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A volunteer naval reserve that was organized into units in several locations around the British Isles. The volunteers were unpaid civilians who bought their own uniforms and paid for travel expenses. The Royal Naval Reserve (Volunteers) was a separate organization that recruited men from the mercantile marine. The Royal Naval Artillery Reserve was disbanded in 1892, but the Naval Forces Act of 1903 established the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) whose recruits were civilians without seagoing experience. The Royal Naval Artillery Volunteer Force was thus a forerunner to the RNVR.

The Royal Naval Academy was an institution that prepared young men for careers as naval officers. It was reconstituted in 1806 as the Royal Naval College. However, the academy and college did not become the preferred path for preparation of potential officers as the system of recruiting young men to go directly to sea as midshipmen remained the preferred entry stream. The Naval College was closed in 1837.

see also: Royal Canadian Naval Reserve.

Created by the Naval Service Act of 4 May 1910. Initially known as the Naval Service of Canada, the designation of the Royal Canadian Navy was approved by King George V in 1911. The Royal Canadian Navy was amalgamated with the other two armed services by the Canadian Forces Unification Act in 1968. The naval element of the Canadian Armed Forces was grouped under Maritime Command that initially had its headquarters in Halifax and subsequently in Ottawa. The title Royal Canadian Navy was restored in 2011 to describe the maritime component of the Canadian Forces.

Today, the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve provides trained personnel who are primarily in civilian occupations and serve as part of the Canadian Navy. The Naval Reserve traces its origins to the 1914 creation of the Royal Naval Canadian Naval Reserve (RNCVR) which became the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve (RCNVR) in 1923. Members of the RCNVR were civilians who were not in seafaring careers. The Royal Canadian Reserve (RCNR) was created in 1923 as a “seamen’s’ reserve”, i.e. its members had seagoing experience in deep-sea or coastal shipping or in fishing or other vessels. During WWII, the Royal Canadian Navy expanded by enrolling members in the RCNVR (the vast majority) or RCNR for those with seagoing backgrounds. In 1946, the current Naval Reserve was created by merging the former RCNVR and RCNR.