| | 1702: | Although teaching aboard RN ships pre-dates the 18th century, then usually performed unpaid by the chaplain, the ‘Naval Schoolmaster’ role was first introduced into the Royal Navy by a Queen Anne Order in Council which used the term ‘Naval Educator’ and allowed a bounty of £20 per year from the public purse. The role was targeted at suitable persons to enter service as ordinary midshipmen who would then receive the bounty in addition to their service pay. The entrance exam was set by the Master and Brethren of Trinity House and the subjects to be taught would include reading, arithmetic, seamanship and navigation. | |
| | 1729: | The Admiralty decided that training should cease at sea and a new Naval Academy was to be erected in Portsmouth for a capacity of 40 students. The curriculum would include navigation, geometry, arithmetic, English writing, French, drawing, fencing and dancing. | |
| | 1733: | The Naval Academy opened but was not a success due to entrenched views of senior officers that training could only be accomplished at sea. Prejudice was such that some Captains refused to accept academy graduates while others refused to promote them beyond midshipmen. Schoolmasters continued to mainly conduct their role at sea. Despite this, over the next few decades the Admiralty continued to promote training ashore, became more influential and took control of all officer appointments. | |
| | 1806: | The Admiralty decided that the Naval Academy should be enlarged to 70 students and be renamed the Royal Naval College. | |
| | 1812: | The bounty for Schoolmasters was increased to £30 per year plus a yearly £5 tuition fee paid by each young gentleman being trained. Chaplains could accept these monies to instruct if no Schoolmaster was borne. Honours graduates were exempt from the entrance exam which was now set (ashore) by the Royal Naval College. | |
| | 1836: | Order in Council of 22 December 1836 authorised the full warrant rank of Naval Instructor and Schoolmaster. | |
| | 1837: | Royal Naval College closed and all training was transferred to sea. | |
| | 1838: | Warrant Officer Naval Instructor and Schoolmaster appeared in the Navy List for the first time. | |
| | 1839: | Royal Naval College reopened as a training college for commissioned officers and mates, thus becoming an institution for adult students. | |
| | 1842: | In September of this year the Admiralty decreed that the title of Schoolmaster would change to ‘Naval Instructor’. This would avoid confusion with ‘Seaman Schoolmasters’. Any Chaplains that were appointed as Naval Instructors were to be called ‘Chaplain and Naval Instructor’ whilst in the appointment. At this time there were 39 Naval Instructors of whom 11 were graduates. | |
| | 1843: | Dockyard Schools were established, the first known example of technical education for apprentices in the country. | |
| | 1861: | Naval Instructors became Commissioned Officers and the blue branch identification cloth between gold rank stripe/s was introduced. The wearing of uniform, however, was optional. | |
| | 1862: | Seaman's Schoolmasters were given the title of ‘Naval Schoolmaster’. | |
| | 1864: | Naval Instructors were advanced in rank according to seniority, entering as lieutenants and achieving the rank of commander automatically after 15 years of service. | |
| | 1867: | Naval Schoolmaster was rated as Chief Petty Officer; equivalent to Master-at- Arms with the same pay. | |
| | 1873: | Royal Naval College was transferred from Portsmouth to Greenwich. | |
| | 1879: | Wearing of uniform became compulsory. | |
| | 1880s: | The Royal Marines (RM) recruited their own Schoolmasters who were then included in the RM section of the Navy List and wore uniform of the Royal Marines. | |
| | 1889: | School in sea-going ships deemed unsuccessful. Naval Schoolmasters were withdrawn from the Fleet and employed in the training ships and the gunnery and torpedo schools. | |
| | 1903: | The cadet training in HMS Britannia was deemed excellent but it was desired that accommodation should be found on shore for the cadets with the result being the institution of the Naval College at Dartmouth and at Osborne. Instruction at sea was no longer deemed necessary and entry as Naval Instructors ended in 1904. | |
| | 1913: | The Admiralty became doubtful about abolishing the Naval Instructor. This and WW1 resulted in large numbers entering the Royal Navy in the following few years. | |
| | 1914: | The Admiralty undertook to pay the compulsory contribution of Midshipman to their education (by now three pence per day) which was abolished in 1919. | |
