The origins of the school reside in King William’s and Queen Mary’s Royal Charter of 25 October 1694 to erect and found an Hospital within Our Mannor of East Greenwich in Our County of Kent for the reliefe and support of Seamen serving on board the Shipps or Vessells belonging to the Navy Royall...... who by reason of Age, Wounds or other disabilities shall be unable to maintain themselves.  And for the Sustentation of the Widows and the Maintenance and Education of the Children of Seamen happening to be slain or disabled....... Also for the further reliefe and Encouragement of Seamen and Improvement of Navigation [emphasis added].  In the 1696 Act for the Increase and Encouragement of Seamen, the benefits of the Hospital were extended to include such mariners, watermen, seamen, fishermen, lightermen, bargemen, and keelmen as shall voluntarily come in and register themselves in and for His Majesty’s sea service.  Following the establishment of the Hospital in Greenwich, consideration was given to the provision of education to the children of seamen, especially orphans.  The first Greenwich Hospital pupils were sent to Weston’s Academy in Greenwich in 1712, where they received an excellent and highly valued education under the tutelage of Thomas Weston, the Assistant to the Astronomer Royal (John Flamsteed).  At this time the boys were accommodated in the attic of the Hospital buildings. Soon the number of Greenwich Hospital pupils grew to such an extent that it became economical to provide their own school and teachers.  The school became a great success through its teaching of mathematics, navigation and nautical astronomy, providing its pupils with sufficient knowledge for them to become navigators and ships’ officers in the Royal and Merchant Navies where they joined directly as Masters’ Mates .  The boys would have been taught to use such navigational instruments as the magnetic compass,Nocturnal, Back-staff, Cross-staff, Quadrant, and Sextant, and would have been familiar with map projections such as Mercator.  They would have participated fully in the propagation of techniques for determining longitude, especially after Harrison’s construction, and Cook’s demonstration of the sea-going chronometer.  Such education was highly prized, but extremely unusual, in those times when hardly any mathematics was taught in schools, let alone universities, and grammar schools concentrated upon the “practicalities” of speaking the dead language Latin! The rules of the school stated: that no boy was to be admitted before the age of 14, nor retained after the age of 18, and furthermore that: boys are “To be put out as apprentices to Masters of ships and substantial Commanders, for better improvements of their talents, and becoming Able Seamen and Good Artists ”.  The school also provided the bulk of officers to the Hydrographic Service (the branch responsible for surveying the oceans of the world).  The first person to pass the Extra Master’s examination of Trinity House  was a former pupil of Greenwich Royal Hospital School.  Thus, just as, according to the Duke of Wellington, the Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton, it may justifiably be claimed, that the establishment, defence, integration, and trade of the largest empire the world has yet seen, the British Empire, was charted and plotted in the classrooms of Greenwich Royal Hospital School, and facilitated by its former pupils.  Long ago it acquired the title Cradle of the Navy, a title that may well derive from James Moncrieff’s 1759 pamphlet Three Dialogues on the Navy in which it is stated in regard to Greenwich Royal Hospital: “From the couch and sepulchre of age, I would change it into the cradle and, as it were, the forge of youthful merit.”  [After several changes of name and location, Weston’s Academy became the Burney’s [Royal] Academy at Coldharbour, Gosport.]

