Welcome to the OCAAA Web Site

Engine Room Artificers (ERAs) were introduced into the Royal Navy in about 1868 as it changed from sail to steam propulsion. Some Shipwrights transferred into this new branch, but most ERAs joined having completed their engineering apprenticeship as civilians, often in the Royal Dockyards. Eventually it was decided that the Navy should train its own artificers, who would be required to successfully complete a full engineering apprenticeship geared to the requirements of the Navy.                   These trainees were to be known as ‘Boy Artificers’.

‘Boy Artificers’ first appeared in the Royal Navy in about 1903. Initially, the apprentices were accommodated in old ships’ hulks at Chatham, Devonport and then Portsmouth. In the 1930s training was transferred to Chatham and Torpoint with the later addition of HMS Caledonia at Rosyth, where annually youths of fifteen years of age were selected by examination in April and October to join up in the Engine Room, Electrical or Ordnance categories the following August or February.            (This was changed to January and September during the war period).                       In 1938 this well-established system was opened up to include Air Artificers.

Who were the ‘Artificers’ of the Royal Navy who did their apprenticeships at          HMS Caledonia? They were the men who kept the engines turning, the guns firing, the ships floating, the electrical equipment working and the aircraft flying. They repaired and maintained all the equipment on His or Her Majesty’s ships wherever they were in the world. If a spare part could not be found they were expected to manufacture one from whatever was available on the ship. This may have been done during a battle at sea or (some would say even worse) during exercises, with Chiefs and Officers shouting orders at them. Artificers are no longer trained at Caledonia, but the fleet still needs their unique skills to keep its ships and equipment in peak fighting order wherever it might be operating. Although the type of skills required have evolved with the technology, the Artificer still requires the self-confidence and knowledge that these men gained at Caledonia.

Website last updated November 2008