Introduction – The Royal Navy at Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the Royal Navy’s oldest naval base. Throughout the 20th century Portsmouth has played an important role in enabling the Royal Navy to operate in British waters and around the globe. Today, the city still remains the home of the Royal Navy and the base port of 60% of the Navy’s surface ships.
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Introduction – The Royal Navy at Portsmouth
To find out about the importance of Portsmouth as a base, select Next
...Or, to learn about some of Portsmouth Command's Shore Establishments, follow the links below -
Eastney Barracks - former home of the Portsmouth Division Royal Marines
HMS Dolphin - the former Submarine Branch Depot Ship in Gosport
HMS Victory - Portsmouth's Royal Naval Barracks
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The Importance of Portsmouth
The Importance of Portsmouth
Portsmouth has served the Royal Navy since King Richard I ordered the building of the first dock in the town in 1194. Its close proximity to France, the historical rivals of Britain, made Portsmouth a strategically important port for the Royal Navy. In addition Portsmouth possessed a large natural harbour with the Isle of Wight providing shelter from the open waters of the English Channel.
As one of the Home Commands Portsmouth, like Plymouth and the Nore, had a Commander in Chief which ran operations in its home waters. Portsmouth was a ‘home port’ for sailors recruited from the area. From 1903 the Royal Naval Barracks at Portsmouth, HMS Victory, served as the depot ship for the Portsmouth Command.
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Admiral Sir Frank Twiss on the policy of home ports and how it affected the camaraderie of the ships in the fleet. (RNM)
To read a transcript of this oral history follow the link.
Due to the home port system, as a naval base Portsmouth Command also included many other establishments - the Torpedo School HMS Vernon and Gunnery Training School HMS Excellent were adjacent to the Dockyard. The Command also had many satellite sites including HMS Daedalus, the Fleet Air Arm Air Station in Lee on Solent and HMS Dolphin, the former submarine base in Gosport.
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The Affect of War on the City
The Affect of War on the City
The World Wars
During World War One the Government considered Portsmouth Royal Dockyard a target for espionage and tightened security with extra Metropolitan Police. The town (Portsmouth did not become a city until 1926) was also target for German air raids during both wars. During World War Two Portsmouth experienced a blitz attack when the Germans subjected the city to a massive bombing campaign.
Portsmouth suffered 67 bombing raids with 1 581 alerts. The Luftwaffe dropped more than 40 000 bombs and mines on the town and dockyard causing more than 6 500 properties to be completely destroyed and damaging another 75 500. The heavy bombing prevented the Royal Navy sending its capital ships to Portsmouth for repair.
Later in the War Portsmouth was central to the planning of the D Day landings of 6 June 1944. As early as 1942 the Navy was designing, constructing and testing parts of the Mulberry Harbours and many of the landing crafts in the dockyard. Operations for D Day were run from Southwick House on Portsdown Hill, overlooking the city and harbour. Follow the link to find out more about Portsmouth’s D Day role .
During the War Portsmouth Command spread along the south coast to Newhaven in East Sussex and Portland in Dorset and north into Surrey. Due to the bombing campaigns, many of the shore establishments based in Portsmouth moved out of the dockyard. HMS Dryad moved from the dockyard to Southwick House and the Signal School, HMS Mercury, established itself in Leydene, Petersfield.
As a Home Port personnel losses to the Command during both World Wars were substantial. On 15 October 1924 the Duke of York unveiled the Royal Naval War Memorial for World War One on Southsea Common which lists the names of 9 729 members of the Portsmouth Command and 21 civilian employees. After World War Two, the monument was extended to include the 15 000 naval losses of the Portsmouth Command. It was unveiled by the Queen Mother on the 29 April 1953.
Reduction of the Royal Navy post World War Two
During the Cold War the Navy based 70 escort vessels in the dockyard in case of the need to protect Atlantic convoys. In 1969 the Government abandoned the Royal Navy’s commitments East of Suez. The Navy pulled out of the Far East and reduced the fleet. From then on the Royal Navy would mainly concentrate on NATO commitments.
In 1969 the Royal Navy abolished the post of Commanders-in-ChiefPortsmouth and Plymouth having already got rid of the post of C-in-C Nore eight years before. They appointed a Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command, who was stationed at Portsmouth.
This post was short-lived as the Royal Navy made more reductions to their surface fleet. By 1971 the whole fleet was consolidated under one Commander-in-Chief Fleet, based in Northwood, Middlesex. This command eventually came to Portsmouth and the C-in-C Fleet is now based at HMS Excellent on Whale Island, Portsmouth.