In 1798 in an independent development, The British National Endeavour, a boarding school in Paddington was established, with fervent public support and subscription, following public concern at the loss of life and injuries sustained by British seamen during recent battles. The school rapidly outgrew its premises on Paddington Green, which could only take 70 children. Originally it was a small “industrial school” for children whose fathers had been seamen in the Royal Navy, and had fallen in action.  Lord Nelson was an early patron, as were the brothers Abraham and Benjamin Goldsmid.  Following the news that the French and Spanish had been defeated at Trafalgar it was renamed under a Royal Warrant backdated to 21st October 1805 as The Royal Naval Asylum.  The Asylum acquired the Queen’s House and its estate and moved to its new home in Greenwich.  The new facilities (presently occupied by The National Maritime Museum) were formally opened on 21st October 1807 (Trafalgar Day) when a large Turkish cannon, captured from the island of Kinaliada in the Sea of Marmara by Admiral Duckworth on 27 February 1807 was presented by the Duke of Cumberland.  The cannon, decorated by the Royal Arsenal with plaques commemorating the great sea battles that led to the establishment of the Asylum, is now on display defending the main entrance to The Royal Hospital School, Holbrook, Suffolk.  [Opposite, HMS GANGES’ Maharajah figurehead glares defiantly at passing motorists.  HMS Ganges was the Royal Navy’s first teak ship-of-the-line, and gave her name to the nearby Naval Training Establishment.]  Only the children (boys and girls, orphans or motherless, or the father disabled or serving on a distant station) of sailors and marines were admitted to the Asylum aged between 5 and 12 and presumably left at normal school leaving age (14?).  Because of a generous donation valued at £61,000 by Lloyd’s Patriotic Fund, Lloyd’s were permitted to nominate children from other seafaring backgrounds for attendance at the Asylum.  Thus, rather loosely, the Asylum corresponded to today’s primary schools, whilst the GRH School corresponded to a secondary school, however their purposes were much different.  The two schools operated independently side-by-side at Greenwich until 1821 when it was realised that it would reduce administrative overheads to merge the schools and their sites as, eventually the Greenwich Royal Hospital Schools.  In the merger the old Greenwich Hospital School became the Upper School, and the Asylum the Lower School.  Later the Upper school was increased in size at the expense of the Lower School, and a third even higher school established called the Nautical School, principally for teaching navigation and nautical astronomy.  Under the guidance of Edward Riddle, and in succession his son John, the Nautical School became the globally acknowledged leading school inthe instruction of navigators.

The combined schools offered the boys an education suitable for entry into a sea-going career at various levels.  The girls were given an education suitable for domestic service.  In 1841 the girls’ part of the school was closed, and the way cleared to extend the nautical education of the boys by providing a land-based training ship in the grounds in front of the Queen’s House facing northwards towards the River Thames.

By contemporary standards the school had become badly overcrowded by the 1930s, and so it was decided to move it to purpose-built facilities in Holbrook, Suffolk following a generous bequest of land and money by Gifford Sherman Reade.  With the move to Holbrook, it was decided that Greenwich should be dropped from the name of the school, as it no longer seemed appropriate, despite the school’s formal links with the Greenwich Hospital Crown Charity.  The Greenwich boys could not have been other than totally impressed and overawed by their new home with its spacious facilities, including new school-buildings, and their idyllic views over the River Stour to Essex.   The school's training vessel HMS FAME at Greenwich was broken up, with only the bow section with the figurehead and bowsprit, and the stern retained.  The bow section was fitted to the south end of the small-bore rifle-range of the new school buildings at Holbrook, and the stern, including the “ginger-bread” and coat-of-arms of Greenwich Hospital, was purchased by Earle B. Smith, buyer for the Mariners’ Museum, in Newport News, Virginia, on 8 April 1935, and shipped to the museum.  Both may still be found at these final resting-places.  Boat work continued using naval cutters and whalers, and sailing dinghies on the River Stour.  Two new masts were constructed at Holbrook, a signalling mast at the main entrance with gaff and crosstrees, and a fully rigged 125-foot (38 metres) ceremonial main-mast (comprising lower and top masts, three yards, two tops, truck, shrouds, and stays) but this mast was only retained until 1953 when maintenance costs became prohibitive and it was removed, leaving impressive mast-manning ceremonies to near neighbour HMS Ganges at the confluence of the Rivers Stour and Orwell.  [At this time in 1953 the signalling mast was replaced by a new one, and a flag pole removed from over the main entrance building.]  Originally a Popham semaphore machine was mounted on the decking on the rifle-range, and a fully equipped seamanship room installed in the main buildings, which included a steering and engine-room telegraph simulator built by Link (of “Link Trainer” fame), signal lights, Morse distribution board with headphones and Morse keys, and various radio kits.

