Royal Naval Patrol Service
Royal Naval Patrol Service | |
---|---|
The HMT Ailsa Craig, a minesweeping Isles-class trawler of the RNPS, 1944 | |
Active | 1914–1919, 1939-1945 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | Royal Navy |
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 protect coastal Britain and convoys.
History
The Royal Naval Patrol Service has its origins in the Great War when the threat of mine warfare was first realized by the British Admiralty. The pre-war Commander-in-Chief of the Home Fleet, Admiral Lord Charles Beresford, is credited with recommending the use of Grimsby trawlers for minesweeping operations following visits he made to various East Coast Ports in 1907. Grimsby, with its impressive docklands and trawler fleet was seen as ideal, with the Commander-in-Chief arguing that the fishing fleet would be inactive in times of war as fishing grounds became war zones.[1] It was also thought that trawlermen would be more skilled than naval ratings with regards to the handling of the sizeable warps and winches that would be required for mine sweeping as they were already accustomed to using them with the working of the trawl. The Admiralty Minesweeping Division remained active throughout the remainder of World War I until the end of the war when the trawlers were returned to their owners to resume fishing operations and the division was disbanded.
The need for a skilled minesweeping force was recognised to be a part of modern naval warfare and the Royal Navy later commissioned one flotilla of fleet minesweepers for the instruction of ratings and junior officers. Three trawlers were then added to the group along with the re-introduction of training in the Trawler Section of the Royal Naval Reserve and, under the new name of the Royal Naval Patrol Service courses in training began at Portland. As tensions mounted in the years before the Second World War training intensified for officers and ratings and experiments and developments in sweeping methods and equipment were carried out, including improvements made to the Oropesa Sweep, named after the trawler that first tried the method in 1918.
In the summer of 1939 the Admiralty purchased 67 trawlers with a further 20 newly constructed and at the outbreak of World War II every available minesweeper of the Royal Navy and Royal Naval Patrol Service was at her war station.[1] HMS Europa, usually known as Sparrow's Nest, became the Central Depot of the Royal Naval Patrol Service, located at Lowestoft, the most easterly point of Great Britain, and then the closest British military establishment to the enemy until decommissioned in 1946. The Lowestoft War Memorial Museum in the town is housed in the old Royal Naval Patrol Service headquarters building.
This eventually became the training and drafting base for more than 70,000 men, who manned 6,000 small craft of numerous types, including trawlers, whalers, drifters, MFVs (Motor Fishing Vessels), MLs (Motor Launches), and later MMS (Motor Minesweepers or "Mickey Mouses"), American produced BYMS (British Yard Mine Sweepers) and numerous requisitioned vessels.[2]
Grimsby once again proved its worth in service to minesweeping, becoming the largest minesweeper base in Britain, and making possible the clearing of 34,858 mines from vital sea lanes by the brave men of the sweepers.[3]
Between 1942 and its decommissioning in 1946 new construction ships and craft manned by the Service totalled 1,637 of various kinds including converted trawlers, corvettes, fuel carriers, motor launches and naval seaplane tenders. Of this total, from September 1939 through to May 1945, approximately 260 trawlers were lost in action... This material loss however pales into insignificance when compared to the 15,000 or so, RNPS personnel who were killed in the Second World War, including the 2385 RNPS seaman who "have no known grave but the sea".[4]
The advantages of using small ships for minesweeping and other duties had been recognised in the First World War and many of the crews of the peacetime fishing fleets had been encouraged to join the Royal Naval Reserve. Because the majority were Reservists the RNPS became a "Navy within a Navy".[2]
Because it used out-dated and poorly armed vessels, such as requisitioned trawlers crewed by ex-fishermen, the RNPS came to bear a number of unofficial titles that poked fun at it, such as "Harry Tate's Navy", "Churchill's pirates" and "Sparrows".
