RN Nurses Training College ???

[engr9266]

Hello, I have seen this patch described as RN Nurses Training College.
Can you confirm if this is correct or not??

engr9266

[Guzzman]

This is a Medics badge for a youth organisation called the Girls Nautical Training Corps. At one time girls were not allowed to join the Sea Cadet Corps so they had their own, girls only, organisation called the Nautical Training Corps. Eventually the two organisations combined (can't remember the date off the top of my head) and girls were allowed to join the Sea Cadets.

The officers rank stripes worn by this organisation were interesting. They were in WRNS blue but consisted of a straignt stripe with a round curl like RN officers. They've confused many a collector!

Pete

[Guzzman]

Just checked the dates.

The Girls Nautical Training Corps (GNTC) was founded in 1942 and was open to girls aged 14 and above.

The GNTC became affiliated to the Sea Cadet Corp (SCC) in 1963. On the 31st March 1980 the Ministry of Defence approved the admission of girls into the SCC. The successful integration of girls into the SCC led to the dissolution of the GNTC in 1992.

Pete

[mike_vee]

Originally Posted by Guzzman

This is a Medics badge for a youth organisation called the Girls Nautical Training Corps. At one time girls were not allowed to join the Sea Cadet Corps so they had their own, girls only, organisation called the Nautical Training Corps. Eventually the two organisations combined (can't remember the date off the top of my head) and girls were allowed to join the Sea Cadets.

The officers rank stripes worn by this organisation were interesting. They were in WRNS blue but consisted of a straignt stripe with a round curl like RN officers. They've confused many a collector!

Pete

Were there two different groups NTC and GNTC as I've seen cap tallies and badges with both sets of initials ?

Nautical Training Corps

Founded by Frank Froëst-Carr on 19 May 1944.

The Corps spread throughout the south of England and beyond, particularly in Sussex, Hampshire and south London; there have also been units as far afield as Acton, Northampton, Milton Keynes and Derby. In all there have been over 64 units, or 'Training Ships', but the exact number is unknown as the records of some units have been lost over time. These have included an all-girl unit at TS Tudor Rose, and an all-boy unit, TS Collingwood, both at Langley Green in Crawley.

Girls' Nautical Training Corps

The Girls' Naval Training Corps was formed as part of the National Association of Training Corps for Girls in 1942, with units mainly in Southern England and in the late 1950s changed their name to the Girls' Nautical Training Corps.

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[mike_vee]

Could the badge be a Nautical Training Corps 'First Aid Qualification' one ?

From "NAUTICAL TRAINING CORPS ENTRY AND ADVANCEMENT RATING STRUCTURE AND QUALIFICATIONS"

Chapter 1. Page 10.

6. FIRST AID Scope of First Aid First Aid St John Ambulance Teach : What is First Aid Emergencies and Managing Incidents. How to identify the dangers to the First Aid and the casualty. The procedure for summoning help. Equipment ( First Aid boxes/kits ).

.

[Guzzman]

I've never heard of a separate Nautical Training Corps for boys but that doesn't mean there wasn't one. The only one I've ever heard of is the Girls Nautical Training Corps. My son has been a Sea cadet for some time now and the dates and information I quoted are taken from the history of the SCC as taught to cadets today. There is no reference to a Nautical Training Corps for boys.

Since I'm an RN collector I've never really bothered with the cadet organisations but since my son joined I'm starting to become more interested in their history but I've got a long way to go!

Pete

[engr9266]

Thanks for your replies to this query
jerry
engr9266

[mike_vee]

After digging around it is very confusing !

The Girls' Naval Training Corps was formed as part of the National Association of Training Corps for Girls in 1942.

The Nautical Training Corps was founded by Frank Froëst-Carr on 19 May 1944.

The Girls' Naval Training Corps changed their name to the Girls' Nautical Training Corps. in the late 1950s.

The GNTC became affiliated to the Sea Cadet Corp (SCC) in 1963 and the dissolution of the GNTC was in 1992.

But ,,,,,, the Nautical Training Corps is still going today and on their official website there is no mention of it ever being a 'Girls only' group. The only mention is on their "timeline" is this :

SEPTEMBER 13, 1969
Commissioning

The first all girls Division. (Decommissioned)

[btns]

I am showing two buttons.
One has letters G.N.T.C. and is for the Girls' Naval Training Corps.

The other one is unidentified and has letters N.T.C.
It was made by Buttons Ltd B'ham and has their crossed swords mark.
It is brass and 19 mm.

[Phil2M]

https://www.britishbadgeforum.com/fo...ctureid=206524

https://www.britishbadgeforum.com/fo...ctureid=206235

These are the only two badges I have so far. Their officer uniform buttons appear to be a fouled anchor in the centre with a rope edge.

[sailorbear]

Originally Posted by engr9266

Hello, I have seen this patch described as RN Nurses Training College.
Can you confirm if this is correct or not??

engr9266

it is a first aid qualification badge for the Nautical Training Corps, which is a naval cadet organisation in the south east of England (with units in Hampshire, Sussex, Kent, Surrey and London), and has existed since 1944. I can confirm this as I was both a cadet and adult officer in the corps from 1976 to 1994. Absolutely nothing to do with the GNTC (Girls Nautical Training Corps) that was the girls section of the SCC (Sea Cadet Corps), and is now fully integrated into the SCC, which I have been an instructor with for 11 years now!

