The Story of the "Britannia": The training ship for naval cadets. With some account of previous methods of naval education, and of the new scheme of 1903.Statham, Edward Phillips
History
The Story of the "Britannia": The training ship for naval cadets. With some account of previous methods of naval education, and of the new scheme of 1903.
Statham, Edward Phillips
Britannia (Ship); Great Britain. Royal Navy; Naval education -- Great Britain
Of these, Mr. J. H. Spanton, the senior drawing master, has been 36
years in the ship; Mr. P. Brunel, the senior French master, 28 years;
Mr. Hamilton Williams, the English master, 27 years; and Mr. Tims, the
chief naval instructor, is in his twentieth year. In the past, there
have been several naval instructors who have remained for over 20
years--to wit, Mr. A. C. Johnson, 24 years; the Rev. J. C. P. Aldous,
23 years; Mr. W. W. Lane, 22 years; Mr. G. B. Mason, 22 years.
Mr. Aldous, it will be recollected, was appointed, in 1875, as chief
naval instructor, though he had never been connected with the Service
in any capacity; during his long tenure of office he retained the
goodwill of all his colleagues, and entirely justified his selection
by the Admiralty for this important post.
Mr. Johnson was--and is--an enthusiast in the science of navigation,
and has published several books on the subject, one of which--on
finding the position of the ship at sea, by observations, in cloudy
weather--has run into over five-and-twenty editions. He also edited a
text-book on trigonometry for the use of the cadets.
[Illustration: MR. G. B. MASON.]
The cadets are divided into two watches, and those who join each term
are divided into two classes, half of each class being in either
watch. Thus, if 64 cadets join in one term, they would be known as
first and second class starboard and first and second class port; and
as one watch is always "out of study"--_i.e._ at seamanship or other
work--the class actually present with the naval instructor would
number sixteen. A cadet captain has charge of this sixteen, and has to
see that they enter and leave the study quietly, and pay due attention
to whatever work they may be about, in the absence of the instructor.
There is also an excellent arrangement by which the boys of each class
have to inform their captain every evening how they have employed
their leisure time; and this has to be accounted for under numerous
headings on a regular form provided for the purpose, and covering a
week, Sunday excepted. Thus, so many will be swimming, or
photographing, walking, playing cricket, tennis, racquets, fives,
etc.; or out in sailing boats or blue gigs, and so on; 23 headings in
all, including "punishment," the total number in the last column
showing that all the class have been accounted for each day; and this
form is presented to the captain on Sunday.
[Illustration: OFFICERS' QUARTERS.
_Photo: Cassell & Co., Ltd._]
The cadet captains are by this means made to feel that they have
certain responsibilities, while it constitutes a decided check on
aimless loafing, which is a bad thing for all boys.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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