Gerald Hollis World War II as he was colour blind. He joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) in 1940, and was commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1942. He served as a physical training officer at the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, Devon. The college was moved to Eaton Hall, Cheshire between 1943 and 1946, because of Nazi bombings. At the end of hostilities, Hollis felt drawn to holy orders: from 1945 to 1947, he trained for ordination at Wells Theological College. He was ordained into the Church of England in 1947 and then served his curacy at St Dunstan's,
Royal Naval College, Greenwich transferred to University College London in 1967. The Royal Naval College continued to train women until 1976, when their courses were transferred to the Britannia Royal Naval College. From 1983 the relocated Joint Services Defence College also occupied much of the King Charles building. With a shrinking Royal Navy, the decision was taken to close RNC Greenwich in 1998. All initial officer training is now carried out at the Britannia Royal Naval College, and the new Joint Services Command and Staff College, created in 1997, took over the staff college functions. The college was established in buildings designed by Sir