page_title: HMS Vernon (shore establishment)
section_title: In wartime and onshore
hierarchical_section_title: HMS Vernon (shore establishment) / In wartime and onshore
caption_attribution_description: The Women's Royal Naval Service: Wrens in HMS VERNON, a Royal Navy shore establishment at Portsmouth, assembling the secret firing units of ground mines used in special operations to foil German minesweeping operations.
context_page_description: HMS Vernon was a shore establishment or "stone frigate" of the Royal Navy. Vernon was established on 26 April 1876 as the Royal Navy's Torpedo Branch also known as the Torpedo School, named after the ship HMS Vernon which served as part of its floating base. After the First World War, HMS Vernon moved ashore, taking over the Gunwharf site, where it continued to operate until 1 April 1996, when the various elements comprising the establishment were split up and moved to different commands.
context_section_description: On the outbreak of the First World War Vernon was used to carry out torpedo trials and to train new recruits for the Navy. Extensive research and development was also carried to develop new anti-submarine devices, mines and ships' electrics.
  On 1 October 1923 Vernon was moved ashore and new departments were set up to cover aspects of maritime warfare, such as mining, torpedoes and electrical equipment.  The names of the original hulks that made up the floating Vernon were used for buildings in the base. Their Chief Scientist from the beginning (probably coming from off-shore research) was Prof Edward Philip Harrison FRSE, who remained in charge until 1937. doing much to progress the advancement of magnetic mines.
  In the Second World War, and following on from the increasing use of mines, Vernon took on responsibility for mine disposal and developing mine countermeasures.  The staff were able to capture a number of enemy mines and develop successful countermeasures.  A number of officers working with Vernon were awarded Distinguished Service Orders for their successes in capturing new types of mine.
  The Germans began placing booby traps in some mines to counter attempts by Vernon's staff to capture them.  One exploded in a mining shed at Vernon on 6 August 1940, killing an officer and four ratings and seriously injuring a number of other personnel.  To avoid a repetition of this, a nearby disused quarry, nicknamed HMS Mirtle (short for Mine Investigation Range), was used for examining mines.
  Portsmouth suffered heavy air raids during the war, with Vernon being hit several times.  One bomb demolished Dido Building and killed 100 people.  Subsequently, sections of Vernon were dispersed to quieter areas.  On 3 May 1941 most departments of Vernon were moved to Roedean School at Brighton, which was known as HMS Vernon(R), whilst other elements were relocated elsewhere on the south coast and further away.
  On 1 October 1944 responsibility for naval diving passed from the Gunnery Branch, at HMS Excellent, to the Torpedo Branch, at Vernon.  A new diving school known as Vernon(D) was established at Brixham on 27 October 1944, with administrative support in Dartmouth.  The Brixham base was later joined by the Admiralty Experimental Diving Unit (AEDU) and the Deep Diving Tender HMS Tedworth.  The unit remained at Brixham until 1 October 1945 when it returned to the main HMS Vernon at Portsmouth.
caption: Wrens in HMS Vernon, assembling the secret firing units of ground mines used in special operations to foil German minesweeping operations
exif: {"Image Make": "Microtek", "Image Model": "SM 9800XL 9800", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS Macintosh", "Image DateTime": "2005:04:27 12:36:03", "Image Artist": "Sean Carney", "Image ExifOffset": "240", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "376", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "8936", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "350", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "255"}