The name 'Harry Tates' dates back to the First World War and was used as jargon for anything clumsy and amateurish. It originated from an old music hall entertainer who would play the clumsy comic who couldn't get to grips with various contraptions. His act included a car that gradually fell apart around him. By the start of World War II it had been adopted by the Royal Navy and used for the purpose of poking fun at the trawlers and drifters of the Royal Naval Patrol Service. In true RNPS style they took it on the chin and the title of Harry Tate's Navy was proudly adopted. As the war went on it was to become a worthy password for courage.[5]
Because the peacetime crews became Naval seamen together they developed a special camaraderie. This camaraderie continued in the Service throughout World War II, even though by the end most RNPS members were "hostilities only"[6] who had had little connection with the sea before the war.[7]
The Royal Naval Patrol Service suffered over 250 lost vessels, more than any other branch of the Royal Navy[8] Because of the dangers and losses faced by the men of the Royal Naval Patrol service, they were honoured in a statement made by Churchill and by a unique silver badge, worn on the sleeve of the serviceman's uniform, that was awarded to those who served six months or more in the RNPS.
MESSAGE FROM THE PRIME MINISTER TO THE OFFICERS AND MEN OF THE MINESWEEPING FLOTILLAS
Now that Nazi Germany has been defeated I wish to send you all on behalf of His Majesty's Government a message of thanks and gratitude.
The work you do is hard and dangerous. You rarely get and never seek publicity; your only concern is to do your job, and you have done it nobly. You have sailed in many seas and all weathers... This work could not be done without loss, and we mourn all who have died and over 250 ships lost on duty.
No work has been more vital than yours; no work has been better done. The Ports were kept open and Britain breathed. The Nation is once again proud of you.
W S Churchill[9]
Operations
The RNPS fought in all theatres of the war, from the Arctic to the Mediterranean, from the Atlantic to the Far East, involved in convoy duty, minesweeping and anti-submarine work. Most particularly they kept the British coast clear of the mines that were wreaking havoc with merchant ships.[2]
One RNPS member, Lieutenant Richard Stannard won the Victoria Cross while in command of the Hull trawler Arab in the Namsos campaign.
Boats of the RNPS
The fighting fleet of the RNPS consisted of a range of vessels. In the days prior to World War II the Grimsby class sloop was used in mine sweeping and anti-submarine operations.[10] This class is named after the port that was first recommended for use in minesweeping with its trawler fleet in 1907 by Commander-in-Chief of the Home Fleet Admiral Lord Beresford.[11] In 1933 four of the new Halcyon-class minesweepers were laid down, regarded as 'fast sweepers'.[12] They were 20 ft shorter than the Grimsby Class as the need for small vessels of shallow draught was recognised as crucial for working in minefields.[13] By 1939, with the threat of war imminent, the more economically and rapidly built 'whale catcher' Flower-class corvettes were built.
With war now a certainty, the Admiralty expanded minesweeping fleets by purchasing 67 trawlers and ordering a further 20 trawlers to be purpose built,[14] recognising their ideal suitability for sweeping. Hundreds more vessels would be requisitioned by the Admiralty as the war continued and more purpose built vessels were developed, including specially designed timber-hulled Motor MineSweepers (MMS class) that would be better protected from the threat of magnetic mines.[15]
See also
- Auxiliary Patrol
- Royal Naval Reserve
- History of the Royal Naval Reserve
- Trawlers of the Royal Navy
- Coastal Forces of the Royal Navy
References
- Notes
- ^ a b Ministry of Information, His Majesty's Minesweepers, London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1943
- ^ "BBC2 tv show Coast records memories of Grimsby's wartime minesweepers. - Grimsby Telegraph". Grimsby Telegraph. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
