HMS ''St Vincent'' was a

shore establishment A stone frigate is a naval establishment on land. "Stone frigate" is an informal term that has its origin in Britain's Royal Navy after its use of Diamond Rock, an island off Martinique, as a 'sloop of war' to harass the French in 1803–04. ...

of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

, located in Gosport, Hampshire. The name was given to the

Forton Barracks Forton Barracks was a military installation near Gosport in Hampshire, which served first as an Army barracks and then as a divisional headquarters for the Royal Marines. It subsequently served as a Royal Navy training establishment. Today, the s ...

site in Gosport in 1927, after the one that been set up aboard the old

first rate In the rating system of the British Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a first rate was the designation for the largest ships of the line. Originating in the Jacobean era with the designation of Ships Royal capable of carrying at ...

HMS ''St Vincent'' in 1862. The new HMS ''St Vincent'' was commissioned on 1 June 1927, originally like its predecessor as a training establishment for boys and juniors. On the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, the boys were evacuated to the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

, where they merged with those evacuated from HMS ''Caledonia'' to form HMS ''St George'', which was formally established in 1939. HMS ''St Vincent'' meanwhile became a training establishment for officers of the

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...

and an overflow for the Royal Navy barracks. A signal school was also established. A torpedo training section was opened on 22 July 1940. ''St Vincent'' reverted to being a boy's training establishment after the end of the war, and reopened as such on 1 December 1945. It continued to function as such until 1968, when it was decided to close ''St Vincent''. The official closing ceremony was held on 8 December 1968, with the

white ensign The White Ensign, at one time called the St George's Ensign due to the simultaneous existence of a cross-less version of the flag, is an ensign worn on British Royal Navy ships and shore establishments. It consists of a red St George's Cross ...

being lowered for the last time on 2 April 1969. The base was then handed over to the land agent the following day, 3 April 1969. St Vincent College now stands on the site.

References

Publications

*Warlow, Ben, ''Shore Establishments of the Royal Navy'', Liskeard : Maritime, 2000. *Cushley, John "www.hmsstvincentassociation.com"

External links

Pathé Newsreel (1955)
{{DEFAULTSORT:St Vincent Royal Navy bases in Hampshire Royal Navy shore establishments