Catalogue description Records of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve

In 1858 a Royal Commission was appointed to enquire into the manning of the Royal Navy. One of its recommendations was for the establishment of a reserve force of merchant seamen who could be called upon for service in the Royal Navy in times of emergency. As a result the Royal Naval Reserve (Volunteer) Act was passed in 1859 which allowed for such recruitment (to an upper limit of 30,000 men). Thus the Royal Naval Reserve provided the Royal Navy with an invaluable body of men with experience of the sea should a crisis arise.

By the end of the first year (1860), the number enrolled was 2,800, which rose to 8,000 in 1861 and 14,000 in 1862. By 1890, 20,000 men had been enrolled. Commissioned ranks were created for the RNR in 1861 when the Admiralty was authorised to enrol masters and mates of the Merchant Service who had the necessary certificates to serve as officers. In 1864, engineers were added to the list of officers eligible for enrolment. In 1872 midshipmen under the age of 18 from amongst those educated in the Conway or Worcester were added to the list of officers.

When the expansion of the Royal Navy became necessary in the 1890's, it was soon found that while ships could be built in two or three years more than double that time was needed to train a lieutenant. Permanent RN commissions were therefore granted in 1895 to 100 officers of the Merchant Service, of whom 90 came from the RNR. In 1898 a further 50 RNR officers were transferred. (These were irreverently known as the "hungry hundred"" and "famishing fifty""). Several gained distinction in the First World War and some attained Flag rank.

An Accountant Branch of the RNR was established on a permanent basis in 1904. In that year also the rank of Commander, RNR, was introduced.

The Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) was created in June 1903 by the Naval Forces Act 1903 c6, by the provisions of which volunteers were expected to serve anywhere in time of war where 'the Admiralty had a need of their services'. Volunteers joined for a period of three years and undertook to attend drills and conform to the customs of naval service. The RNVR came under the command of the Admiral Superintendent of Coastguards and Reserves, although details of organisation and management were handled by the Naval Volunteer Committee under the chairmanship of CEH Chadwyck-Healy.

On the proclamation of war in August 1914 the volunteers were summoned to report at their divisional headquarters but very few, other than signal ratings and tradesmen were drafted to ships of the Fleet. Instead, he majority were ordered into camps in Kent to become part of two new naval brigades, along with reservists from the Royal Naval Reserve and the Royal Fleet Reserve. These brigades later became the Royal Naval Division, a naval fighting force on land which saw distinguished service in the Dardanelles in 1915 and on the Western Front from 1916.