QAs Serving on a Submarine! By Merrill Bate

Defence Costs Study 15, led to the closure of all but one military hospital and the creation of agencies to manage secondary and dental care, and medical training. The Army Medical Services Schools of Nursing was to be no more, but I and my colleagues were determined that the high standards and quality of the pre- and post-registration nurse training we had provided over many decades would be carried on by the Tri-Service School of Healthcare Studies. 

So, it was that with a heavy heart that on 29th March 1996 I closed the door to the School of Nursing at the Cambridge Military Hospital in Aldershot and headed off with my colleagues to HMS Dolphin. ‘Dolphin’ was the home of the Royal Navy Submarine Service and location of the Submarine School and from 1996 to 1999 hosted the Defence Medical Training Organisation, the agency which was to manage all healthcare education. 

Along with QARNNS and PMRAFNS nurse teachers we had made many trips to prepare for our arrival at Dolphin. I recall in a conversation about office equipment saying that we would need ‘9’ lines in order to be able to make phone calls to civilian numbers. Imagine my surprise on walking into our office to find 9 telephones on my desk! What I hadn’t realised was that in the Navy they dialled ‘0’ to get an outside line, in the Army we dialled ‘9’!

Terminology was something we had to get used to, e.g. a call to 'clear the lower decks' means everyone was to be addressed by a senior officer while the 'upper deck' referred to officers only. The call was announced by a 'pipe' that could be heard everywhere at Dolphin.

On my first day at Dolphin, I arrived at 0730 and after clearing security I noticed other cars had stopped by the side of the road, there was no obvious reason why, but something told me it would be a good idea to stop my car as well. I am glad I did because what was about to happen was 'colours'; everyone is expected to face the mast while the white ensign is raised and if driving a car, you stop! Only when pipe sounds can you drive on. Phew, I had avoided making a faux pas on my first day! 

This picture shows where the Nurse Teachers were located before we moved to our permanent building. Our offices were surrounded by water and provided the best view of the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour. The office I shared with QARNNS and PMRAFNS colleagues had a window that looked straight out to sea and my desk was right beside it. It was quite easy to get distracted by the ferries sailing into Portsmouth, they looked as if were heading straight for us and then at the last minute changed tack! 

On 10 June 1996 we were working in the office when there was a very loud bang, in fact 21 very loud bangs which caused the building to shake and the smell of cordite came through the windows. Were we under attack? No, our offices were located very close to the area where the Royal Navy were firing a 21-gun salute in honour of the Queen’s Birthday!









Being at Dolphin provided us with a bird’s eye view of some special and historical events. One memory is standing on the roof of one of the buildings with Lauren Hurst and Yvette Whiston. We were watching the Royal Yacht Britannia leave Portsmouth for the last time. As she sailed past us, we stood to attention and saluted. This felt the right thing to do. 

We certainly made good use of the lovely seafront position. This picture is of the Wardroom. During the summer the officers would have a sandwich lunch on the terrace overlooking the Solent and the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour. A great place to watch as Royal Navy ships and ferries heading to and from France, Spain and the Isle of Wight passed by us.






A landmark building was the S.E.T.T (Submarine Escape Training Tower). Since the first man ascended the 100ft column of water to simulate emerging from a sunken submarine, tens of thousands of submariners have made the ascent along with a QA Officer’s forage cap!



On my last day before retiring from the Army I was invited to visit the S.E.T.T. On arrival I left my forage cap in the cloakroom and made my way along with the Medical Officer and the ‘rescue team’ to the top of the tower to watch an ascent. It was strange that the surface was on the 10th Floor of the tower while the bottom was at ground level.

I was told that numerous training sessions are required before submariners develop tolerance, confidence and learn not to respond to the instinct to panic. For beginners it must be reassuring to know that there were observation ports so instructors could monitor their progress as they ascended the 100ft and, escape compartments at 9 and 18 metres depth.

It seemed an age before the diver reached the surface and I think for much of that time I was holding my breath! The diver on climbing out of the water stood to attention in front of me saluted and said “Ma’am I believe this might be yours” and promptly removed my forage cap from his diving suit. My forage cap did not survive its 100-foot journey from the bottom of the tank to the top having been subjected to a pressurised slow ascent – thank goodness I would not be needing it to wear it again!



Lt Col (Retd) Merrill Bate served at the Tri-Service School of Healthcare Studies and Royal Defence Medical College from 1996 to 2002.

In 1999 HMS Dolphin reverted to its original name Fort Blockhouse when the RN Submarine School relocated to Faslane. In 2020 it was announced that S.E.T.T would close and be preserved as a listed building.