How the Royal Marines became a naval force

The force began with the Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment of Foot, recruited under Admiralty control from bases such as Chatham, Portsmouth, and Plymouth. The organizational need was straightforward: warships required dependable naval infantry, including aboard smaller ships, while the Army disliked repeatedly detaching its regiments for sea service. Marines therefore recruited as their own establishment rather than serving only as ad hoc soldiers aboard ship. The title became Royal Marines in 1802, later included the Royal Marines Light Infantry, and eventually led to the modern 40, 42, and 45 Commando identity. Army troops could still serve aboard a warship on occasion, but that was the exception rather than the normal source of a ship's marine detachment.