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The
Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original ...
are a part 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 ...
of the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
.


Background


Impressment

As 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 ...
came to its more modern organisation during the 17th century it adopted the practice of
impressment Impressment, colloquially "the press" or the "press gang", is a type of conscription of people into a military force, especially a naval force, via intimidation and physical coercion, conducted by an organized group (hence "gang"). European nav ...
to provide the bulk of the crews. The process of impressment was not suitable for the recruiting of
officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...
, and the procedure adopted there was that officers received a basic pay for their rank when they were holding an appointment and half of that when between appointments (half-pay). Officers in command of ships or establishments received additional 'Command money' which varied with the status of the ship or establishment involved.


'Prize' scheme

Officers and men also received extra payments under the 'Prize' scheme. While this could arise in several different ways the most common by far was the capture of an enemy ship and its subsequent purchase by the Navy (a feasible process with wooden ships). For the ordinary sailor the amount was typically a few shillings (although this represented several months pay) but for the
commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...
it typically amounted to hundreds of pounds. Thus many
captains Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
had estates ashore which gave them an alternative income. Junior officers were in a much more parlous state, as it was not really possible to keep a home on the
half pay Half-pay (h.p.) was a term used in the British Army and Royal Navy of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries to refer to the pay or allowance an officer received when in retirement or not in actual service. Past usage United Kingdom In the E ...
for a Lieutenant. This was part of the reason why marriage by junior officers was so frowned upon.


Volunteering campaigns

Impressment was eventually dropped in the early part of the 19th century in a move to encourage seamen to volunteer for full career employment in the naval service. This was fine for the numbers required during peacetime when many vessels were laid up in reserve but it meant that some means had to be provided to produce the extra men needed when the fleet expanded in time of war. An Act of Parliament of 1835 had established The Register of Seamen to identify men for naval service in the event of war, but in 1854 just 400 volunteered for duty out of 250,000 on the Register. The Register of Seamen was supplemented in 1853 with the creation of the Royal Naval Coast Volunteers (RNCV) comprising boatmen and fishermen who would undertake limited (geographic) service in the Navy during a conflict. This meant the
Baltic fleet The Baltic Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Baltic Sea. Established 18 May 1703, under Tsar Peter the Great as part of the Imperial Russian Navy, the Baltic Fleet is the oldest Russian fleet. In 1918, the fleet w ...
of Admiral Charles Napier was seriously undermanned for the blockade of Russia's Baltic ports during the Crimean War, and as an MP Napier campaigned for improvements in the treatment of sailors. This led to a
Royal Commission A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equi ...
on Manning the Navy in 1858 which resulted in a new Act of Parliament in 1859. This authorised the raising of a new pool of volunteer seamen from the Merchant Service and
fishing fleet A fishing fleet is an aggregate of commercial fishing Ship, vessels. The term may be used of all vessels operating out of a particular port, all vessels engaged in a particular type of fishing (as in the "tuna fishing fleet"), or all fishing vessel ...
who would undertake annual training in gunnery with the Navy and be called out for service in the fleet by
royal proclamation A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations ...
in time of war. By 1862 there were 12,000 volunteers in the new force.


Establishment

The new force was named the
Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original ...
(RNR) and was originally for ratings but in 1861 this was extended to officers who wore distinctive rank lace consisting of interwoven chain links. Officers and men ranked in seniority with but behind their Royal Navy counterparts. A number of naval hulks were moored in the major seaports around Britain to facilitate gunnery training of seamen when they came in from foreign voyages. Officers spent longer periods of up to one or two years training in shore establishments and in ships of the fleet at home and abroad to acclimatise themselves with naval practice.


Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve

At the start of the 20th century with a period of rapid naval expansion taking place it was realised that the RNR could not supply the required number of trained men and a scheme was introduced that allowed men in
civilian A civilian is a person who is not a member of an armed force. It is war crime, illegal under the law of armed conflict to target civilians with military attacks, along with numerous other considerations for civilians during times of war. If a civi ...
shore jobs (unconnected with the sea) to train on a part-time basis at special shore establishments, and provided the valuable experience of real time with the fleet for a few weeks a year once a certain level of competence had been achieved. This was the
Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Roya ...
(RNVR), known as the 'Wavy Navy' on account of the rank stripes (rings) on officers sleeves being wavy rather than straight. The RNVR was organised in 'Divisions' whose names were taken from the place where the main centre was situated. London,
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
and most large
seaports A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manche ...
had such divisions. Each division was commanded by a Captain.


The Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve

In 1902, the Admiralty Lords decided to establish a Royal Naval Reserve unit at St. John's,
Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...
. HMS ''Calypso'', a small older cruiser, was sent across the Atlantic to provide accommodation. 600 men, overwhelmingly local fishermen and seamen, were recruited. Many were seconded for training to the North Atlantic and West Indies Squadron. During the First World War the Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve served with the regular navy and in 1916 the ''Calypso'' was renamed the H.M.S. ''Briton''.


Decline

In the late 1930s, The
Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Tra ...
realised that the numbers available would not meet the needs of the fast approaching war and created the Royal Naval Volunteer Supplementary Reserve (RNVSR). The main recruits were amateur yachtsmen, who were given sufficient training to get them up to speed in a very high-pressure manner compared with the 'ordinary' RNVR. The RNVSR uniform was the same as the RNVR one. The RNVSR was dropped after World War II. Those who became officers during World War II were considered to have joined the RNVR and wore that service's uniform. Most of the officers in
landing craft Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger. ...
, Coastal Forces and the Atlantic Convoys were RNVR and many regular officers were astonished how well they coped. A significant number achieved command of
corvettes A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloo ...
and even
frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...
s. Quite a few also went into the submarine branch of the service and some achieved command there, the first being Commander E.P. Young DSO, DSC and bar, who commanded HMS ''Storm''.


See also

*
Royal Naval Patrol Service The Royal Naval Patrol Service (RNPS) was a branch of the Royal Navy active during both the First and Second World Wars. The RNPS operated many small auxiliary vessels such as naval trawlers for anti-submarine and minesweeping operations to prot ...
*
Royal Australian Naval Reserve The Royal Australian Naval Reserve (RANR) is the volunteer reserve force of the Royal Australian Navy in Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Austra ...
* Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:History Of The Royal Naval Reserve History of the Royal Navy