How the common-entry training pipeline worked

The 1902 memorandum placed executive, engineering, and Royal Marine cadets under the same entry conditions and education until roughly age twenty. Cadets moved through Osborne and Dartmouth, a training cruiser, three years as midshipmen, and common gunnery and torpedo instruction before branch selection. They could then specialize in engineering, the Marines, navigation, instruction, or general executive service. The scheme theoretically allowed officers to return toward executive command later, although the route proved easier on paper than in practice.