- ^ "Trawlers Lost During WWII". Royal-naval-reserve.co.uk. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
- ^ "Royal Naval Patrol Service". Harry-tates.org.uk. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
- ^ Hostilities only servicemen were enlisted on the condition that they would be discharged at the end of the war
- ^ G. A. Michael Sims. "G. A. Michael Sims (Books)". Rnps.lowestoft.org.uk. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
- ^ "TRAWLERS GO TO WAR". Harry-tates.org.uk. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
- ^ National Archives Ref PREM 3/314/5
- ^ "Steel Sloops". Leander-project.homecall.co.uk. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
- ^ Ministry of Information,His Majesty's Minesweepers,London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1943, P.15
- ^ Ministry of Information,His Majesty's Minesweepers, London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1943, P.20
- ^ "Specifications Halcyon Minesweepers". Halcyon-class.co.uk. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
- ^ Ministry of Information,His Majesty's Minesweepers, London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1943, p.22
- ^ "MMS-1 class Motor Minesweepers". Gb-navy-ww2.narod.ru. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
- Reading List
- Brown, James (1994) Harry Tate's Navy: One Man's Story of the Royal Naval Patrol Service. ISBN 978-0-9522706-1-4
- Featherbe, F.C. (1994) Churchill's Pirates: Royal Naval Patrol Service, 1939–1945, the Veterans' Stories. ISBN 978-0-948305-08-5
- Featherbe, F.C. (1996) More Tales from Churchill's Pirates: Royal Naval Patrol Service, 1939–1945, the Veterans' Stories. ISBN 978-0-948305-09-2
- Lund, Paul and Ludlam, Harry (1971) The Trawlers go to War ISBN 978-0-572-00768-3
- RNPS Book list
- Royal Naval Patrol Service Booklist
- Books about the RNPS
External links
- Royal Naval Patrol Service or Harry Tate's Navy
- Royal Naval Patrol Service on facebook
- Royal Naval Patrol Service Association
- The RN Mine Minewarfare Branch
- History of Minewarfare or Clearance Diving
- YouTube – Minesweeping WW2
- licence
- BBC Archive of World War II memories
- A personal account
- Royal Naval Patrol Service Museum
- v
- t
- e
of Admiralty and Naval affairs
the First Lord
- Board of Admiralty
- Navy Board
- Navy Office
- Navy Pay Office
- Office of the Naval Secretary
- Office of the First Naval Lord
- Office of the First Sea Lord
- Office of the Senior Naval Lord
- Office of the Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty
- Office of the Permanent Secretary to the Admiralty
- Office of the Private Secretary to the First Lord of the Admiralty
Admirals
Naval/Sea Lords
War and Naval Staff
the First Sea Lord
strategy, tactical doctrine
requirements
under the War and
Naval Staff
- Administrative Planning Department
- Administrative Planning Division
- Air Division
- Anti-Submarine Division
- Anti-Submarine and Warfare Division
- Anti-U-boat Division
- Air Warfare Division
- Air Warfare and Fly Training Division
- Air Warfare and Training Division
- Combined Operations Division
- Communications Division
- Convoy Section
- Directorate of Defence Plans (Navy)
- Economic Warfare Division
- Gunnery and Anti-Aircraft Warfare Division
- Gunnery Division
- Gunnery and Torpedo Division
- Historical Section
- Local Defence Division Division
- Mercantile Movements Division
- Naval Air Division
- Naval Air Organisation and Training Division
- Naval Artillery and Torpedoes Division
- Navigation and Direction Division
- Navigation Division
- Minesweeping Division
- Mobilisation Division
- Naval Intelligence Division
- Operations Division
- Operations Division (Home)
- Operations Division (Foreign)
- Operations Division (Mining)
- Plans Division
- Plans Division (Q)
- Press Division
- Signal Division
- Signal Section
- Standardisation Division
- Tactical Division
- Tactical and Weapons Policy Division
- Torpedo Division
- Torpedo, Anti-Submarine and Minewarfare Division
- Trade Division
- Trade and Operations Division
- Training and Staff Duties Division
- Tactical and Staff Duties Division
- Undersurface Warfare Division
and organisations
under the Sea Lords
- Admiralty Area Cash Offices
