Bermuda Sea Cadet Corps
Encyclopedia
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
historical maritime economy, and its long period as a naval base and dockyard, there were no Sea Cadet
Sea Cadet Corps (United Kingdom)
The Sea Cadet Corps is a UK national youth organisation sponsored by the Royal Navy and open to young people between the ages of 10-18 years old. The SCC is the UK's largest Naval Cadet Force with over 30,000 cadets and adult volunteers...
units on the island before that date. This was even though Army Cadets
Army Cadets
Army Cadets may refer to:* Members of the Army Cadet Force * Members of the Cadet Corps, New Zealand Cadet Forces* Members of the Royal Canadian Army Cadets* Members of the American Cadet Alliance Army Brigade* Members of the Australian Army Cadets...
had been established in the 19th Century, and the Air Training Corps
Air Training Corps
The Air Training Corps , commonly known as the Air Cadets, is a cadet organisation based in the United Kingdom. It is a voluntary youth group which is part of the Air Cadet Organisation and the Royal Air Force . It is supported by the Ministry of Defence, with a regular RAF Officer, currently Air...
had been established locally during the Second World War. A number of former members of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, Royal Naval Reserve
Royal Naval Reserve
The Royal Naval Reserve is the volunteer reserve force of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. The present Royal Naval Reserve was formed in 1958 by merging the original Royal Naval Reserve and the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve , a reserve of civilian volunteers founded in 1903...
, and Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve in Bermuda decided to rectify the omission, and the Corps, effectively a branch of the UK Sea Cadet Corps, but administered separately by a local Executive Council, soon comprised three shore units, known as Training Ships. These are all located on former naval properties. TS Bermuda is located on the grounds of the former Admiralty House, in Spanish Point, Pembroke (near the capital of Bermuda, the City of Hamilton
Hamilton, Bermuda
Hamilton is the capital of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda. It is the territory's financial centre and a major port and tourist destination.-Geography:...
). TS Admiral Somers is named for the founder of Bermuda, and Admiral of the Virginia Company
London Company
The London Company was an English joint stock company established by royal charter by James I of England on April 10, 1606 with the purpose of establishing colonial settlements in North America.The territory granted to the London Company included the coast of North America from the 34th parallel ...
, Sir George Somers
George Somers
This article is about the English naval hero. For the American football player, see George Somers Admiral Sir George Somers was an English naval hero. Born in Lyme Regis, Dorset, the son of John Somers, his first fame came as part of an expedition led by Sir Amyas Preston against the Spanish...
. It is located at Convict Bay, St. George's
St. George's, Bermuda
St. George's , located on the island and within the parish of the same names, was the first permanent settlement on the islands of Bermuda, and is often described as the third successful English settlement in the Americas, after St. John's, Newfoundland, and Jamestown, Virginia. However, St...
, which takes its name from the prison hulks
Hulk (ship)
A hulk is a ship that is afloat, but incapable of going to sea. Although sometimes used to describe a ship that has been launched but not completed, the term most often refers to an old ship that has had its rigging or internal equipment removed, retaining only its flotational qualities...
the Admiralty moored there at the turn of the 18th/19th Centuries, when the area was used as a naval base before the re-location to the West End. The area was also used by the Royal Canadian Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
during the Second World War, commissioned as HMCS Somers Isles
HMCS Somers Isles
HMCS Somers Isles was a temporary training facility for the Royal Canadian Navy in Bermuda from 1944 to 1945.The base was located at Convict's Bay, St. George's Parish...
The last unit, TS Venture, is located on Ireland Island, the core of the Royal Navy lands in Bermuda, and the location of the Royal Naval Dockyard
Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda
HMD Bermuda was the principal base of the Royal Navy in the Western Atlantic between American independence and the Cold War. Bermuda had occupied a useful position astride the homeward leg taken by many European vessels from the New World since before its settlement by England in 1609...
.
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
, or a Lieutenant-Commander, RNR (SCC), with junior officers, Warrant Officer
Warrant Officer
A warrant officer is an officer in a military organization who is designated an officer by a warrant, as distinguished from a commissioned officer who is designated an officer by a commission, or from non-commissioned officer who is designated an officer by virtue of seniority.The rank was first...
s, and Cadet Instructors, Cadet Petty Officers, and cadet ratings making-up the rest of the command structure.
Before the Royal Naval Base on Ireland Island, HMS Malabar, closed in 1995, the Corps maintained a close relationship with it, with the commanding officer of the base having inspected the units annually. Cadets often were attached to Royal Navy vessels for sea experience, and also train on the UK Sea Cadet Corps tall ship, TS Royalist
TS Royalist
TS Royalist is a brig owned and operated as a sail training ship by the of the United Kingdom.-Description:Royalist is 83 GRT and her hull is long, with an overall length of . As well as her sails, she is equipped with two Perkins diesel engines of each...
. The Corps has also taken a leading interest in the building of Bermuda's own tall ship for youth training, the Spirit of Bermuda. Commander Anthony Lightbourne, RNR (SCC) is a Director of the Bermuda Sloop Foundation, which is building the traditionally designed vessel.