Royal Navy Chaplaincy Service

The Royal Navy Chaplaincy Service provides chaplains to the Royal Navy. The chaplains are commissioned by the Sovereign but do not hold military rank other than that of "Chaplain Royal Navy". They are usually addressed as Padre, Reverend or more informally Bish. The majority of Chaplains are recruited from a number of Christian denominations, however to better reflect the changing demographics of the United Kingdom and HM forces, as already established in the NHS, HM Prisons and UK Universities, the Ministry of Defence announced in November 2023 it would begin recruiting Non-Religious Pastoral Support Officers in 2024.

Royal Navy Chaplain insignia

The senior chaplain in the Royal Navy is the Chaplain of the Fleet, the current post holder being The Venerable Andrew Hillier KHC, an Anglican priest, who is also the Archdeacon for the Royal Navy.

Training

Chaplains join the Royal Navy as experienced clergy of their denomination. They undergo naval training at Britannia Royal Naval College alongside other Royal Navy officer cadets. Those serving with the Royal Marines may be selected to attempt commando training: if successful they become Royal Navy Commandos and wear the Commando green beret and, on No 1 uniform, the Commando Dagger badge. Those who serve with the Submarine Service may earn their submarine service "Dolphins".

Chaplains of the Fleet

See also: Category:Chaplains of the Fleet

The role of Chaplain of the Fleet, being Head of the Naval Chaplains, was established on 13 May 1859, and was originally attached to the role of Senior Chaplain at Greenwich Hospital^[1] and was also the Inspector of Naval Schools. An Order in Council issued by King Edward VII in August 1902 granted the ecclesiastical dignity of archdeacon on the Chaplain of the Fleet.^[2]

Thomas Ken was appointed Chaplain of the Fleet by King Charles II in 1683.^[3]

Divine service as it is usually performed on board a British frigate at sea (circa 1836).

Service on the cruiser HMS Cumberland, November 1942

• 1859–1865: Unknown
• 1865–1871: William Guise-Tucker^[4]
• 1871–1876: Unknown
• 23 November 1876 – 1882 (retd): John Cawston^[5][6]
• 1882–1888: John Harbord^[7]
• 1888 – 17 January 1899 (retd): John Cox-Edwards^[8][9]
• 1899 – 1 March 1901 (retd): John Berry^[10]
• 1901 – 6 October 1906 (retd): Stuart Harris^[11]
• 1906 – 1 December 1917 (retd): Hugh Wood^[12][13]
• 1917–1924: Charles Ingles^[14]
• 1924 – 29 January 1929 (retd): Robert McKew^[15]
• 1929–1933: Walter Knight-Adkin^[16]
• 1933–1935: Charles Peshall^[17]
• 1935 – 4 October 1938 (retd): Arthur Gilbertson^[18][19]
• 1938–1943: Thomas Crick^[20]
• 1943–1947: John Wilson
• 1947 – 15 May 1952: Leonard Coulshaw^[21][22]
• 1952–1956: Noel Chamberlain
• 1956–1960: Darrell Bunt
• 1960 – 5 March 1963 (retd): John Armstrong^[23]
• 15 May 1963 – 18 March 1966 (retd): Raymond Richardson^[23][24]
• 18 March 1966 – 6 May 1969: Christopher Prior^[24][25]
• 8 April 1969 – 9 June 1972 (retd): Ambrose Weekes^[26][27]
• 14 April 1972 – 1975: Chandos Morgan^[28]
• 4 December 1975 – 1980: Basil O'Ferrall^[29]
• 28 March 1980 – 1984: Raymond Roberts^[30]
• 11 June 1984 – 1989: Noël Jones^[31]
• 1989–1994: Michael Henley
• 1994–1997: Michael Bucks
• 1997–1999: Simon Golding^[32]
• 1999–2000: Charles Stewart
• 2000–2002: Simon Golding^[32]
• 2002–2006: Barry Hammett
• 2006–2010: John Green^[33]
• 2010–2014: Scott J. Brown^[33][34]
• 2014–2018: Ian Wheatley^[35]
• 2018–2021: Martyn Gough
• 22 June 2021^[36] – present: Andrew Hillier^[37]

See also

• Royal Air Force Chaplains Branch
• Royal Army Chaplains' Department

References

1. "No. 22268". The London Gazette. 27 May 1859. p. 2107.
2. "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36904. London. 21 October 1902. p. 5.
3. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Ken, Thomas" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 726–727.
4. "Malta Family History – Army, Navy and Air Force Chaplains 1800–1960". Archived from the original on 21 December 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
5. "No. 24386". The London Gazette. 24 November 1876. p. 6301.
6. The Times, 7 March 1900, page 6
7. "No. 25777". The London Gazette. 14 January 1888. p. 420.
8. "No. 26720". The London Gazette. 10 March 1896. p. 1612.
9. "No. 27047". The London Gazette. 31 January 1899. p. 603.
10. "No. 27291". The London Gazette. 15 March 1901. p. 1578.
11. "No. 27956". The London Gazette. 9 October 1906. p. 6790.
12. "No. 28316". The London Gazette. 10 December 1909. p. 9414.
13. "No. 30417". The London Gazette. 7 December 1917. p. 12812.
14. "No. 32846". The London Gazette. 20 July 1923. p. 4988.
15. "No. 33166". The London Gazette. 28 May 1926. p. 3455.
16. "No. 33506". The London Gazette. 14 June 1929. p. 3943.
17. "No. 34043". The London Gazette. 20 April 1934. p. 2545.
18. "No. 34279". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 April 1936. p. 2767.
19. "No. 34560". The London Gazette. 11 October 1938. p. 6338.
20. "No. 34814". The London Gazette. 19 March 1940. p. 1629.
21. "No. 38189". The London Gazette. 27 January 1948. p. 662.
22. "No. 39606". The London Gazette. 25 July 1952. p. 3999.
23. "No. 42972". The London Gazette. 19 April 1963. p. 3378.
24. "No. 43836". The London Gazette. 10 December 1965. p. 11545.
25. "No. 44805". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 March 1969. p. 2629.
26. "No. 44754". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1968. p. 13908.
27. "No. 45626". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 March 1972. p. 3439.
28. "No. 45510". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 November 1971. p. 11849.
29. "No. 46747". The London Gazette (Supplement). 24 November 1975. p. 14941.
30. "No. 48130". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 March 1980. p. 4155.
31. "No. 49800". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 July 1984. p. 9431.
32. ‘GOLDING, Ven. Simon Jefferies’, Who's Who 2012, A & C Black, 2012; online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2011 accessed 25 November 2012
33. "No. 59593". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 November 2010. p. 21037.
34. Royal Navy – Chaplain of the Fleet (Retrieved 7 June 2012)
35. "No. 61084". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 December 2014. p. 24746.
36. "Court Circular". The Royal Family. 21 June 2021. Archived from the original on 24 July 2022. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
37. Naval Chaplaincy Service [@of_fleet] (16 July 2021). "Today saw the departure of Ven Martyn Gough as Chaplain of the Fleet & succeeded by Rev Andrew Hillier" (Tweet). Retrieved 18 July 2021 – via Twitter.

Further reading

• Bergen, Doris. L., (ed), 2004. The Sword of the Lord: Military Chaplains from the First to the Twenty-First Century. University of Notre Dame Press ISBN 0-268-02176-7

External links

• Chaplaincy Service - Royal Navy - Royal Navy official website