Order in Council
23rd January, 1860.

"Gunnery Instructors" and "Trained Men" Established : Gunnery Lieutenants To Be Allowed 1s. A-Day Extra.

Whereas we have had under our serious consideration the deficiency which at present exists in the number of Seamen Gunners of Your Majesty's Navy. We beg leave to represent to Your Majesty that we are humbly of opinion that it is a matter of great moment that this important class of men, upon whom the efficiency of Your Majesty's Ships when in action so much depends, should be maintained at its maximum strength. At the present time, however, notwithstanding the recent increase of pay granted to Seamen Gunners, it has been found impossible to attain this object. The number of men of this class necessarily attached to Your Majesty's gunnery ships is several hundreds below the establishment, leaving none disposable for service in the fleet; and we are humbly of opinion that it is requisite to give extension and increased efficiency to the system by the introduction of two new classes of men skilled in Gunnery ; the superior Class to be designated " Gunnery Instructors," and the inferior class " Trained Men."

We are also humbly of opinion that the Gunnery Instructors should be allowed 6d. per diem in addition to their pay, so long as they remain Instructors, and should take rank and pay as 1st class Petty Officers.

That the Trained Men should receive extra pay at the rate of 1d. a-day, and be required to pass a strict examination in gunnery, musket, and cutlass exercises, but their position in other respects as Seamen of Your Majesty's Fleet to remain unaltered.

We trust that the above-mentioned measures will be sufficient to attain the object in view without any increase being made to the pay of Seamen Gunners.

We are further humbly of opinion that some additional encouragement is necessary to induce Officers to qualify themselves as Gunnery Lieutenants; we therefore humbly propose that Officers while serving as such should be allowed an additional pay of Is. a-day, provided that they shall have held the rank of Lieutenant for three years.

The Lords Commissioners of Your Majesty's Treasury have, by letter dated the 9th December, 1859, signified to us their concurrence in the same.

Circular No. 407.
Admiralty, 9th February, 1860.

Gunnery Lieutenants, Gunnery Instructors, Badges for Seamen Gunners, and Trained Men.

My Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty are pleased to direct that, from and after the 1st of March, 1860, Gunnery Lieutenants doing duty in that capacity in any of Her Majesty's ships shall be allowed the sum of One Shilling per diem in addition to their pay, provided they have held the rank of Lieutenant for three years.

With the view of giving encouragement to the intelligent Seamen of the Fleet, my Lords are also pleased to order that a proportion of the Seamen Gunners (Petty Officers or Seamen) employed on board Her Majesty�s ships shall be designated as "Gunnery Instructors," and be allowed sixpence a day in addition to the ordinary pay of Seamen Gunners, as well as the pay of the ratings they may respectively hold, so long as they may be employed as Instructors. Great care is to be taken in their selection, and, in addition to their being superior drills in the great gun, rifle and sword exercises, they should be good shots.

The duty of the Gunnery Instructors will be to attend, under the Gunnery Officer or Gunner, to all drills is great guns and small arms. and they will, at the discretion of the Commanding Officer, be excused as far as possible from any other duty whilst the day drills are going on ; but when, from any cause, the drills are discontinued, they will be employed as most convenient in their Watches.

The following proportion of Gunnery Instructors will be allowed to each ship :-

Hereafter on a ship being first commissioned Gunnery Instructors will be discharged into her from one of the gunnery ships, but when vacancies for Instructors subsequently occur in ships, either at home or abroad, and in all ships already in commission, the Instructor may be selected from Seamen Gunners of the First Class by a Gunnery Officer, subject to the approval of the Commanding Officer of the ship in which the man may be serving, and on the Gunnery Officer reporting that the candidate is duly qualified as an Instructor, the Commanding Officer will cause the man to be rated and paid accordingly ; the letters " G. I." being placed against the same on the ship's books.

Gunnery Instructors will be considered eligible for Gunners' and Boatswains' Warrants, provided they qualify themselves for such promotion in the usual manner. When they return to a gunnery ship on being discharged or paid off, they will revert to the ordinary pay of Seamen Gunners.

It is to be clearly understood that all Seamen Gunners will still be required to assist in the instruction of the ships' crews whenever they are directed by their Commanding Officers to do so.

As marks of distinction, Seamen Gunmen First Class will be entitled to wear on the right arm a gun and crown; and Seamen gunners Second Class, a gun.

Their Lordships are further pleased to establish a class of "Trained Men" who will be allowed one penny a day in addition to their ordinary pay.

They must be well acquainted with the duties of all the numbers at a gun, the fitting of gun gear, the use of sights, be able to lay a gun quickly and correctly, know the manual and platoon exercises for the rifle, and also possess a fair knowledge of the sword exercise.

Any Seaman, above Second Class Ordinary, so qualified (no matter what rating be may hold) may be examined by the Gunnery Officer of his own or any other ship; or, in the absence of any such Officer, by a Gunner, and on a report being made to the Commanding Officer that the man is qualified for such rating, he will be rated and paid accordingly, the letters "T M" being placed against his name on the ship's books.

N.B.- Great care should be taken to specify in all Returns of Men borne on the Books of Her Majesty's Ships (especially in the Monthly Return, Form 101, established by Circular No. 301) the numbers of Gunnery Instructors and Trained Men ; and the necessary notations must always be made on the men's certificates.

By Command of their Lordships,
C. Paget,
To all Commanders-in-Chief, &c.

[P.S. Note by Transcriber. Whereas the above appears to reflect the introduction of the Gunnery Instructor of Post WWII fame, that rating was originally the Gunner�s Mate, and the title of Gunner�s Mate was replaced by the Gunnery Instructor. I can�t find any mention of the Gunnery Instructor in the Appendix to KR&AI for 1913, and it would therefore appear that the S.Q. or Non-Substantive rate of the Gunnery Instructor introduced as above in 1860 had disappeared by that date (1913).]

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