- Admiralty Central Dockyard Laboratory
- Admiralty Central Metallurgical Laboratory
- Admiralty Civilian Shore Wireless Service
- Admiralty Compass Observatory
- Admiralty Constabulary
- Admiralty Constabulary Headquarters
- Admiralty Engineering Laboratory
- Admiralty Experimental Station
- Admiralty Experiment Works
- Admiralty Gunnery Establishment
- Admiralty Interview Board
- Admiralty Labour Department
- Admiralty Marine Technology Establishment
- Admiralty Materials Laboratory
- Admiralty Mine Design Department
- Admiralty Mining Establishment
- Admiralty Naval Aircraft Materials Laboratory
- Admiralty Record Office
- Admiralty Regional Offices
- Admiralty Research Laboratory
- Admiralty Signal Establishment
- Admiralty Signals and Radar Establishment
- Admiralty Surface Weapons Establishment
- Admiralty Surveying Service
- Admiralty Torpedo Experimental Establishment
- Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment
- Admiralty Underwater Weapons Launching Establishment
- Architectural and Engineering Works Department
- Air Equipment and Naval Photography Department
- Air Department
- Air Materiel Department
- Air Personnel Department
- Amphibious Warfare Headquarters
- Armament Supply Department
- Board of Invention and Research
- Board of Longitude
- Boom Defence Department
- Boom Defence and Marine Salvage Department
- Britannia Royal Naval College
- Chemical Board
- Chemical Department
- Civil Catering Department
- Civil Engineer in Chiefs Department
- Coastguard and Reserves Branch
- Combined Operations Headquarters
- Commissioner for Property and Income-tax for the Naval Department
- Compass Department
- Contract and Purchase Department
- Council of Naval Education
- Dental Examining Board
- Department of Radio Equipment
- Department of the Accountant-General of the Navy
- Department of Aeronautical and Engineering Research
- Department of Miscellaneous Weapons Development
- Department of Naval Assistant (Foreign) to Second Sea Lord
- Department of Naval Education
- Operational Research
- Department of Personal Services and Officer Appointments
- Department of Physical Research
- Department of Physical Training & Sports
- Department of Radio Equipment
- Department of Research Programmes and Planning
- Department of Superintendent of de-magnetisation
- Department of the Admiral of the Training Service
- Department of the Chief Inspector of Naval Ordnance
- Department of the Chief of Naval Information
- Department of the Chief Scientist
- Department of the Civil Engineer-in-Chief
- Department of the Comptroller of Steam Machinery
- Department of the Comptroller of Victualling and Transport Services
- Department of the Controller of the Navy
- Department of the Controller-General of Merchant Shipbuilding
- Department of the Controller for Navy Pay
- Department of the Deputy Controller for Auxiliary Shipbuilding
- Department of the Deputy Controller for Dockyards and Shipbuilding
- Department of the Director Contract-Built Ships
- Department of the Director-General Aircraft
- Department of the Director-General of Manpower
- Department of the Director-General, Supply and Secretariat Branch
- Department of the Director of Aircraft Maintenance and Repair
- Department of the Director of Contract Labour
- Department of the Director of Dockyards
- Department of the Director of Electrical Engineering
- Department of the Director of Manning
- Department of the Director of Merchant Shipbuilding
- Department of the Director of Merchant Shipbuilding and Repairs
- Department of the Director of Merchant Ship Repairs
- Department of the Director of Naval Construction
- Department of the Director of Naval Equipment
- Department of the Director of Naval Recruiting
- Department of the Director of Naval Weather Service
- Department of the Director of Personal Services
- Department of the Director of Physical Training and Sports
- Department of the Director of Torpedoes and Mining
- Department of the Director of Transports
- Department of the Director of Underwater Weapons
- Department of the Director of Underwater Weapons Materials
- Department of the Director of Unexploded Bombs
- Department of the Director of Warship Production
- Department of the Director of Welfare and Service Conditions
