HMS Forward (1984 shore establishment)
HMS Forward is a Royal Naval Reserve unit located in Birmingham, England, close to St. Andrews football stadium. It has a crew of nearly 100 naval and marine reservists, in addition to a handful of full-time staff. The Birmingham University Royal Naval Unit, the Defence Technical Undergraduate Scheme 'Taurus Squadron' and a detachment of the Royal Marine Reserves Merseyside are also located on the site. The ship is particularly unusual in that it is situated 80 miles from the sea.
The guard of HMS Forward parading at the National Memorial Arboretum, Alrewas, on Armed Forces Day 2010.
A Royal Naval Reservist from HMS Forward firing a GPMG
The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Royal Naval Reserve, created in 1859, and the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR), created in 1903. The Royal Naval Reserve has seen action in World War I, World War II, the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan.
Members of the Royal Naval Reserve training at Tramore, County Waterford, c. 1905
A First World War RNR Lieutenant wearing the "wavy navy" rank insignia of reserve officers
Lieutenants of the RNR (left) and RNVR (right) during the Second World War—note the difference in insignia styles.
The crew of HMS Castle Harbour, assigned to the Royal Naval Dockyard in the Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda as the Examination Service vessel (that inspected merchant ships at Five Fathom Hole, under the guns of St. David's Battery - designated the Examination Battery, prior to their entering the shipping channel through Bermuda's reef). Crew members shown included a Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve officer at left, a Royal Navy officer, regular and temporary ratings,
