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His Majesty's Canadian Ship King's
Officers' Training Establishment (HMCS King's 1941 - 1945)

During the Second World War it became apparent that the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) would require more facilities to train its officers. Under such a national emergency the government of the day ordered the use of university and college campuses.

Halifax's university community contributed to the war effort and in May of 1941, the University of King's College officially entered military service. Its main function was to receive classes of Probationary Sub-Lieutenants of the Executive Branch for several weeks of instruction in and practise of the duties of a watch-keeping officer in a naval vessel. On successful completion of the course, each man received his commission as a Sub-Lieutenant and went off to various appointments.

Almost immediately, the College took on a naval identity. It must have been very confusing for a student or faculty member to visit the campus. Most of the old rooms took on military names. The library, for instance, became the ship's Chart Room, and the "girl's reception room" made way for the Wardroom (the name given to the senior officers' Mess. The Mess for the junior officers is called the Gunroom.). While the civilian King's College continued with arts and divinity programmes at Dalhousie and Pine Hill Divinity Hall, navigation and communications were the main courses taught at the naval school. Potential officers learned astronomic navigation, signals, and seamanship on board a schooner in the North West Arm.

In January 1942 a course for specialist navigators was begun. It was called the "Long N," and lasted for 12 weeks including a couple of weeks at sea in the two training ships belonging to HMCS King's: the former hydrographic survey ship, HMCS Charny, and the corvette, HMCS Sackville, which became the second "tender to HMCS King's." The objective of the Long N course was to qualify officers to navigate and handle ships on any ocean, in any port or inland water. A high proportion of graduates of the Long N were selected for command and they were widely regarded as special.

Like other shore establishments designated as "ships," King's was known as a "stone frigate". At one point during the war German propaganda sources announced that HMCS King's had been sunk. Despite the problems of wartime training, the RCN's experience at HMCS King's was highly successful. By the end of her commission, HMCS King's had graduated over 3,100 officers from 96 classes. HMCS King's was decommissioned in May 1945.

Vestiges of HMCS King's can still be seen in the chapel's baptism font that is a ship's bell given as a thank offering for its ministry to the naval recruits, the mast in the centre of the Quad, and the Wardroom.