Association of RN Old Comrades

Association of RN Old Comrades
Name	Association of RN Old Comrades
Founded	20th century
Type	Veterans' association
Headquarters	Portsmouth
Region served	United Kingdom and Commonwealth
Website	(defunct for this entry)

Association of RN Old Comrades The Association of RN Old Comrades is a veteran organization formed to support former personnel of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Fleet Air Arm and associated services, with links to Royal Naval Reserve, Royal Fleet Auxiliary, Admiralty, HMS Victory, HMS Dreadnought, HMS Ark Royal, HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08), HMS Illustrious (R06), Portsmouth Naval Base, Devonport, Rosyth Dockyard and other naval institutions. Its membership has included veterans of the First World War, Second World War, Falklands War, Korean War, Suez Crisis, Gulf War, Cold War, Operation Pitting and numerous peacetime deployments, maintaining connections with Royal Navy heritage sites, Imperial War Museums, National Maritime Museum, Commonwealth War Graves Commission and naval memorials at Plymouth Hoe and Spithead Memorial.

History

The association traces origins to post‑First World War sailors' groups and interwar veterans' movements that paralleled organizations such as the Royal British Legion, Seafarers UK, Boys' Brigade alumni and merchant navy associations linked to SS Great Britain and Cutty Sark preservation efforts. After the Second World War, demobilization networks around Admiralty House, Victory Parade, Salute at Trafalgar Square and reunion committees involving crews from HMS Hood, HMS Prince of Wales (53), HMS Belfast, HMS Indomitable (92) and HMS Ark Royal (91) formed the nucleus of the association. Cold War-era ties involved veterans from HMS Belfast (C35), HMS Ark Royal (R07), HMS Hermes (95), and exchanges with Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Australian Navy, Royal New Zealand Navy and NATO navies at North Atlantic Treaty Organization exercises such as Operation Mainbrace and Exercise Ocean Safari.

Membership and Organization

Membership historically drew retired ratings and officers from units including Royal Marines, Fleet Air Arm, Submarine Service, Mine Warfare Service and shore establishments like HMS Excellent, HMS Collingwood, HMS Sultan and HMS Dartmouth. The association operated through regional branches in Portsmouth, Plymouth, Chatham, Gosport, Swansea, Liverpool, Belfast, Leith, Rosyth, Aldershot and Commonwealth chapters in Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, Victoria (Canada), Halifax, Nova Scotia and Mumbai. Its governance mirrored trustee models seen in Royal Naval Association affiliates, with elected chairmen and secretaries, committee structures like those of the Royal Air Force Association, and liaison roles with Ministry of Defence, Veterans UK and municipal councils in Southampton and Bournemouth.

Activities and Events

The association organized remembrance services at Tower Hill Memorial, Plymouth Naval Memorial, Chatham Naval Memorial, and participation in national commemorations such as Remembrance Sunday and Battle of Trafalgar anniversaries at Trafalgar Square. It ran annual reunions aboard preserved ships including HMS Warrior (1860), HMS Belfast, and visits to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, coordinated talks featuring speakers from Admiral of the Fleet, First Sea Lord, Secretary of State for Defence, historians associated with Imperial War Museums and authors of naval histories about Horatio Nelson, John Jellicoe, David Beatty, Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope and Andrew Browne Cunningham. The association maintained ceremonial links with regattas, naval tattoos at Edinburgh Tattoo and exchanges with veterans' groups like Veterans Aid, Help for Heroes, SSAFA and Royal British Legion Industries.

Charitable Work and Welfare Services

Welfare services included assistance with pensions administered via Veterans UK, advocacy on matters raised before House of Commons committees, liaison with the Royal Naval Benevolent Trust, and partnership with organizations such as Poppy Scotland and Combat Stress. The association offered support for bereavement, housing referrals involving housing associations in Portsmouth, medical referrals to NHS England services and prosthetic or mental health support liaising with King's College Hospital, The Royal Marsden, Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham and specialist clinics associated with Depths of Darkness (hypothetical example of psychological outreach mirrored by real charities). It ran fundraising drives at events tied to Armed Forces Day, ship launch anniversaries, and coordinated legacy bequests to assist families of sailors lost in actions like the Battle of Jutland and incidents involving U-boat engagements.

Publications and Communications

The association produced a quarterly magazine distributed to branches, patterned after veterans' periodicals like the Navy News, The Naval Review, The RUSI Journal and newsletters similar to those of Royal British Legion branches. Publications featured oral histories, ship muster lists referencing crews from HMS Repulse (1916), HMS Renown (1916), HMS Sheffield (F96), scholarly articles citing archives at National Archives (UK), maritime photography from Imperial War Museums collections and obituaries of members linked with decorations such as the Victoria Cross, Distinguished Service Order, Distinguished Service Cross and Conspicuous Gallantry Medal. Communications expanded into digital newsletters, social media posts referencing naval heritage projects like Project Morgan (hypothetical) and collaborations with maritime museums on exhibitions relating to D-Day and Operation Neptune.

Notable Members and Leadership

Prominent members and leaders included decorated veterans, former officers and public figures who had served in vessels such as HMS Rodney (90), HMS Nelson (28), HMS Vanguard (23), and aviators associated with Fleet Air Arm squadrons who later joined civic roles in Portsmouth City Council or served as trustees at institutions like the National Museum of the Royal Navy and Imperial War Museums. Leadership often comprised retired admirals and captains with service histories intersecting with figures like Winston Churchill (as First Lord of the Admiralty), Horatio Nelson, John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher, Jellicoe, Beatty, and more contemporary leaders linked to Duncan Potts and Admiral Sir Philip Jones (as illustrative of modern First Sea Lords). Honorary patrons and guest speakers featured academics from King's College London Department of War Studies, curators from National Maritime Museum, and authors of naval biographies and accounts such as works on Trafalgar, Jutland, Falklands Campaign and submarine service narratives.

Category:Royal Navy veterans' organisations