| | 1917: | The rank of Chief Naval Instructor with four stripes was instituted. | |
| | 1918: | All Naval Schoolmasters were given the rank of Warrant Officer in accordance with the Hood Committee’s 1912 recommendations. | |
| | 1919: | Dual appointments as Chaplain/Instructor came to an end. The Instructor Branch was reconstituted with ranks from Instructor Lieutenant to Instructor Captain. Permanent Commissions were granted to Temporary officers and Schoolmasters were promoted to ‘Senior Masters’ and ‘Headmaster Lieutenant’. | |
| | 1927: | First Schoolmaster promoted to Headmaster in the rank of Commander. | |
| | 1930s: | The Royal Marines no longer recruited Schoolmasters but employed RN Schoolmasters on temporary appointments. | |
| | 1933: | The first Instructor Officer (Lieutenant Commander W. G. West) completed the 12-week Meteorology Course. | |
| | 1936: | The first Instructor Officer was appointed Director of the Admiralty Education Department. At this time there were 78 Instructor Officers and 204 Schoolmasters. | |
| | 1937: | The Naval Division at the Meteorological Office became the Naval Meteorological Service and moved to its new HQ in Berkeley Square. Instructor Officers were among the first to undertake training. | |
| | 1940: | After a brief period at the Admiralty Compass Building, Slough, when the outbreak of war meant Berkeley Square was deemed too dangerous, the Naval Meteorological Service and its officer training moved to Royal Naval College, Greenwich. | |
| | 1941: | The Chief Naval Instructor Officer became an Instructor Rear Admiral. | |
| | 1945: | Specialist ‘Education and Resettlement’ Officers were introduced after Schoolmasters and Instructors were deeply involved in helping ‘Hostilities Only’ personnel leaving the Service at the end of World War II. | |
| | 1946: | Amalgamation of Instructors and Schoolmasters to form one single Instructor Branch occurred. All serving Schoolmasters, who were Warrant Officers at that time, now gained a commission. Meteorological training was moved from the Royal Naval College and the first RN Met School was opened at the Royal Naval Aircraft Direction Centre, Kete (HMS Harrier) in Pembrokeshire. | |
| | 1950: | Department of Naval Weather Service (DNWS) was established. | |
| | 1955: | Number of Instructor Officers was at its peak of 773. | |
| | 1956: | Instructor Officers retain ‘Instructor’ in their rank with the same uniform as General List Officers. The blue stripe between their gold rank lace ended. | |
| | 1960: | Officer Meteorological training moved from Kete to RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall. Meteorological rating training had moved there a year earlier. | |
| | 1960s: | Instructor Officers employed in Management Services, Information Systems, Surveying, the Submarine Service and the Royal Marines. IOs were now able to apply for a full career on the Permanent List, a 16-year Pensionable Commission, or extend a five-year commission for five more years. New IOs under the age of 26 could undergo initial training at BRNC, Dartmouth. | |
| | 1963: | An Admiralty Fleet Order (AFO) introduced a new scheme for Chief Petty Officer Artificers with suitable Higher National Certificate (HNC) qualifications to join the IO Specialisation as Sub Lieutenants, conditional on passing an Admiralty Interview Board (AIB) and gaining a Certificate in Education (Cert Ed) at a civilian teacher training college. | |
| | 1971: | The Royal Naval School of Educational and Training Technology (RNSETT) was formed at HMS Nelson. | |
| | 1978: | The General List was expanded to include Instructor Officers. All Instructor Officers on the Permanent List were incorporated onto the General List, with the rest transferred to the Supplementary List. The post of Director Naval Education Service (DNEdS) ceased and the position of Chief Naval Instructor Officer (CNIO) was established. | |
| | 1985: | First WRNS officers recruited as IOs passed out of BRNC Dartmouth. | |
| | 1988: | WRNS Superintendent Julia Simpson became the first woman IO to reach the rank of Captain Royal Navy. Joining the WRNS at HMS Dauntless in 1963 and specialising in meteorology and Information Systems, Captain Simpson also became Chief Naval Officer for Women (CNOW) in 1996. | |
| | 1994: | Navy Board recommended a Platform Derived Structure for the Officer Corps. The Instructor Specialisation to be disbanded. | |
| | 1996: | The Instructor Specialisation ceased to exist on 5 July 1996. Those serving at the time were reclassified as either Executive (Meteorology and Oceanography) [X(METOC)], Engineering (Training Management) [E(TM)], or Engineering (Information Systems) [E(IS)]. | |
