HMS King Alfred is a 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...

 unit located on Whale Island

Whale Island, Hampshire

Whale Island is a small island in Portsmouth Harbour, close by Portsea Island. It is currently home to HMS Excellent, the oldest shore training establishment within the Royal Navy, and the Headquarters of Commander in Chief, Fleet.-Early history:...

, Portsmouth

Portsmouth

Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...

, within in the vicinity of HMNB Portsmouth

HMNB Portsmouth

Her Majesty's Naval Base Portsmouth is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the British Royal Navy...

. The unit has a complement of over 200 reservists and provides training facilities to other Naval Reserve units.

HMS King Alfred opened on 1 April 1994 and was commissioned on 8 June that year, replacing the recently closed units at and . The unit is affiliated with Southampton University Royal Naval Unit

University Royal Naval Unit

A University Royal Naval Unit is a Royal Navy training establishment connected to a university, or a number of universities concentrated in one area...

 and Bearwood College

Bearwood College

Bearwood College is a secondary co-educational independent school located at Bearwood House at Sindlesham, near Wokingham, in the English county of Berkshire. Before the 1990s, it was the Royal Merchant Navy School.-History of the house:...

 Combined Cadet Force

Combined Cadet Force

The Combined Cadet Force is a Ministry of Defence sponsored youth organisation in the United Kingdom. Its aim is to "provide a disciplined organisation in a school so that pupils may develop powers of leadership by means of training to promote the qualities of responsibility, self reliance,...

 and provides local representation at events including the Ship Festival, in Chichester

Chichester

Chichester is a cathedral city in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, South-East England. It has a long history as a settlement; its Roman past and its subsequent importance in Anglo-Saxon times are only its beginnings...

; and the Remembrance Sunday

Remembrance Sunday

In the United Kingdom, 'Remembrance Sunday' is held on the second Sunday in November, which is the Sunday nearest to 11 November Armistice Day. It is the anniversary of the end of hostilities in the First World War at 11 a.m...

 services in Portsmouth and Hove

Hove

Hove is a town on the south coast of England, immediately to the west of its larger neighbour Brighton, with which it forms the unitary authority Brighton and Hove. It forms a single conurbation together with Brighton and some smaller towns and villages running along the coast...

. Members of the unit are also honorary freedom holders

Freedom of the City

Freedom of the City is an honour bestowed by some municipalities in Australia, Canada, Ireland, France, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, Gibraltar and Rhodesia to esteemed members of its community and to organisations to be honoured, often for service to the community;...

of the City of Portsmouth.