill overlooking the port of Dartmouth, Devon, En ...

alongside other

officer cadets. Those serving with the Royal Marines may be selected to attempt commando training: if successful they become Royal Navy Commandos and wear the Commando

green beret The green beret was the official headdress of the British Commandos, a special-forces unit active during World War II. It is still worn by members of the Royal Marines after passing the Commando Course, and personnel from other units of the Roy ...

and, on No 1 uniform, the Commando Dagger badge. Those who serve with the Submarine Service may earn their submarine service "Dolphins".

Chaplains of the Fleet

The role of Chaplain of the Fleet, being Head of the Naval Chaplains, was established on 13 May 1859, and was originally attached to the role of Senior Chaplain at Greenwich Hospital and was also the Inspector of Naval Schools. An Order in Council issued by King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

in August 1902 granted the ecclesiastical dignity of

archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denomina ...

on the Chaplain of the Fleet. :Thomas Ken was appointed Chaplain of the Fleet by King Charles II in 1683. * 1859–1865: ''Unknown'' * 1865–1871: William Guise-Tucker * 1871–1876: ''Unknown'' * 23 November 18761882 (retd): John Cawston * 1882–1888: John Harbord * 188817 January 1899 (retd): John Cox-Edwards * 18991 March 1901 (retd): John Berry * 19016 October 1906 (retd): Stuart Harris * 19061 December 1917 (retd):

Hugh Wood Hugh Wood (27 June 1932 – 14 August 2021) was a British composer. Biography Wood was born in Parbold, Lancashire and grew up in a musical family; while still a teenager, he was encouraged by the composer Alan Bush. He was educated at Oundle ...

* 1917–1924: Charles Ingles * 192429 January 1929 (retd):

Robert McKew Right Rev. Robert McKew (16 February 1872''1939 England and Wales Register'' – 11 October 1944) was an Irish Anglican priest in the 20th century. McKew was born on Valentia Island, County Kerry. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin and ...

* 1929–1933: Walter Knight-Adkin * 1933–1935: Charles Peshall * 19354 October 1938 (retd): Arthur Gilbertson * 1938–1943:

Thomas Crick Thomas Crick, (17 March 1885 – 13 November 1970) was an Anglican priest in the middle part of the 20th century. Life Crick was born in 1885 and educated at St Edmund's School, Canterbury and Brasenose College, Oxford. Ordained in 1909 h ...

* 1943–1947:

John Wilson John Wilson may refer to: Academics * John Wilson (historian) (1799–1870), author of ''Our Israelitish Origin'' (1840), a founding text of British Israelism * John Wilson (agriculturalist) (1812–1888), British agriculturalist * John Matthias ...

* 194715 May 1952: Leonard Coulshaw * 1952–1956: Noel Chamberlain * 1956–1960:

Darrell Bunt Frederick Darrell Bunt (3 July 1902 – 31 October 1977) was Chaplain of the Fleet and Archdeacon of the Royal Navy from 1956 to 1960. Educated at the City of London School and St Chad's College, Durham, Bunt was ordained in 1927.Crockford's C ...

* 19605 March 1963 (retd): John Armstrong * 15 May 196318 March 1966 (retd): Raymond Richardson * 18 March 19666 May 1969: Christopher Prior * 8 April 19699 June 1972 (retd):

Ambrose Weekes Ambrose Walter Marcus Weekes (25 April 191924 April 2012) was an Anglo-CatholicDaily Telegraph obituary Issue no 48,822 dated 17 May 201Online version(Retrieved 16 January 2017) bishop in the 20th century who served as the first Suffragan Bish ...

* 14 April 19721975:

Chandos Morgan Chandos Clifford Hastings Mansel Morgan, (12 August 1920 – 1 January 1993) was a Church of England priest and military chaplain. He was Chaplain of the Fleet and Archdeacon of the Royal Navy from 1972 to 1975. Early life Morgan was born on 1 ...

* 4 December 19751980:

Basil O'Ferrall Basil Arthur O’Ferrall (24 August 1924 – 23 June 2006) was an Anglican priest in the second half of the 20th century. He was born on 24 August 1924 and educated at St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, St Patrick’s Cathedral Grammar School, Dubl ...

* 28 March 19801984: Raymond Roberts * 11 June 19841989: Noël Jones * 1989–1994: Michael Henley * 1994–1997:

Michael Bucks Michael William Bucks (2 June 1940 – 20 July 1997) was a Church of England priest who served as Royal Navy chaplain. He was Chaplain of the Fleet, Director General of the Naval Chaplaincy Service and Archdeacon for the Royal Navy from 1993 u ...

* 1997–1999:

Simon Golding Simon Jefferies Golding, (born 30 March 1946) is a Church of England priest and former Royal Navy chaplain. He was Chaplain of the Fleet, Director General of the Naval Chaplaincy Service and Archdeacon for the Royal Navy from 2000 to 2002. He w ...

‘GOLDING, Ven. Simon Jefferies’, Who's Who 2012, A & C Black, 2012; online edition, Oxford University Press, December 201
accessed 25 November 2012
/ref> * 1999–2000: Charles Stewart * 2000–2002: Simon Golding * 2002–2006: Barry Hammett * 2006–2010:

John Green John Michael Green (born August 24, 1977) is an American author and YouTuber. His books have more than 50 million copies in print worldwide, including ''The Fault in Our Stars'' (2012), which is one of the List of best-selling books#Bet ...

* 2010–2014: Scott J. Brown * 2014–2018: Ian Wheatley * 2018–2021: Martyn Gough *22 June 2021present: Andrew Hillier

References

External links

Chaplaincy Service - Royal Navy
-

official website {{Admiralty Department, state=collapsed Military supporting service occupations Organisations based in Portsmouth Religion in Hampshire Religion in the military Religion in the United Kingdom Religious occupations

Training

Chaplains of the Fleet

See also

References

Further reading

External links