Officers and Men (The British Navy 1918)
Jul 7, 2011 World War One
Vice Admiral The Hon. Sir Edmund Robert Fremantle KCB CMG
THE head of the Royal Navy is His Majesty the King, who is an Admiral in that Service. In the case of His present Majesty, King George V., the King was trained as a naval officer, and before he left active service he commanded his own ship. Every officer receives his commission from the King, and the ships of the Navy are His Majesty’s ships. There was a time in English history when the ships of the Royal Navy were the King’s private property. They are now the property of the nation, of which the King is the representative. In order to understand how the Navy is made, let us first consider for what purpose it is made.
It is made for fighting. It is a part, and the most important part, of the force of fighting men whose business it is to defend England and the Empire. The other part is the Army. In war the Navy and the Army are employed together, and each is necessary to the other. The difference between the Navy and the Army is that the Navy fights on the sea and the Army fights on the land.
In order to fight on the sea it is necessary to have ships. What is a ship ? You all, no doubt, believe that you know what a ship is. But do you? Let us make quite sure. A ship is a machine made to carry people on the water.
