Former residence of Queen Victoria, Osborne House became a Royal Navy officer training college in 1901, remaining open until 1921. Among the former students were Edward VIII and George VI. The NMM holds various bound volumes of the Osborne magazine. This journal served the Osborne college while the Britannia Royal Naval College (another officer training school at Dartmouth in Devon), had its own Britannia magazine. Though separate publications, both magazines often shared material and articles.
The images displayed are from the Osborne magazine Vol. VI. No.34, the Christmas term of 1914. Among other things, they note the sadness felt at the departure of so many officers when the fleet was mobilised.
Other news included the sad death of 13 former students, on 26 November 1914 when HMS Bulwark was destroyed by a catastrophic internal explosion with the loss of 736 lives. The explosion was not the result of enemy action but what we might now call an 'industrial accident', believed to have been caused by overheated cordite charges on board.
The Osborne and Britannia magazines give a view of how the navy saw itself in 1914, the values it shared and how it responded to events. Both the Osborne and Britannia magazines are avaailable to request in the Caird Library, through the online catalogue.
Colin
(Archive and Library)
