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5 unusual facts about Britannia Royal Naval College


Chris Vacher

Brought up near Axminster on the Somerset-Devon border, Vacher attended Sherborne School and the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth (in the same year as Prince Charles) before joining the Navy in 1969 as a seaman officer.

Ian Garnett

He then went to the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth.

Mubarak Ali Al Sabah

The same year he attended the royal navy young officer course at Britannia Royal Naval College, and also attended the Ali Al-Sabah military college in Kuwait, where he graduated with a diploma in military science.

Neville Purvis

Educated at Charterhouse School, Selwyn College, Cambridge and the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, Purvis joined the Royal Navy in 1953 and specialized as a submariner.

Richard H. Leir

He joined the Royal Canadian Navy as a cadet in 1940, after attending Shawnigan Lake School, as well as the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, England, continued his early training with the Royal Navy.


Campbell Tait

Born in Morice Town, Devon to Deputy Surgeon-General and author, William Tait, and his wife Emma, Tait entered the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth in 1902.

Geoffrey Rhodes Bromet

Bromet attended the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth and then served as a Flight Commander in the First World War being commended for his service in Gallipoli in 1915 and later commanding No. 1 Squadron RNAS and then No. 8 Squadron RNAS.

George Vallings

Educated at Belhaven Hill School in Dunbar and the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, Vallings joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman in 1950 and took part in the Korean War.

Jock Slater

Born the son of James Kirkwood Slater OBE and Margaret Claire Byrom Slater (née Bramwell), Slater was educated at the Edinburgh Academy, Sedbergh School and the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth.

John Fieldhouse, Baron Fieldhouse

Born the son of Sir Harold Fieldhouse, who had been secretary of the National Assistance Board, and Mabel Elaine Fieldhouse (née Elliott), Fieldhouse was educated at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth.

Ken Doolan

He graduated in 1956, undertook sea training in the frigate HMAS Swan (U74) in 1957 and in December 1958 graduated from the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, Devon.

Robin Janvrin, Baron Janvrin

He was educated at Marlborough College, Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, and Brasenose College, Oxford from which he received a first class bachelor's degree in 1969, and of which he was made an Honorary Fellow in 1999.


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