Naval Reserve, ROYAL, is a sort of militia auxiliary to the royal navy. It is a force held in high esteem by naval men, and is considered an extremely valuable reserve of trained men ready to man the fleet in case of emergency. The act under which the force was instituted in 1859 authorises the engagement of 30,000 men, each for a period of five years, and provides that each shall be trained for twenty-eight days in every year to the use of arms and in naval gunnery, either in ships of the navy or on shore. In case of national emergency, these men can, by royal proclamation, be called out for service in the navy in any part of the world, for periods not exceeding five years. While training and while called out for actual service, the men receive the same wages as corresponding ratings in the royal navy; and in addition they receive a retaining fee for every year of training completed, the amount of which is regulated according to the class of the reserve in which they are enrolled; this is £6 a year for men in the first class, and £2, 10s. with a suit of clothes for the second class; boys in the third class receive no retainer, but the fourth class, consisting of stokers, receive £5 a year. On actual service, after three years—whether of uninterrupted service or at broken intervals—the volunteer becomes entitled to twopence extra per diem. The man can terminate his engagement at the end of five years, unless on actual service, when he may be required to complete five years of such service before discharge. During the continuance of his engagement he must not embark on voyages which shall entail a longer absence from the United Kingdom than six months, unless with special permission of the Admiralty. The periods for training are made as far as practicable to suit the sailor's convenience : he may break the twenty-eight days into shorter periods, none being less than seven days. Penalties are enforced if men fail to attend ; and failure after proper notice to come up for actual service is held equivalent to desertion. While training or on duty the men are liable to all the punishments, as they are entitled to all the rights and privileges, of regular seamen. The men considered most desirable are (1) those having fixed residences, and personally known to the registrar or his deputies ; and (2) men having regular employment in the coasting trade, or in vessels the business of which brings them back to the same ports at frequent and known intervals. In 1861 the system of the Reserve was extended to officers of the merchant-service, certificated masters and mates being respectively granted commissions in the Naval Reserve as lieutenants and sub-lieutenants. The holders are required to train for twenty-eight days annually on board Her Majesty's ships, and are liable to be called out for actual service when required. The number of these officers allowed by regulation is 130 lieutenants and 270 sub-lieutenants.
The Royal Naval Reserve now contains four classes of men. (1) The first class comprises men under thirty years of age, who must prove at least six years' sea-service within ten years, and of these six years' service two at least as able seamen in foreign-going or coasting vessels, and must declare that it is their intention to follow the sea-service for a period of at least five years. Six months' service as skipper or second hand in first-class fishing-vessels in the English Channel and North Sea may be accepted in lieu of two years' service as able seamen. Men discharged from the navy as able seamen with good characters may be enrolled in the first class up to thirty-five years of age, also men who have previously served in the Royal Naval Reserve. (2) The second class contains men with the proper qualifications between nineteen and thirty years of age, who have been at sea on foreign-going, coasting, or fishing vessels for three years, of which at least six months must have been with the grade of ordinary seaman ; and they must sign a declaration that it is their intention to follow the sea for a period of at least five years. Apprentices who have completed their indentures for a term of not less than three years may be enrolled in this class without further proof of service. (3) The third class comprises boys, not under fifteen nor above sixteen and a half years of age, who have been eighteen months under training in a mercantile training-ship, or have been educated at Greenwich Hospital, are under engagement to join a merchant-ship, are physically and mentally qualified, and can show proficiency in navigation and gunnery and seamanship ; they must produce certificates of good character from the captain or superintendent. In the case of the Marine Society's ship Warspite, boys will be received with nine months' training. They may be promoted to the second class at the age of nineteen after six months' service at sea ; and in due time to the first class. (4) The fourth class consists of firemen. A candidate must be over twenty and under thirty-five years of age ; he must produce certificates of good character, conduct, and ability as fireman from his last employer, for not less than six months in foreign-going or regular coasting vessels within the twelve months previous to his application. Every enrolment is for five years ; and when a man is promoted to a higher class he must re-enrol. The annual training may be accomplished either on board a ship of war or at a Naval Reserve battery. In 1889 the total number of reserve men drilled was 18,869, of which number 8294 were receiving an extra penny a day as trained men. The officers and men provided for in 1901 numbered 28,700, and the cost was £271,200. Nearly 12,000 seamen and marine pensioners are available.
Besides the Royal Naval Reserve, there are other Naval Reserve forces at command of the Admiralty. The most important is the Coastguard (q.v.). The corps of Royal Naval Artillery Volunteers has ceased to exist ; but there is still a force drawn from amongst the seamen pensioners (see PENSIONS). Petty officers and seamen of the navy, on being pensioned for length of service, may, if under forty-five years of age, be enrolled in the Seaman Pensioner Reserve. They must serve fourteen days annually, and on reaching fifty years of age get the Greenwich Hospital age pension and are exempt from further drill.