The move into a purpose-built college faced serious opposition from officers who believed naval identity and practical understanding required cadets to live and train aboard a ship. Their case stressed sea legs, daily immersion, and continuity with established practice, even if the training ships remained permanently anchored. Had that traditionalist case prevailed, Royal Navy officer education might still have relied on a group of training ships in the Dart instead of a shore campus. The eventual college was therefore a contested educational choice rather than an inevitable architectural upgrade.
Chapter · 20:46-22:09
The debate over moving cadets ashore
Traditionalists argued that cadets could not learn the sea properly unless their education remained aboard ships in the Dart.