12/06/2026
Image: Sea Cadets at cutlass drill in 1922. This was intended to provide a naval education for boys who would then join the RN- an attempt to help tackle that pesky RN manning problem.
The shortage of trained manpower for the Royal Navy during the Crimean War sparked a critical need for sea cadets, and training ship orphanages and training brigs cropped up across the British Isles...
In 1854, a vicar in Whitstable, Kent, returned from the Crimean War and founded an orphanage where sailors taught nautical skills to prepare orphans for future careers. Multiple similar orphanages were founded across the country, and the organisation became known as the Naval Lads' Brigade. In 1899 Queen Victoria presented £10 (equivalent to £1,670 in 2026) to the Windsor Unit to purchase uniforms.
In 1910, the Navy League sponsored a small number of units as the Navy League Boys' Naval Brigade, and in 1919 the organisation adopted the name Navy League Sea Cadet Corps. In 1937, Lord Nuffield donated £50,000 (equivalent to £4.42 million in 2026) to fund an expansion of the Corps.
King George VI became the Admiral of the Corps in 1942 and the name was changed to the Sea Cadet Corps. The Sea Cadets had approximately 400 units and 50,000 Cadets. The Girls Naval Training Corps was also formed (later renamed Girls Nautical Training Corps in 1950). Queen Elizabeth II became the Patron of the Sea Cadets in 1952. In 1955 the Sea Cadet Council agreed to the formation of the Marine Cadet Section. The Girls Nautical Training Corps became affiliated with the Sea Cadet Corps in 1963. The Royal Naval Association began planning the first British colonial unit in Bermuda in 1964, with TS Bermuda formed on 12 January 1966. Located at Admiralty House, Bermuda, it was followed by two further units (TS Venture at the former Roman Catholic chapel of the Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda and TS Admiral Somers at Convict Bay, St. George's, another former Admiralty property).
On 31 March 1980 the Ministry of Defence approved the admission of girls into the Sea Cadet Corps, which took place slowly at first but spread across the UK over the preceding decade. The successful integration of girls into the Sea Cadet Corps led to the dissolution of the Girls Nautical Training Corps in 1992.
Today in combination with the Voluntary Cadet Corps, and Combined Cadet Corps (RN and RM sections), and RN approved Sea Cadet Units, there are well over 100,000 members of the Royal Naval Cadets & Youth (inc RN approved Sea Scouts).
