Chatham Gunnery School
From The Dreadnought Project
Chatham Gunnery School was instituted in 1908, when operations at Sheerness Gunnery School were relocated to Chatham.
First World War
The data suggest that Chatham was a sort of practical gunnery trade school tasked with providing the bulk of gunnery manpower for small and armed merchant craft with non-professional crews for their weapons. In this regard, it complemented rather than extended the scale of instruction at H.M.S. Excellent.
| Numbers trained by Chatham August, 1914 - August, 1918[1] | |
|---|---|
| Lieuts. (G) | 0 |
| Officers R.N. for T.B.D.s | 1 |
| Other commissioned officers R.N. | 0 |
| R.N.A.S. officers | 0 |
| R.N.V.R. officers | 78 |
| R.N.R. officers | 2289 |
| Gunners [O.C.R. error?] | 75 |
| Gunners (T) | 0 |
| Gunners [O.C.R. error?] | 0 |
| Boatswains | 1 |
| Gunner's Mates | 177 |
| Gunlayer I. | 61 |
| Gunlayer II. | 1064 |
| Gunlayer III. | 32 |
| P.O. (G) | 7 |
| Seaman Gunners | 3688 |
| Rangetakers | 186 |
| Lieut. (G)'s Writers | 13 |
| Divers—Seamen | 123 |
| Divers—Artisan | 32 |
| A.B. | 4134 |
| D.A.M.S. Gunlayers D.A.M.S. 2nd Hands |
3729 |
| Trawler Ratings | 2917 |
| D.F.C. | 95 |
| Ratings for Motor Boats | 0 |
| Ratings for Tank Corps | 1214 |
| Ratings for Machine Guns | 0 |
| Ratings for Air Service | 393 |
| Motor Mechanics | 0 |
| R.N.V.R. Seamen | "otherwise included" |
| R.N.R. Seamen | 1530 |
| New Ships' Companies | 63 |
| E.R.A.s | 0 |
| Marine Recruits | 683 |
| Warrant Armourers | 0 |
| Chief Armourers | 17 |
| Armourers | 20 |
| Armourer's Mates | 38 |
| Armourer's Crew | 455 |
| Miscellaneous Officers and Men | 4388 |
Captains
Dates of appointment given:
- Captain Alfred E. A. Grant, 1 June, 1908[2][3] – 31 March, 1910[4]
- Captain Brian H. F. Barttelot, 31 March, 1910[5]
- Captain Charles W. Keighly-Peach, 1 March, 1912[6] – 1 May, 1914[7]
- Captain Cyril S. Townsend, January, 1919[8] – 25 January, 1921[9]
- Captain Wellwood G. C. Maxwell, 2 January, 1923[10] – 26 February, 1925[11]
- Captain Charles W. Round-Turner, 26 February, 1925 – 18 October, 1926
- Captain John C. Hamilton, 1 March, 1927[12] – 14 March, 1929[13]
- Captain Arthur N. Dowding, 30 March, 1931[14] – 2 January, 1933[15]
Hubert Ardill may also have held this position.[Fact Check]
Footnotes
- ↑ Progress in Naval Gunnery, 1914-1918, pp. 21-22.
- ↑ The Navy List. (October, 1908). p. 354.
- ↑ Grant Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 31.
- ↑ Grant Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 31.
- ↑ "Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Tuesday, 1 March, 1910. Issue 39208, col E, p. 12.
- ↑ Keighly-Peach Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 345.
- ↑ Keighly-Peach Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 345.
- ↑ The Navy List. (August, 1919). p. 865.
- ↑ Townsend Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44/79. f. 98.
- ↑ Maxwell Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/48. f. 451.
- ↑ Maxwell Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/48. f. 451.
- ↑ Hamilton Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/46. f. 86.
- ↑ Hamilton Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/46. f. 86.
- ↑ Dowding Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/50. Unnumbered folio.
- ↑ Dowding Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/50. Unnumbered folio.
Bibliography
- Admiralty, Gunnery and Torpedo Division (July, 1919). Progress in Naval Gunnery, 1914-1918. C.B. 902. The National Archives. ADM 186/238.
