Royal Naval Auxiliary Service

Ensign of the Royal Naval Auxiliary Service.

The Royal Naval Auxiliary Service (RNXS) was a uniformed, unarmed, civilian volunteer service, administered and trained by the Royal Navy to operate in the ports and anchorages of the United Kingdom in an emergency. Although the abbreviated title would logically have been RNAS this abbreviation had long been taken by the various Royal Naval Air Stations, so RNXS it was. It maintained training units, and vessels at most major ports in the UK. and was formed in 1963 from the amalgamation[1] of the Royal Naval Mine-watching Service (RNMWS) and Admiralty Ferry Crew Association[2] in response to the perceived nuclear threat to British ports. The service was disbanded on 31 March 1994 due to Ministry of Defence (MOD) cuts.[3] Most vessels from its fleet were transferred to the Royal Navy or sold,[4] with the exception of XSV Loyal Volunteer, which was struck by a ro-ro ferry while berthed in Ipswich Harbour and was later scrapped.[4]

  1. ^ John, Murry (2 May 1988). Royal Naval Auxiliary Service. Maritime Books. ISBN 0907771378.
  2. ^ "Admiralty Ferry Crew Association (Hansard, 11 February 1971)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 11 February 1971.
  3. ^ Stanley, Jo (2016). From Cabin 'Boys' to Captains: 250 Years of Women at Sea. The History Press. p. Appendix 4. ISBN 9780750968775.
  4. ^ a b The Volunteer. March 1994. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)