The Royal Hospital School continues to flourish, and is now a regular boarding school, still bent on its naval traditions, but educating its pupils to fill useful places in modern society.  It has gained Head Masters’ Conference status and draws its pupils from a wide social cache, not restricted to those with a seafaring background.  Lloyd’s still has powers to nominate pupils, and the Greenwich Hospital charity still offers advantages to those with seafaring parents/grandparents.  In fact it is the most successful wholly boarding school in the United Kingdom, and the number of places it offers to pupils is still being increased to meet demand, despite the fact that most boarding schools have seen a decline in student numbers.  The pike and cutlass drill of the old school have long given way to the ceremonial small arms drill of the school guard, who together with the excellent marching band, are much in demand outside the school.  Boat handling continues in the form of dinghy sailing on nearby Alton Water, and in sea-going yachts that venture out to sea from the Stour.  The remarkably prescient vision of Queen Mary in promoting what she was pleased to refer to as “the darling object of her life”, has throughout three centuries borne fruit in many corners of the globe.  For example: The first Governor of Australia, Admiral Arthur Philip, was a pupil; the Canadian Coast Guard College in Sydney, Nova Scotia, has its roots in the school; and many other nautical colleges, academies, and schools were strongly influenced by, or modelled on, Greenwich Royal Hospital Schools.  Other international links include a sister institution also founded by its original Royal patrons: William and Mary College, Williamsburg, Virginia, USA.
 

The Cannon - To the west-side of the main entrance to the Royal Hospital School, Holbrook, stands a large bronze cannon, mounted on an iron carriage. Upon the carriage are a number of “battle honour” plaques.  During the author’s time at Holbrook, the cannon was dismissed as a fake by the cognoscenti on the grounds that it could not have been part of the ordnance used in the various battles for which it apparently carried battle honours. It is our purpose to attempt to uncover the history of the cannon, and we begin by recording the various inscriptions on the gun and its carriage, including the plaques, and make the observation that it is not mounted as a naval cannon.

The original markings on the top of the barrel are of Islamic-style, a crescent moon and star towards the muzzle, and at the breech, the Imperial Monogram (Tugra) of the Ottoman Sultan Selim III, who reigned from 1789 – 1807.  Rearwards from the Tugra are some markings that state that the barrel weighs 92 10 Kantar (5202.5 kg); fires a shot of 44 Kiyye (56.408 kg –
taking into account the bore, this shows that the cannon was designed to fire granite rounds);  the effective barrel length is stated to be 15 Karis (3.355 metres); and the barrel was cast in the year 1212 of the Moslem calendar (1790 – 1791 AD).  The carriage and wheels are of iron, and the decorations, apart from the various plaques, suggest that the carriage may be original, albeit restored.  The plaques were almost certainly added to the carriage, in order to make it into a commemorative object for the purpose of presentation.  There are a number of “leafy star-shapes” which adorn the carriage, and these match the patterning on the cast-iron wheels. The battle honour plaques occupy positions which could easily have been occupied by other “leafy stars” to form a motif.  Probably these adornments originally would have been bolted to the carriage, and therefore they could easily have been replaced by the “battle honours”.

Engraved in English on the top of the barrel is:
THIS GUN WAS PRESENTED BY HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS ERNEST DUKE OF CUMBERLAND, TO THE ROYAL NAVAL ASYLUM: WHICH INSTITUTION WAS COMMENCED IN THE YEAR MDCCXCIX BY THE GENEROUS AND HUMANE POLICY OF THE ROYAL FAMILY AND SOME PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS FOR THE RECEPTION OF ORPHANS AND CHILDREN OF HIS MAJESTY’S SEAMEN AND MARINES.  HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS WAS CHOSEN PRESIDENT, THE REVEREND THOMAS BROOKE CLARKE LL.D. AUDITOR, AND WILLIAM FAUNTLEROY ESQRE TREASURER.  IN THE YEAR MDCCCIV, HIS MAJESTY WAS GRACIOUSLY PLEASED TO ESTABLISH IT ON A ROYAL FOUNDATION.  AND IN MDCCCVI A DONATION OF £61,000 CONSOLS SUBSCRIBED BY THE PUBLIC, WAS APPROPRIATED TOWARDS ITS SUPPORT BY THE COMMITTEE OF THE PATRIOTIC FUND.

