26
ww wjiavynews .co .uk
NAVY NEWS, JUNE 2002
Options
FULL CIRCLE FOR NAVAL TRAINING AT RALEIGH
Cambridge is reborn The closure of naval establishments over the last two decades has led to sadness as elements have scattered to new homes in other naval units. Down in the West Country, HMS Raleigh has taken two traditional schools, Naval Military Training from HMS Cambridge and the Royal Naval Submarine School from HMS Dolphin, to her welcoming heart. S WORK has gone on to establish the i schools in their lew home in Cornwall, it's been discovered that for one, it's been a voyage home. It's taken over a century, but Naval Military Training has now returned to its original roots in the West Country. With the closure of HMS Cambridge at Wembury, gunnery training fell to two principal areas. HMS Collingwood welcomed close and medium range gunnery training, and the work of Naval Military Training along with Board and Search went off to a new home in HMS Raleigh. But in fact, military training was finally returning home.
• Fast-roping from a Lynx helicopter with the new Cambridge Building in the background
Submarine School builds new centre for history f
i The entrance to the Heritage Area in the Submarine School
•
^HE ROYAL Naval Submarine School (RNSMS) moved to Raleigh * at the very start of the second millennium, leaving behind its former base at HMS Dolphin. The RNSMS despite its new home is determined not to lose its links to its proud history. And one man particularly has fought hard to keep that history alive. Warrant Officer Coxswain Jim Slater has made sure that the past will not be forgotten. He has pestered, wheedled and worked his charms on a number of industrial firms to produce the Heritage Centre in the Submarine School. Designed and constructed by members of the School, it explains the history and future of the submarines, illustrated by a pictorial timeline that runs around the walls of the area. Many of the fascinating items held within have been donated by organisations such as BAE Systems and other industrial partners closely connected with the world of the submariner. In words of praise to one special contributor, Jim says: "We never would have achieved what we have without the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport - they're the silent partners here, really."
The lead Naval Military Training School is now firmly based in the traditionally-titled Cambridge Building in Raleigh's vast and green estate, and trains officers and rates in all aspects of individual and ships' protection skills. But as the turf was turned and foundations laid for the new dedicated facility at Raleigh, unexpected metal and brick foundations were uncovered that did not exist in any site drawings. The Military Training Staff set out with determination to find out any details on the structure at which these remains hinted. After an in-depth investigation, it was discovered that these were the original foundations of a gymnasium and drill shed that had been part of "The Field". This intriguing title was given to some land that had been leased from local landowner Sir Reginald Carew Pole by the Admiralty for use in training men from the gunnery school as landing parties. The first West Country gunnery school began in 1838 when a floating hulk, HMS San Josef, was moored in Plymouth Sound for use for gunnery training. In 1869 the title HMS Cambridge first appeared on the gunnery horizon, when the San Josef was replaced by a redundant three-deck sailing ship HMS Windsor Castle - renamed after the Duke of the fenland city. At this time, sailors were frequently landed to act alone or in support of the Army; and the Royal Naval Landing Parties always acquitted themselves with distinction. To keep the quality of these men to the highest standard, the Admiralty took on "The Field" to serve as a dedicated area for the practice of rifle, pistol and cutlass drills. A considerable part of their shore training focused on infantry and field gun skills with drills and practices unrecognisable nowadays in skirmishing, entrenching and the formation of hollow squares for defence against cavalry. The small arms ranges used by the sailor of the time are little changed in their use today. Over the course of time "The Field" developed with drill shed, armoury, canteen and parade ground. By 1902 the addition of a gymnasium, accommodation and a
• A student on the Small Arms Trainer in Cambridge Building boiler house made "The Field" a standalone facility. This amphibian combination of floating and land-based units remained until in 1907 accommodation moved to shore-based location HMS Vivid - now HMS Drake. Just before the start of World War II, shore gunnery training arrived at its familiar home of Wembury Point, and development of the site continued after the War. In 1956, the remainder of the shore facilities left their home in "The Field" and elsewhere around Plymouth to establish the Naval Gunnery School at Wembury Point at HMS Cambridge. So for almost fifty years, every officer and rating who specialised in Gunnery passed through the gates of Cambridge.
N
The fast-changing global situation means that Navy personnel must be multi-skilled with a high level of small arms training and prepared for board and search operations anywhere in the world. Ship teams are right now enforcing government policy in counter-drug trafficking in the West Indies, embargo enforcement off Iraq and policing duties off the UK coastline. The dedicated training facilities include a roping tower used for trainees to carry out practice drills descending the rope before bodily hurling themselves out of helicopters. In addition stands a threetier stack of ISO containers as used by commercial ships that have to be searched by personnel launching themselves off the top rigged up with climbing equipment, boltcutting the locked padlocks and breaking into the hidden interior. Adjacent to the new building stands a helicopter landing pad to allow real-life roping practice. A staff of 58, primarily Senior Rates, supported by 10 Royal Marines provides training for the 7,500 students who pass through specialist military training courses every year.
ow Cambridge lives again but back in its original "The Field" home. The new Naval Military Training School located at Cambridge Building has the finest Range complex and Military Training facilities within the Royal Navy and allows for the first time all aspects of naval military training to be taught centrally with a significant improvement on the facilities previously available. Trevol Range complex consists of a 600 metre electronic target range for rifle firings and two 25 metre Barrack ranges for pistol and rifle firings. Inside the purposebuilt building is a computerised Small Arms Trainer that allow realistic marksmanship to be practised and honed. Computer images are projected to display targets at differing ranges that can be hit by sharp-eyed marksman using 556 rifles and 9mm pistols wired to the computer world. Classrooms are all fully IT-fitted and military training now has an upto-date modern facility that reflects its increasingly vital role in the world today. The fully-equipped School also offers a unique training facility in the Board and Search element, where Royal Navy and Royal Marines personnel are trained in techniques that can be used throughout the world to combat the increasing threats of smuggling, piracy and terrorism. • Fast-roping practice tower
So in amongst the rolling green hills of Cornwall, new homes keep alive their links with the past as part of a proud tradition of Royal Navy heritage. And HMS Raleigh, the establishment, continues to swell with the future and past of Naval life.