- Department of the Director of Wreck Dispersal
- Department of the Flag Officer Sea Training
- Department of the Engineer in Chief
- Department of the Paymaster Director-General
- Department of the Inspector of Anti-Aircraft Weapons
- Department of the Inspector of Dockyard Expense Accounts
- Department of the Inspector-General of Naval Hospitals and Fleets
- Department of the Medical Director-General of the Navy
- Department of the Physician of the Navy
- Department of the Physician General of the Navy
- Department of the Storekeeper-General of the Navy
- Department of the Surveyor of Buildings
- Department of the Surveyor of Dockyards
- Directorate-General, (Naval Manpower and Training)
- Directorate General Training
- Dockyards and Fleet Maintenance Department
- Dockyards Branch
- Dockyard Expense Accounts Department
- Dockyard Schools
- Electrical Engineering Department
- Engineer Branch
- Engineering Department
- Experimental Department
- Fire Control Group
- Greenwich Hospital Department
- Inspector of Telegraphs
- Inspector of Repairs
- Joint Warfare Establishment
- Medical Consultative Board
- Medical Examining Board
- Historical Section
- Hydrographic Department
- Marine Department
- Marine Pay Department
- Materials and Priority Department
- Medical Consultative Board
- Medical Department
- Medical Examining Board
- Movements Department
- Nautical Almanac Office
- Naval Artillery and Torpedo Department
- Naval Engineering College
- Naval Equipment Department
- Naval Historical Branch
- Naval Construction Department
- Naval Intelligence Department
- Naval Medical Service
- Naval Law Division
- Naval Manpower Department
- Naval Mobilisation Department
- Naval Ordnance Department
- Naval Ordnance Inspection Department
- Naval Ordnance Stores Department
- Naval Personnel Services and Officer Appointments Department
- Naval Publicity Department
- Naval Regional Offices
- Naval Reserve Department
- Naval Security Department
- Naval Stores Department
- Naval Training Department
- Naval Works Department
- Navy, Army and Air Force Institute
- Navy and Army Canteen Board
- Navy Works Department
- Navigation Department
- Observatory at the Cape of Good Hope
- Office of the Admiral Commanding Coast Guard and Reserves
- Office of the Admiral Commanding, Reserves
- Office of the Admiralty Chemist
- Office of the Adviser on the Naval Construction to the Board of Admiralty
- Office of the Assistant Controller
- Office of the Assistant Controller Research and Development
- Office of the Clerk of the Journals
- Office of the Chief Polaris Executive
- Office of the Deputy Controller of Navy
- Office of the Deputy Controller Production
- Office of Extra Naval Assistant to Second Sea Lord
- Office of the Inspector Gun Mountings
- Office of the Keeper of Records
- Office of the Senior Psychologist (Naval)
- Office of the Senior Psychologist of the Navy
- Office of the Translator of French and Spanish Languages
- Office of the Vice Controller Air
- Office of the Vice Controller of the Navy
- Organisation and Methods Department
- Packet Service
- Regional Organisation for Merchant Shipbuilding and Repairs
- Royal Corps of Naval Constructors
- Royal Flying Corps
- Royal Marine Police
- Royal Marines Office
- Office of the Chaplain of the Fleet
- Royal Naval Academy
- Royal Naval Aircraft Workshops
- Royal Naval Air Service
- Royal Naval Air Stations
- Royal Naval Armaments Depot
- Royal Naval Auxiliary Service
- Royal Naval Cordite Factories
- Royal Naval Propellant Factory
- Royal Naval College
- Royal Naval College and the School for Naval Architecture
- Royal Naval College, Dartmouth
- Royal Naval College, Greenwich
- Royal Naval College, Keyham
- Royal Naval College, Osborne
- Royal Naval Engineering College
- Royal Naval Film Corporation
- Royal Naval Hospital
- Royal Naval Medical Depot
- Royal Naval Minewatching Service
- Royal Naval Mine Depot
- Royal Naval Patrol Service
- Royal Naval Scientific Service
- Royal Naval Sick Quarters
- Royal Naval Torpedo Depot
- Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve
- Royal Naval War College
- Royal Naval War College, Portsmouth
- Royal Navy Dockyard
- Royal Navy Medical Service