Background - Ernest, Duke of Cumberland belonged to the House of Hannover, and was fifth son of George III (King of England).  Ernest was born in 1771, became King of Hannover in 1837, died in 1851, and married Grand Duchess Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.  George III reigned from 1760 until 1820.

The Royal Naval Asylum was the successor to the British Endeavour School at Paddington (founded in 1799).  The British Endeavour received a Royal Warrant to change its name to the Royal Naval Asylum in 1804, and moved from Paddington to Greenwich on 16 June 1807, occupying the buildings now utilised by the National Maritime Museum.  Immediately to the west was the Greenwich Hospital School (founded in 1712).  In 1821 the two schools were amalgamated with the RNA as the Lower School, and GHS as the Upper School, of the Royal Naval Asylum.  After a short time the RNA was renamed as
Greenwich Royal Hospital Schools.

The Plaques and the Battles they Commemorate – (Sides) (Right front to rear) First of June, 1794, Howe – Nile, 1798, Nelson – Cape St. Vincent, 1797, Jervis; (Left front to rear) Camberdown, 1797, Duncan – Trafalgar, 1805, Nelson – Copenhagen, 1801, Nelson; (Front top) Algiers, 1816, Pellew; (Front bottom) This gun brought from the Dardanelles by Duckworth, 1807; (Rear) St. Jean d’Acre, 1840, Stopford.  Of these the most central to our research is the Dardanelles.

Dardanelles:  [The following account is based in part upon contemporary despatches.]  On 19 February 1807 a British squadron, under Admiral Sir John Duckworth forced the passage of the Dardanelles, which were then under the control of the Turks.  At the time the British feared that the French were attempting to woo Turkey in preparation for a French advance to the east, and decided to resort to an early form of gunboat diplomacy.  The Dardanelles are 40 miles long and between one and four miles wide.  The Mediterranean entrance was defended by two castles, Sestos and Abydos, built by Mahomet IV in 1659.  There were also numerous forts and shore batteries along the way including a new one at the Point of Pesquies.  The battery on the Point had more than thirty guns, but was still under construction and would have been a considerable danger to the British.  It was taken during the British passage by the Royal Marines and boats’ crews of the “Rear Division” who forced the Turks to retire.  The Turkish guns were immediately spiked, and the redoubt destroyed.   The British fought their way through under close scrutiny and heavy fire, to Constantinople where, by anchoring about eight miles offshore, but in sight of the harbour, they attempted to provoke the resident Turkish naval squadron into battle.  The British squadron anchored about a mile from an island they called Brota (known as Proti by the Greeks, and now known as Kinali (Kinaliada), position 40º 55’N,
29º 03’E).  The British obtained water from an old cistern that formerly had supplied the island’s monastery of the Panaghia.  On the 27 February the Turks were spotted landing on the island and starting to erect a battery in the old monastery of the Transfiguration, within range of the anchored British squadron.  The Royal Marines were dispatched to neutralise them with
fire-support from the Repulse and Lucifer, which totally destroyed the one-thousand-year-old monastery.  The Turks swept the beaches with grapeshot during the landing, but then upped-sticks and fled in their boats. All except eleven men in one boat escaped, and these eleven men together with the boat, and two guns that they intended to install in the new battery, were captured.  The gun at RHS is undoubtedly one of these two captured pieces.  The Turkish squadron was not drawn, and so the British withdrew on 3 March under heavy fire of stone-shot, of up to eight-hundredweight (400 kg), from the Dardanelles’ batteries, having given the Turks considerable time to prepare.  Duckworth was not authorised to start a full-scale war, and so made a strategic withdrawal in which a favourable wind was of major assistance.  The British squadron endured heavy losses of 42 killed, 235 wounded, and 4 missing.  [Presumably this adventure was considered a success in the same sense as the withdrawal from Dunkirk in 1940.]

