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,
Britannia Royal Naval College Commonwealth students are part of the student body. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary sends its officer cadets to BRNC for an 10-week initial officer training course, before they start at a maritime college. Following the closures of the Royal Naval Engineering College, Manadon, in 1994 and the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, in 1998, BRNC is the sole naval college in the United Kingdom. Slightly removed from the main buildings is Sandquay, which is below the college on the River Dart. It is primarily used for seamanship and boat handling training. Cadets are required to know that there are 187 steps from