- Royal Navy Shore Signal Service
- Royal Observatory, Greenwich
- Royal School of Naval Architecture
- Salvage Department
- School of Mathematics and Naval Construction
- Scientific Research and Experiment Department
- Sea Transport Branch
- Sea Transport Department
- Sea Transport Division
- Ship Department
- Ship Design Department
- Signal Department
- Signal School
- Sixpenny Office
- Statistics Department
- Steam Department
- Superintendent of De-magnetisation
- Torpedo Experimental Establishment
- Transport Department
- Undersurface Warfare Department
- Victualling Department
- Volunteer Boys and Cadet Corps
- Weapons Department
- Weapons Department (Naval)
- Women's Royal Naval Service
- Wireless Telegraphy Board
- 1st Fleet
- 2nd Fleet
- 3rd Fleet
- Commander-in-Chief, Africa
- Atlantic Fleet
- Commodore, Arabian Seas and Persian Gulf
- Australia Station
- Cape of Good Hope Station
- Cape and West Africa Station
- Battle Cruiser Fleet
- Battle Cruiser Force
- Caspian Flotilla
- Channel Fleet
- Channel Squadron
- Commander-in-Chief, Coast of Ireland
- Cork Station
- Coast of Scotland
- Commander-in-Chief, China
- Commander-in-Chief, Dover
- Flag Officer, East Africa
- East Indies Station
- East Indies and China Station
- Eastern Fleet
- Far East Fleet
- English Channel
- Grand Fleet
- Flag Officer Gibraltar
- Harwich Force
- Home Fleet
- Jamaica Station
- Leith Station
- Commander-in-Chief, Levant
- Levant and East Mediterranean
- Commander-in-Chief, Leeward Islands
- Mediterranean Fleet
- Medway
- Newfoundland Station
- New Zealand Division
- New Zealand Naval Forces
- Nore
- North America and West Indies Station
- Commander-in-Chief, North Sea
- Admiral Commanding, Orkneys and Shetlands
- Pacific Fleet
- Pacific Station
- Admiral of Patrols
- Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth
- Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth
- Queenstown Station
- Royal East African Navy
- Royal Indian Navy
- Flag Officer Submarines
- Commander-in-Chief, Rosyth
- Reserve Fleet
- Scotland and Northern Ireland
- Commander-in-Chief, South Atlantic
- South East Coast of America Station
- Commander-in-Chief, Thames and Medway
- West Africa Squadron
- Flag Officer, West Africa
- Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches
Parliamentary and Financial Secretary
- Department of the Civil Lord of the Admiralty
- Accountant-General's Department
- Comptroller of the Navy
- Department of the Surveyor of the Navy
and the Admiralty Secretariat
- Department of the Permanent Secretary
Permanent Secretary
- Admiralty Central Copying Branch
- Admiralty Central Registry Branch
- Admiralty Record Office
- Admiralty Library
- Admiralty Secretariat
- Air Branch
- Civil Branch
- Legal Branch
- Military Branch
- Naval Branch
- Ship Branch
- Department of the Civil Lord of the Admiralty, Department of the Additional Civil Lord of the Admiralty
Civil Lords
- Accountant-General's Department
- Contract and Purchase Department
- Department of the Director of Contract Labour
- Department of the Surveyor of Buildings
- Department of the Director of Works
- Greenwich Hospital Department
- Works Loan Department
- Admiralty Judicial Department
- Admiralty court
- High Court of Admiralty
- Office of the Judge of the High Court of Admiralty
- High Court of Justice
- Office of the Judge Advocate of the Fleet
- Office of the Marshall High Court of the Admiralty
- Office of the Admiralty Advocate
- Office of the Admiralty Proctor
- Office of the Chief Naval Judge Advocate
- Office of the Counsel for the Affairs of the Admiralty and Navy
- Office of the Counsel to the Admiralty
- Office of the Deputy Judge Advocate of the Fleet
- Office of the Receiver of Droits High Court of Admiralty
- Office of the Registrar High Court of the Admiralty
- Office of the Solicitor for the Affairs of the Admiralty
- Office of the Solicitor to the Admiralty and Navy
- Office of the Solicitor to the Admiralty
- Office of the Counsel to the Admiralty
- Court of Admiralty for the Cinque Ports
- King's Bench Division (Admiralty)
- Queens's Bench Division (Admiralty)
- Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division
- Vice Admiralty courts
- Colonial Courts of Admiralty