There are some posts on the forum about the NTC, cap badges occasionally turn up, with a Tudor rose in place of a crown and frequently mis-identified as a merchant shipping line cap badge.

The nurses of the Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service (QARNNS) were until 1994, trained at the Royal Naval Medical Branch Staff School (RNMBSS), located in the Royal Naval Hospital Haslar, in Gosport Hampshire, after that nurse training went tri service and was/is with the Royal college of Defence Medicine, previous to the RNMBSS , the Royal Navy only recruited qualified nurses, so there never was a Nurses Training College! The only badges that rating naval nurses ever wore, that was different to the rest of the RN and unique to the QARNNS is a small red/white gold St john red cross worn on the upper sleeve, and a crossed A's badge worn above it, and still worn today.

Tony

[sailorbear]

Originally Posted by Phil2M

https://www.britishbadgeforum.com/fo...ctureid=206524

https://www.britishbadgeforum.com/fo...ctureid=206235

These are the only two badges I have so far. Their officer uniform buttons appear to be a fouled anchor in the centre with a rope edge.

Hi Phil, that's right, the buttons are just basic 2nd type Merchant Navy button.

The officers cap badge is as your picture, but was also found in blue for female officers (not sure when that ended?) the CPO badge in blue is a later item, originally there were no Chief Petty Officers in the NTC, when a cadet got to Acting Petty Officer, if considered ready, he/she could be promoted to Petty Officer and change out of square rig, into Fore and Aft rig with a peaked cap (or tricorn), once they were 16 years old (though, those not ready could stay in square rig until they were 18, at which time they had to stop being a cadet). The PO uniform rank was gold fouled anchors worn on the lapels, once 18 a cadet could gain a warrant, and become a fourth officer (they follow Merchant Navy ranks), the rank badge being a single gold fouled anchor worn on the cuff, then a third officer wore a half thickness gold stripe, if you were a specialist instructor within the corps in the Corps Training Establishment, (i.e. you trained adults) you wore a light blue strip below the gold stripe, stripes only ever went halfway round the cuff! The CPO rank was created to be a "bridging" rank to fill the gap between cadet and adult, I was the corps first ever CPO, and had to make my own cap badge by cutting the crown of an RN CPO badge, and replacing it with the Tudor crown off my PO badge. later a CPO badge was produced by Shimbarts naval tailors, and was a single line of gold laurel leaves in very fine gold thread around the anchor (these are very rare to find) for both male and female, later they were produced to the RN design of laurel leaves and in both gold and blue! Originally female officer's wore blue lace rank braid that later became gold. Cadets wore red badges with gold lettering shoulder titles, originally, senior rates and officers wore no shoulder titles, but I believe a number of incidents, where NTC officers and senior rates, were mistaken by members of the public for serving naval personnel at the Portsmouth Navy days, led to the introduction of shoulder titles for senior rates and officers alike, to identify them as members of a nautical youth organisation and not members of the Royal Navy or Merchant Navy. when this happened, cadets started wearing red letter shoulder titles, male PO/CPO and officers gold and females blue. Both senior rates and officers wore four lines of buttons on there tunics.
Below some photos of me and others in the NTC.

[Home Guard]

This has been a very interesting thread. I tried, but am not able to read the tally on their cap. What does it say please.

Thanks,

Terry

[nbroadarrowz]

Hi Tony,
What is the button you refer to here?
the buttons are just basic 2nd type Merchant Navy button.

Thanks
Barry

[mike_vee]

Originally Posted by sailorbear

it is a first aid qualification badge for the Nautical Training Corps, which is a naval cadet organisation in the south east of England (with units in Hampshire, Sussex, Kent, Surrey and London), and has existed since 1944. I can confirm this as I was both a cadet and adult officer in the corps from 1976 to 1994. Absolutely nothing to do with the GNTC (Girls Nautical Training Corps) that was the girls section of the SCC (Sea Cadet Corps), and is now fully integrated into the SCC, which I have been an instructor with for 11 years now!

There are some posts on the forum about the NTC, cap badges occasionally turn up, with a Tudor rose in place of a crown and frequently mis-identified as a merchant shipping line cap badge.

The nurses of the Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service (QARNNS) were until 1994, trained at the Royal Naval Medical Branch Staff School (RNMBSS), located in the Royal Naval Hospital Haslar, in Gosport Hampshire, after that nurse training went tri service and was/is with the Royal college of Defence Medicine, previous to the RNMBSS , the Royal Navy only recruited qualified nurses, so there never was a Nurses Training College! The only badges that rating naval nurses ever wore, that was different to the rest of the RN and unique to the QARNNS is a small red/white gold St john red cross worn on the upper sleeve, and a crossed A's badge worn above it, and still worn today.

Tony

Thanks Tony for an excellent and comprehensive explanation !


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