The Navy planned further cuts but in 1982 Portsmouth rallied to provide ships for the Falklands Conflict. Follow the link to read about how the Falklands Task Force prepared for war .
On 1 October 1984 Portsmouth lost its status as a Royal Dockyard and was reassigned the role of being a naval base and a major operating port. Today, the Portsmouth is the base port of 60% of the Navy’s surface ships with the remaining 40% based at Plymouth.
To discover naval ceremonies at Portsmouth, select Next
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Naval Ceremony and Pageantry
Naval Ceremony and Pageantry
The Royal Navy held most of their fleet reviews at Spithead, Portsmouth. Traditionally the reigning monarch would inspect the fleet as it prepared to go to war. During the 20th century, however, the fleet review took on anincreasing ceremonial role.
Reviews of the fleet were spectacular, showing off the Navy’s power at times of international crisis, or marking a special celebration such as the crowning of a new King or Queen.
In 1905 Portsmouth held a review to celebrate the visit of the French Fleet. The visit marked the signing of the Entente Cordiale in 1904 – an agreement between Britain and France marking the end of centuries of rivalry.
The Royal Navy mounted the largest ever fleet review in secret. King George VI reviewed the D Day invasion fleet in May 1944. There were over 800 vessels present from capital ships to small minesweepers and landing crafts.
Fleet Reviews of the 20th century held at Spithead listed by Monarch –
Edward VII
1902 Coronation of King Edward VII
1905 Celebration the visit of the French Fleet
1907 Review of the Home Fleet
1909 Review of the Home and Atlantic Fleets
George V
1911 Coronation of King George V
1914 Mobilisation of the Fleet prior to World War One
1924 Presentation of the Colours
1935 Silver Jubilee of King George V – 25 years as King
George VI
1937 Coronation of King George VI
1939 Mobilisation of the Fleet prior to World War Two
1944 Mobilisation for the D-Day Invasion
Elizabeth II
1953 Coronation of Queen Elizabeth I
1969 NATO 20th anniversary review – 61 ships from 12 NATO countries.
1977 Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth – 25 years as Queen
Find out about how sailors spent their free time in Portsmouth, select Next.
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Entertainment and Free Time
Entertainment and Free Time
‘Lurid tales were told in our Mess about local ‘knocking shops’ (i.e. Brothels)… Although we pushed our handcart all over Portsmouth we never came across any, having been told they could be identified by the queues outside!’
Lieutenant Ernest Lean, 1941. (RNM 2000/74)
Portsmouth was notorious for the number of its pubs due to the city’s strong connection with the Royal Navy. When on shore leave sailors would frequent the many drinking establishments, and other delights, the town had to offer.
Alcohol abuse was rife and there was an abundance of prostitutes. Philanthropists in cities such as Portsmouth and the other dockyard towns did much to promote temperance – a movement to encourage people to stop drinking alcohol.
In 1941 Lieutenant Ernest Lean was stationed at HMS Victory, Portsmouth’s Royal Naval Barracks as a Probationer Supply Assistant collecting stores from the dockyard. Lean remembers what sailors used to get up to on nights out in Portsmouth:
‘All night leave was de rigueur and the first liberty boat from the Barracks was 1545 and the return had to be by 0715 the next morning. Occasionally we used to get a 6d bed for the night at ‘Aggie Weston’s’ for a change. One could sign the pledge against alcohol and receive in cash 2d for a cup of tea and 1d for a bun in return. Hardened sailors used to go in and sign the pledge – get 3d – and off to the ‘Eight Bells’ in Charlotte Street for a pint.’
Aggie Weston’s was a Sailor’s Rest, opened in Portsmouth in 1881. Agnes Weston created the Sailor's Rests in various naval towns as a hostel for sailors to eat, drink and stay in. The Royal Sailor's Rest in Devonport was the first of its kind to open in May 1876.
Weston was a member of the Royal Naval Temperance Society and hoped that these sites would encourage sailors to live sober lives. The ‘Rests’ house 900 men at Devonport and 700 at Portsmouth. Their success resulted in several local pubs closing due to lack of custom. Weston and her business partner Sophia Wintz also opened Sailor's Rests in Portland and Sheerness. The Sailor’s Rest in Portsmouth was destroyed during the air raids on the city during World War Two.
