The History of the Royal Naval Association by Shipmate Commander Paddy McClurg RN

LOCATION OF THE RNA HEADQUARTERS AND INTER ALIA THE FORMATION OF A HEADQUARTERS
CLUB
Iniitally, the RNA Headquarters were situated in Streatham but later moved to more commodious
premises in Sloane Street where it remained for some years before moving to alternatives premises
An RNA London based Club with bar and some accommodation facilities was established in the
Sloane Street Headquarters at one stage during the 1960s and 1970s however this was not, in the
longer term, a success; later the Club reduced to a bar facility before being disestablished on cost
grounds. Eventually the additional space in the Sloane Street Headquarters was sub‐let as
residential accommodation and remained so until Headquarters was relocated (on a long lease) to
its final London Base at 82 Chelsea Manor Street, where it was to remain until 2008.
Initially seen as attractive, experience showed the Chelseas premises to be less than ideal. They
were somewhat remotely situated (a 25 minutes march from the nearest public transport) and dark,
poky, unfocussed and expensive to maintain – the offices were so hard to find that after 30 years
there were only 8 entries on page 1 of the Visitors Book. Among other things the premises
contained two cellars (in which, in the absence of other space, RNA Stores were kept and which
were prone to frequent flooding). Quite a lot of RNA stock was damaged (including 3,000 out of
date Rule Books which had initially been valued at £3,000 – when these were later disposed a
member of the National Council complained that this congealed mass of nonsense had been wrongly
ditched at a loss to the Association of £,3000 – in fact, the dustmen had to be bribed to take the
mass away). The unsuitability of the offices were early recognised and discussion took place (as long
ago as 1970) about the desirability of moving the Headquarters to a naval based location. An
infrastructure and manning study was conducted (pro bono) in 2005 where clearly recommended
relocation and steps were undertaken to liaise with naval authorities to achieve this objective. The
balance of the lease (34 years) was surrendered for the sum of £475,000 credit to the association.
Good (and much less expensive) premises were provided to the RNA within Semaphore Tower of
the Portsmouth Naval Base (on an almost peppercorn basis) with a very significant saving in
overheads to the association. The down side was that access to the new HQ was restricted on
security grounds and this has caused some problems – efforts continue to find (and perhaps
purchase) permanent premises adjacent to the naval base, with ease of access both for Association
Members and Serving Naval Personnel.
ASSOCIATION MANAGEMENT INFRASTRUCTURE
The management infrastructure of the Royal Naval Association is as follows :
The Patron : Her Majesty The Queen
Vice Patrons : appointed by the National Council
The National President – a former Senior RN figure appointed by the National Council
Life Vice Presidents : appointed by the National Council
Vice Presidents : appointed by the National Council