When, Where, and Why was the Gun Presented? - There is no immediate clue as to the date of presentation, nor to the logic of the plaque display, nor even as to whether the carriage is original.  The lack of an inscription giving the date of presentation suggests that the date was so obvious as to obviate the need to record it.  The gun, however, must have been donated after the Dardanelles incident.  As there is no reference to Greenwich Hospital it may be inferred that the donation occurred prior to April 1821. Since the gun was taken in February/March 1807 and the Royal Naval Asylum moved to Greenwich in November 1807, it is likely that it was presented at the time of the move.  The six lateral plaques that commemorate naval battles in the reign of George III, and the plaque attesting to the gun’s origins were obviously there for the presentation.  However there is no
discernible logic in their ordering.  These six naval battles however, just happen to be the battles which led to the establishment of the British Endeavour School and its successor the Royal Naval Asylum .  With this interpretation, the gun would serve both as a reminder of the school’s foundation, and as a memorial to the sacrifices made by the fathers of its first pupils.  But what of the Algiers and St. Jean d’Acre plaques which are less prominently placed?  Surely the St. Jean d’Acre plaque was added long
after the original presentation, and during the time of Admiral Sir Robert Stopford’s tenure as Governor of Greenwich Hospital (1841 – 1847).  It could be that this, now long forgotten, battle was elevated in status by contemporary religious fervour – teaching the Moslem Arabs a lesson – and that it was added as a sop to Stopford’s ego.  The Acre plaque is definitely the odd one out.  That leaves us with the Algiers plaque, which undoubtedly was also added later.

Conclusion - Since the gun was cast in the Ottoman lands in the period 1790 –1791, during the reign of Sultan Selim III, it is concluded that the gun was one of the pair captured from the Turks on Kinaliada, Princes’ Islands, in the Sea of Marmara, on 27 February 1807.  It was presented to the Royal Naval Asylum at the time of its move to Greenwich (November 1807),
in order to commemorate the great sea-battles that led to its foundation, and was part of the Asylum’s original furniture.  It was taken to Woolwich Arsenal for refurbishment and preparation for its presentation to the Royal Naval Asylum, and then transported the short distance to Greenwich.

Acknowledgements - The Turkish Embassy in London, various academic institutions including  the Middle East Technical University, Hacettepe University, and particularly the Naval Museum in Besiktos, Istanbul, were all most generous in the assistance they rendered.

Lloyd’s Patriotic Fund, a charity founded officially in 1803 by J.J. Angerstein, Chairman of Lloyd’s, “to assuage the anguish of the wounded, to palliate in some degree the more weighty misfortune of the loss of limbs, to alleviate the distresses of the widows and orphans, and to soothe the brow of sorrow for the fall of dearest relatives, the props of unhappy indigence or helpless age, and to hand out every encouragement to our fellow subjects who may be in any way instrumental in repelling or annoying our implacable foe, and to prove to them that we are ready to drain both our purses and our veins in the great cause which imperiously calls on us to unite the duties of loyalty and patriotism with the strongest efforts of zealous exertion.”

The charity had its origin in 1782 when £6000 was raised by subscribers of Lloyd’s for the widows and orphans of seamen drowned in the loss of the Royal George.  In 1794 £21,281 was raised after the battle of the Glorious First of June for distribution among the widows and orphans of men killed and the wounded seamen, and 1797 £2,614 was subscribed after the battle of Cape St. Vincent and £53,000 after Camberdown.  The Nile brought in £38,000 in 1798 and the battle of Copenhagen £15,500 in 1801.  After its official incorporation as a permanent charity in 1803, no less than £123, 600 was raised on 5 December 1805 at divine services held throughout the country in thanksgiving for the battle of Trafalgar.  In all, Lloyd’s Patriotic Fund has raised well over a million pounds for widows, orphans, and men wounded in action.

Description from "London Illustrated News"
 

Royal Navy
 
EF 03.05.2003