- HMS Excellent (shore establishment)
HMS "Excellent" is a
Royal Navy shore establishment sited on Whale Island nearPortsmouth ,Hampshire .HMS "Excellent" itself forms part of the Maritime Warfare School, with a Headquarters at HMS "Collingwood", although a number of lodger units are resident within the site, the principal of which is the Headquarters of Commander in Chief Fleet.
MWS elements within the site are:
* Phoenix school of Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defence,
damage control andfire fighting
* South East Naval Military Training Centre
* Defence Diving School Boat SectionHMS "Excellent" also provides administrative and infrastructure support to the Maritime Warfare School elements at Defence Diving School, Horsea Island and small arms ranges at Tipner.
Lodger units are:
* Headquarters of
Commander in Chief Fleet
* Headquarters of UK Maritime Battle Staff
* HMS "King Alfred"Royal Naval Reserve
* Fleet Regional Photographic Unit (South East Region)
*Sea Cadet Corps National Training Centre
* HMS "Bristol" - Accommodation and Cadet Forces training ship
* TS Alamein Sea Cadet Corps and Marine Cadet detachmentHistory
Training leading to the situation where Gunnery Instructors (GIs) were responsible for Parade Training throughout the fleet. This situation persists with the successors to the Gunnery branch, the Above Water Weapons branch, retaining the responsibility for Parade Training and generally retaining the form of address, GI.
The establishment was recommissioned in 1994 following the closure of the old HMS "Phoenix", school of Fire Fighting and Damage Control, in nearby Tipner and Horsea Island. It also served as home for the recently closed RN School of Leadership and Management which had moved from HMS "Royal Arthur" near
Corsham in Wiltshire.The Portsmouth Field Gun Crew, competing in the Royal Navy
field gun competition at theRoyal Tournament , was based at the site. CINCFLEET staff have subsequently competed in the Brickwoods field gun competition at HMS "Collingwood".November Ceremonies
The Royal Navy parties which participate in the
Remembrance Sunday ceremonies inWhitehall ,London conduct training at HMS "Excellent" for four weeks in advance of the event.Participation in events at Whitehall and elsewhere is known as "November Ceremonies" within the Naval Service.
Personnel are drawn from volunteers throughout the service.
References
* [http://pafg.co.uk Portsmouth Action Field Gun] - Photos and Video
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.