Sir Alfred Ewing and Naval Education

THE connexion of Sir Alfred Ewing with naval education came about through the decision of the Admiralty, in 1902, to carry out a root and branch reform of the training of officers and men in all sections of the Navy. The reform was long overdue, for even up to 1901, junior officers spent a part of their time in learning to manoauvre ships under sail, although for all practical purposes sails in warships had been obsolete for thirty years. Then, too, there was the urgent problem of the staffing of the engine rooms of the steadily increasing fleet, a problem rendered difficult by the failure of successive Boards of Admiralty to adjust the status of naval engineers in accordance with their responsibilities.